Warriors finish fourth in home dual tournament

WORLAND - Hosting the Battle in the Big Horns on Dec. 17-18, the Worland Warriors finished fourth in the gold bracket and built some positive momentum heading into the holiday break.

The Warriors made the gold bracket by defeating Powell 76-6, Newcastle/Upton 46-36 and Lovell 66-10. The Warriors only loss in pool play was against Rawlins, 39-36.

In the gold bracket, the Warriors beat Thermopolis 60-18, lost to Star Valley in the semifinals 59-24 and lost to Rawlins in the third-place match 39-33.

As a team, it was a solid weekend for the Warriors. The No. 1 goal they had was to wrestle hard for all six minutes.

"Personally, I thought we did a better job of wrestling all six minutes and wrestling six minutes hard," said WHS wrestling coach Josh Garcia. "Josh Rose was a prime example in Best of the Best. He's wrestling a huge kid, and he had to fight off his back twice, and it was just a great match. That's what we want out of our kids. It speaks to our practice room that they can wrestle that hard and still be in the match."

One of the wrestlers who showed that heart and battled in every match was 106-pounder Nate Johnson.

"Nate worked so hard every match, and that's what I expect from all of our kids. Even if they're outmatched, they can go out there and wrestle as hard as they can, and that's what makes good wrestlers. We never want to give up and be in the best condition we can," said Garcia.

The Warriors had two wrestlers make the Best of the Best, where the top four wrestlers from each weight class with the best record on the weekend battle for supremacy.

113-pounder Kobe Swain and 182-pounder Josh Rose not only made the Best of the Best but both advanced to the finals. Swain won his match with a pin, and, unfortunately for Rose, he lost a tightly contested match.

"I was super impressed with the grit and their performances. Their hard work paid off for them. Kobe Swain went 7-0 and did it with all pins. That makes the difference in the team race and for Kobe's confidence. Not that he lacks, but I think if you're pinning kids, that means you're out to dominate.

"Josh Rose did a nice job as well. It was a great match, and I'm a little biased, but I thought his match was the best one from the Best of the Best. Rose's match was back and forth, and it's unfortunate he lost that match, but it was a good learning moment for him," said Garcia.

Swain was also chosen as the Warrior wrestler of the week, along with Rugar Mascaro.

Another area Garcia wanted to improve was the Warriors work from the bottom position.

"We definitely defended the cradles better than we did the week before. I'd like us to continue to grow and get off bottom faster. But as far as improvement, we got better, and we can keep improving on that," said Garcia.

With the holiday break here, the Warriors will use that time to stay healthy and hammer home the technique.

"The biggest thing we'll focus on is technique. We want to hone on that technique and get healthy that will set us up the best for when we come out of the break," said Garcia.