Guest Posts on County 10 are provided by contributors and the opinions, thoughts, and comments within are their own and may not necessarily reflect those of County 10.
It’s that time of the year. Even though the weather hasn’t indicated it’s been winter, the end of the winter sports season is upon us.
On Thursday, the Riverton Wolverines hit the Cheyenne East pool for their final competition of a memorable season. How long has it been since someone wrote that the Wolverines are favored to trophy in the Class 4-A swim championships?
On the other extreme, how long has it been since the Lander Tigers weren’t favored to win the Class 3-A title? The Tigers face a challenge this year when they hit the Thunderbird pool beginning on Friday, but I think they’ll find a way to add yet another title to an incredible string.
The boys and girls head to the four corners of the state for regional wrestling beginning on Friday as well. The Class 2-A teams, Wyoming Indian, Dubois, Wind River, and Shoshoni, will wrestle in Cowley at Rocky Mountain High School.
The Lander Tigers load the bus for Cody, and the Wolverines sleep in their own beds on Thursday night before they host the Class 4-A West tournament in a single-day event on Friday.
There are some outstanding girls wrestling in the single class division from Riverton, Lander, Shoshoni, and Wind River at Powell beginning on Friday and continuing into the championship rounds of the west regional on Saturday.
I’d name the girls who are favored, but I don’t want to jinx them. Suffice it to say, we’ll have a few regional champions in the county by late Saturday. The team title probably isn’t up for consideration with a stout Star Valley Lady Braves contingent rolling around Yellowstone National Park on a 400-mile loop to reach Park County.
Indoor track and field in Gillette is still two weeks away, as is the Class 1-A/2-A Basketball Tournament at Casper College and the Ford Wyoming Center.
The Lander Tigers and Riverton Wolverines have two more weeks of the regular season before the Tigers head to Lovell and the Wolverines play in Utah, okay, not quite by four miles, but Riverton’s boys and girls are playing in distant Evanston.
The Class 2-A Regional on the boys’ side is a two-team tournament. Wyoming Indian and Thermopolis appear to be on a collision course for the regional crown and most likely will meet again on the following Saturday in Casper for the state title.
The Chiefs open with Greybull on Thursday at 2:30 pm in Wolverine Gym. The Bobcats play Wind River on the same big floor at 11:30 am.
Wind River hasn’t had a stellar season in head coach Mark Cress’s last year. Coach Cress is retiring and moving to Custer, South Dakota.
The Cougars have the unenviable position of playing Thermopolis, resting two days, playing Wyoming Indian at Ethete, and then playing Thermopolis again in the Class 2-A West tournament.
The Cougars fell 70-22 last night to Thermopolis in their final home game. Despite the lopsided score, it was an improvement from the first time the two teams met in the Big Horn Basin Classic at Thermop. The Bobcats won that one 71-8.
The Cougars didn’t have their big man, Josh Gallagher, in the first game, and the Bobcats sat their all-state post, and candidate for the Gatorade Player of the Year, Cody Bomagen, in last night’s tilt. Bomagen was out with a slight foot injury.
In other action, Shoshoni edged Rocky Mountain 32-29 last week in Cowley and now can finish no worse than third in the Northwest 2-A. They’re likely to open with Big Piney a week from Thursday.
For the girls, Wyoming Indian and Shoshoni will open the tournament at 10 am in Wolverine Gym. The Chiefs are once again the undisputed queens of the Southwest 2-A. Shoshoni finished fourth in the Northwest.
Wind River’s opponent waits until Saturday afternoon for verification. They’re likely to play Thermopolis again, but it might be Greybull depending on how Thermopolis does against a rapidly improving Rocky Mountain team.
It’s all speculation until the ball goes up, but it’s the final weeks of many kids’ high school careers and a signal that the return of green grass, flowers, and budding trees is just a few weeks away.
In Class 1-A, Cokeville and Burlington are the favorites on the boys’ side, but St. Stephen’s and Fort Washakie are both contenders for a spot in the big dance. The boys from the Fort and the Mission are talented, dangerous, and capable. Look for one or both to qualify if the ball drops just right.
Enjoy the final days of winter.