(Riverton, WY) – The Rustler men’s basketball team had their work cut out for them in their season home-opener. November 8 and 9 was the “Rustler Run & Gun Classic”, a combined CWC men’s and women’s basketball classic that welcomed six visiting schools (three men’s teams, three women’s teams) to Riverton for a total of eight games that were spread out over this past Friday and Saturday.
Salt Lake Community College was one of the men’s teams that made the trip to Fremont County, and Central Wyoming was set to take on the number seven nationally-ranked Bruins Friday night. Salt Lake’s roster was headlined by 6-9 TCU-commit Xavier Edmonds, which a crucial part of the game plan was to shut him down. And the Rustlers executed in that area, holding Edmonds to five points on 12.5% shooting. This outstanding defensive performance also allowed CWC to hold the whole Bruins team to 22.7% from three point range and kept the game close at half time, with the Rustlers only trailing by six going into the break. But a slew of turnovers in the second half that led to transition points for SLCC eventually widened the margin. Salt Lake eventually pulled away and secured a 73-45 victory.
Saturday afternoon the Rustlers faced the Utah Rebels, a prep basketball team based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. It was obvious from the tip-off that head coach Pat Rafferty and his squad were ready to right the boat and secure their first home win of the season. CWC’s stalwart defense came to play and held the Rebels to seven first half points. The Rustlers took care of business in the second half as well, with Julian Ormond, Jordan Peel and Malachi Kopman all reaching double digit points. A good amount of the Rustler’s reserves saw playing time as well, and Central Wyoming pulled out their first win of the season in Riverton, 58-27.
Volleyball
Central Wyoming College’s volleyball team began their Region IX tournament with a bang, upsetting the 16th nationally-ranked Western Nebraska Cougars in the first round, 3-1. The Rustler’s match against WNCC took place on Wednesday, November 6 at Laramie County Community College. Central Wyoming and Western Nebraska had previously met earlier in the season in mid-September, where WNCC had stolen away a tight game in five sets. The Rustlers weren’t only out for revenge, head coach Kim Davis and company were ready to prove that they’re a force to be reckoned with in Region IX.
After Wednesday afternoon’s thrilling upset, Central Wyoming was set to meet up against another familiar opponent in their quarterfinal match. Eastern Wyoming had been sitting atop the Region IX-North volleyball standings for the majority of the 2024 season, and dealt CWC losses both times the teams met during regular conference play. Another gleaming opportunity for a massive upset had presented itself, but alas the Rustlers failed to knock off the eventual Region IX Tournament champions, getting put away in three straight sets.
All hope for a chance at nationals was not lost yet, as the double-elimination tournament granted another chance for the Rustlers in the consolation bracket. But the luck of the draw was not in CWC’s favor, pitting Central Wyoming against the number four ranked team in the nation; Northeastern Junior College. Attacks led by Khloe Hobson and Presley Ryan kept the CWC volleyball team competitive, and the match could’ve very easily gone to five sets. But the eventual consolation-bracket winners were too much for the Rustlers to handle, and NJC subsequently ended the Rustler’s season by handing them a 3-1 loss.
The Central Wyoming volleyball team finished their 2024 season with a 17-12 record.
Women’s Basketball
The CWC women’s basketball team almost walked away from the “Rustler Run & Gun Classic” undefeated. The Rustlers took the court Friday afternoon against Clarendon College, a community college from Texas.
Both teams being relatively evenly matched presented an exciting back and forth battle. CWC outscored Clarendon 15-7 in the first quarter, but saw their lead get shortened to only three by halftime. Esperanza Vergara lit up the scoreboard for the Rustlers with four three pointers and 24 total points. Laura Ring dominated in the paint, pulling down 11 rebounds and racking up 17 points. Clarendon led by only two points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and Central Wyoming did all they could to regain the lead but were unsuccessful. The Rustlers couldn’t bring it home in the end, and fell to Clarendon, 70-66.
Saturday’s game against Treasure Valley Community College was a high-scoring affair for both teams and had six different Rustlers score in the double digits. Vergara, Ring and Sophie Wilkinson each recorded double-doubles by grabbing 10+ rebounds each. Natalia Ballin also achieved a double-double, but with assists instead of rebounds. A commanding 12 point halftime lead was held by CWC consistently throughout the rest of the game, and the Rustlers comfortably won their first home game of the year, 81-73.
Cross Country
Kallee Cook of the Central Wyoming cross country team competed at the NJCAA national championship on November 9 at Pole Green Park in Richmond, Virginia. Cook ran a season personal record of 20:56, and placed 124th out of over 200 participants.