Plainsmen Fall in First Home Dual on the Mat
After a good start, the Laramie Plainsmen wrestling team lost their home debut against Cheyenne Central Wednesday night, 41-23.
Laramie (4-4, 0-2) jumped out to a 20-4 lead, but couldn’t hold on and lost to the Indians.
Plainsmen head coach Stuart Brinkman said they were coming off a weekend with five duals and had gotten pinned 21 times.
“Really this week we focused on bottom wrestling. Our guys gave up two pins and improved quite a bit. We just need a little more effort from our upper weights, and it will definitely come. We have weeks until regionals, so we have five weeks to prep those guys.”
After a loss in the first match at 106 pounds, LHS won four straight matches. That included a pin from Isaac Sell at 113 pounds and a tech fall by Arsenio Lemus at 132. Jose Rodriguez earned a victory by decision at 120 pounds, while Easton Hawkins won by forfeit at 126.
Brinkman said, “Isaac was very impressive… He came out and got in a tough situation when that guy had a single leg up, but he fought out of it and got the pin for us. I really thought that we were rolling after that.”
Brinkman added that Lemus knew he had an opponent he could beat.
“We wanted him to go out there and work his moves. Work stuff that he will need in other matches, for example, like state. Working those tilts; he started working legs, getting those turns, and he actually showed some good stuff with his work on top. He’s going to be a tough guy to beat.”
Things turned quickly after that. Cheyenne Central proceeded to win eight of the last nine matches.
The Plainsmen gave up two forfeits, but also lost two others by pin. Laramie’s only other win came at 220 pounds from junior Zech Aguilar in a 9-3 decision.
Brinkman liked Aguilar’s confidence and continues to see his improvement.
Laramie heads on the road for two days of action at the Lander Invite Friday and Saturday. All the 3A teams, plus 4A’s No. 2 ranked team, Rock Springs, will be in attendance in Lander.
Here's a look at the rest of the Laramie High School teams in action this weekend:
Nordic Skiing
After having last weekend off from competition, Laramie returns to the trails for the two-day Cody Invite at Pahaska. The action will begin at 1 p.m. Friday with a 7.5K freestyle race. That is followed by a 7.5K classic race Saturday at 10 a.m.
Laramie head coach Rebecca Watson said she likes where her team is at, as they try to build and work on their skills.
As for the course, Watson said this weekend is interesting.
“We do a lot of climbing on the first half of the course, and then it’s a lot of descent on the back-half of the course. They really have to be strategic with how they race that first part of the course because the second is downhill.”
Alpine Skiing
Laramie returns to the slopes on Casper Mountain with two days of racing at Hogadon Ski Area.
Friday will be slalom competition, followed by the first giant slalom races of the season on Saturday.
Boys Swimming and Diving
Laramie will be hosting three duals over two days at the LHS pool Friday and Saturday. All three opponents are teams the Plainsmen have faced in dual competition earlier this season.
Laramie’s Senior Night will be Friday ahead of their dual versus Thunder Basin at 5 p.m.
Saturday will have two duals. The first is against Kelly Walsh at 9 a.m. The second will follow versus Campbell County around 12:30 p.m.
Laramie is 7-2 in duals this season. They have 11 state qualifiers.
Indoor Track and Field
Laramie will trek north for their second competition of the season. They will compete at the Gillette Invite. It provides an opportunity for student-athletes to compete in the venue where the 2018 Wyoming State Indoor Track Championships will be held in March.
This meet is held at the Campbell County Rec Center and starts at 10 a.m. Saturday.