Plainsmen wrestling, Plainsmen swimming and diving and Laramie High School’s Nordic Skiing team made their season debut last weekend.

Wrestling

The Laramie Plainsmen hit the mat with dual and invitational formatted events at the Charlie Lake Invite in Cheyenne last Friday and Saturday.

It was a strong start to the season in the dual tournament. Laramie posted a 4-1 record and finished in third place. They opened with a 41-33 dual win over Douglas. Their second dual was a 39-36 loss to Cheyenne South. LHS bounced back with a 41-21 victory over Charlie Lake, a group of unattached wrestlers. Then, a 60-18 win over Niwot, Colorado put Laramie in the third place match. The Plainsmen defeated Glenrock 45-28. Aaron Candelaria and Kaden Schriner posted 5-0 marks at 132 and 145 pounds, respectively. Carless Looney added a 4-0 record at 160.

In the invitational portion of the tournament on Saturday, Laramie finished in sixth place with 88 points. The Plainsmen were the second highest finisher among teams from Wyoming. They were only one point behind Cheyenne East in fifth. LHS had five of their nine wrestlers place in the top four. They were led by the Looney brothers. Carless and Jerry both finished second at 160 and 220 pounds, respectively.

Windsor (CO) won the tournament with 175 team points. Poudre (CO) was second at 124.5, followed by Eaton (CO) and Scottsbluff (NE).

The Plainsmen return to the mat today against Cheyenne East. It is their first home dual with the varsity action set for a 6 p.m. start at the LHS gym.

Swimming and Diving

Laramie began their season with the typical two-day start in Gillette.

At Friday’s Gillette Relays, the Plainsmen ended up in fourth place with 224 points. They won the 500 crescendo relay that was comprised of Zach Shannon, Ryan Beman, Cas Sheridan and Connor Petty.

Kelly Walsh won the ten team event with 300 points. Cheyenne Central was second at 233, with Gilette right behind at 231.

LHS had two student-athletes that finished in the top ten of the Gillette Pentathlon last Saturday. Petty wound up in fourth, with Justin Rector in ninth place. Both qualified in all five swimming events. The top finish was from Nick Hudson, who was second in diving out of 26 competitors.

As a team, Laramie was third with 121 points. The Trojans were on top again, out of 12 teams, with 158 points. Gillette ended up second at 156.

Laramie came away from the weekend with five state qualifiers.

The Plainsmen are back in the pool today with a home dual versus Central. It starts at 5 p.m. at the Laramie Community Rec Center pool.

Nordic Skiing

The cross country skiers spent last weekend in Casper. They opened with a fun, night relay on Casper Mountain before an actual competition. Saturday was the start with a 5K classic race.

The Laramie Plainsmen had four individuals finish in the top 11. They were led by Liam McInroy, who came in seventh place.

The Lady Plainsmen were led by Hailey Schmidt. She came in ninth place.

No team scores were kept at the opening event.

LHS Nordic Skiing will go to Jackson for competition this weekend.

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