Warrior wrestlers prepare for final duals of regular season

WORLAND - It's hard to believe but the wrestling season is quickly approaching its finale and for the Worland Warrior wrestlers they're ready to finish strong.

Last week Worland traveled to Riverton for the Ron Thon Memorial Invitational. While the team wrestled well, only two Warriors were able to place in one of the tougher regular season tournaments in Wyoming.

"We wrestled very well against high-caliber competition. The Ron Thon is a tough tournament because everyone in the state is there," said WHS wrestling coach Josh Garcia. "Travis and Nathan were our only placers but a lot of our guys did very well. Alex Beck, Morgan Tigner and Domanic Hartley were all a match away from placing."

Seniors Travis Tatkenhorst (152 pounds) and Nathan Kern (285 pounds) both wrestled in their respective weight-class championships.

Kern, who was on the mat for the first time this season, would take second-place after a 4-1 defeat by Wheatland's Cody Cagle.

"Nathan wrestled really well for his first tournament of the season. You never know what to expect in those types of situations but he came out and wrestled well. He lost in the finals and a lot of that you can say was mat time and his conditioning but all fixable things," said coach Garcia.

Tatkenhorst won his championship match, and the Ron Thon championship belt, by forfeit when Brett Brenton of Natrona County High School conceded due to an emergency personal issue.

In the semifinals, Tatkenhorst defeated Kaden Schriner of Laramie, who was the No. 1-seeded 152-pounder in the tournament, by a 14-10 decision.

"Travis had great weekend. We had numerous compliments from other coaches on his wrestling. He upset the No. 1-seed who was 41-2 before facing Travis. Travis wrestled lights out and just wrestled great all tournament."

The Warriors have two duals against Buffalo and Powell lined up to close out the regular season.

"Obviously, we want to perform well in these final duals. Powell is one of the better teams in the state and Buffalo is right up there too. We want to wrestle well against Buffalo for seeding purposes at the regional tournament. Both schools are very good programs and have tough kids up and down their lineups," said coach Garcia.

Thursday Worland travels to Buffalo for a 6 p.m. dual and on Friday they head to Powell for another 6 p.m. dual.

"When you go to tournaments you never get to really see what other schools have. But with these duals it allows you to get a better look at the teams in a head-to-head matchup and see where your strength and weaknesses are," said coach Garcia.

The Worland/Powell dual has been a strong rivalry and coach Garcia believes it will be much of the same Friday night.

"I know Powell is looking forward to us going to their house. The Worland/Powell dual has been a barn burner for years and years. If we can stay healthy I think it will be a really good dual. It could be anywhere from a three- to six-point swing either way. So we'll see what happens," said coach Garcia.

With the final week of the regular season here coach Garcia likes the position his team is in and the hard work they've contributed to this point.

"Overall I'm excited for where we are at right now," said coach Garcia, "Our kids are looking to improve every day and we're excited as a staff moving on into the last few weeks of our season."