Swimmers snare 19 top spots

TORRINGTON – The Torrington Sharks captured 19 first-place finishes at their only home meet of the season Saturday, including a new meet record by Tyne Stokes in the girls 13-14-year-old freestyle.

The old record was set by Torrington’s Catie Berry in 2011 (28.80 seconds). Stokes posted a time of 28.76 seconds, coming in just shy of the old record. She also won the 100-yard freestyle in her division with a time of 1:04.81. In the 50-yard breaststroke, Stokes took second, clocking a time of 42.72 seconds.

Outside of Stokes’ record-setting day, Abby Dykes had the best day for the Sharks, dominating the field in the girls 8-and-under division. She took first in four different events, including the 25-yard butterfly (23.77 seconds), 25-yard backstroke (25.47 seconds), 25-yard freestyle (20.94 seconds) and 100-yard IM (2:01.40).

Timothy Randolph spent most of his time picking up first-place finishes as well. He took first in the boys 13-14-year-old 50-yard freestyle with a time of 30.79 seconds, 50-yard breaststroke with a time of 37.24 seconds and 100-yard IM with a time of 1:21.56. In the 100-yard freestyle, he finished second, posting a time of 1:09.01.

Little Leaguers receive Major League treatment

DENVER, Colo. – The Torrington Little League all-star teams were treated to Major League experiences Friday when the Colorado Rockies’ hosted area youth – and the Chicago White Sox – for Kid’s Night at Coors Field.

Before the game, the all-stars were featured during a parade around the warning track along side other little league baseball and softball teams from the region. Torrington also received a special message on the jumbo-tron late in the game.

The locals were treated to a Rockies win over the White Sox, 12-4. D.J. LeMahieu, Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado all sent shots into the outfield bleachers to help propel Colorado to the win.

Twisters snag two of three to close season

GREELEY, Colo. – The Torrington Twisters 14-and-under softball team won their first two games of the Last Won Tournament over the weekend in Greeley by a combined score of 24-2, before dropping their first game in the bracket.

The Twisters opened up the weekend with a hot start in pool play, defeating Fever Fastpitch (Frank), 10-1. Torrington racked up three runs in the first inning, two in the second and three in the third, before the Fever scored their lone run in the fourth. The Twisters added two runs in the bottom of the fourth to close out the win.

As a team, Torrington amassed nine hits to the Fever’s four. Calysta Trevino and Mariyah Avila both had two hits in the win, with Paityn Homan, Brady Laucomer and Avila pacing the team in RBIs, with two apiece. Avery Fox, Brylee Dean, Emily McGaugh and Avila each scored twice.

Fox got the win on the mound, pitching three and two thirds innings, allowing four hits and an earned run. She threw strikes on 61 percent of her pitches and struck out one batter. Dean came in to throw one pitch, drawing a ground out.

Twisters 12U finish third at state

ROCK SPRINGS – The Torrington Twisters 12-and-under softball team snagged the bronze at the Wyoming State Tournament over the weekend in Rock Springs, posting a 4-2 record.

“I thought as a whole, the weekend was a huge success, especially with our limited number of practices,” coach Molly Moorehouse said.

The Twisters haven’t competed as a team much this summer. They participated in a tournament in Douglas on June 24-25, but that was the only competitive action outside of Torrington that they played. Most of the girls on the roster did compete in the town softball league.

“(The Douglas Tournament) was just to get them to see what they would see before they got to the state tournament,” Moorehouse said.

All-stars hold on in thriller

TORRINGTON – The Torrington 9-10-year-old All-Stars trailed 10-2 heading into the fifth inning, before posting 17 runs in the frame to hold on to a 20-19 win over Gillette American in district Little League action here Tuesday.

During the top of the fifth inning, Torrington batted around the order twice, plating 11 runs in a row. Mac Hibben scored three runs in the frame, while Mateo Correa, Race Schwartzkopf, Ryan Moorehouse, Brady Cook, Matthew Keene and Caleb Kelly all came around to score twice. Braeden Reid, who scored the first two runs of the game for Torrington, and Griffin Wolfe both scored a run in the inning.

In the bottom of the fifth, Gillette scored two runs in the fifth to bring the score to 19-12. Caleb Kelly scored again in the sixth inning to grow Torrington’s advantage to 20-12.

Tigers take second in state

WHEATLAND – The Torrington Tigers’ rally in Wheatland was halted two runs short in the championship game against Jackson, placing the Tigers second at the state tournament.

“We really peaked at the same time and came together as a team,” manager Andy Brown said. “We were more of a baseball family than a team. I am 100 percent proud of these young men.”

Torrington came out slow against Jackson’s ace pitcher in the winner-takes-all game Sunday, falling behind 5-0 after four innings. In the fifth, Torrington plated three runs to bring the score to 5-3, before the Giants added three more runs.

In the top of the sixth, Torrington scored two to trim the Jackson lead to 8-5. The Giants scored two in the bottom of the frame, putting the Tigers to the plate in the top of the seventh needing to score five or more runs to keep the game alive. Torrington scored three runs, but were unable to keep the rally alive, falling 10-8.

“If we had one more inning, I think we could have won that game,” Brown said. “When momentum is on your side in baseball, it’s huge.”

Gabe Mitchell and Jackson Jones both scored twice in the second contest, while Caeden Riley, Cameron Murphy, Teddy Carr and Nick Sherbeyn all scored. Murphy paced the Tigers in hits, with three, while Mitchell, Jones and Sherbeyn each added two. Jones and Sebastian Doucette also had two RBIs apiece.

TYSR champions crowned

TORRINGTON – With all eight Torrington Youth Series rodeos in the books, the series champions were awarded Wednesday with belt buckles for their summer full of hard work.

To be eligible for series awards, a rodeoer needed to compete in at least six of the eight rodeos throughout the season. Points were awarded to the top participants each week and the total points a youth racked up throughout the summer decided the series champions.

Cheyenne’s Juddy Farella, who finished in the top two in four different events, dominated the 5-7-year-old division. He won barrel racing and goat untying, while sliding into second in dummy roping and pole bending.

Hattie Haeffelin, Torrington, also had a solid summer, picking up a championship in pole bending. She earned reserve champion in goat tail untying and barrel racing. Zane Zurcher, Henry, Neb., was the king of dummy roping, picking up the championship, with Cade Zurcher finishing third.

Teryn Stokes, Torrington, snagged two championships in the 8-10-year-old division, winning in barrel racing and pole bending. Torrington’s Afton McIntosh shined in the girls goat tying, picking up the series win over Wheatland’s Mya Randall, while finishing as the reserve champion in pole bending and barrel racing.

Locals bring home hardware

LARAMIE – Three Torrington residents took their talents to the Senior Games in Laramie and Kearney, Neb. this past weekend, combining to bring home nine medals.

Rusty Winget spent time in the pool during all three days of the Wyoming Senior Games in Laramie. He started by competing in the 1,500-yard freestyle Thursday, winning with a time just longer than 27 minutes, which drastically dropped from his 1,500-yard freestyle gold-medal time from last year’s Games (33:26).

“I knew I was doing good in the 1,500,” Winget said. “My wife was calling out my split times and I knew I was going to shatter my personal best.”

Winget moved into the shorter distances Thursday, taking first in his age group (55-59-year-olds) in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 3:01. On Saturday, he was in the pool for four different events.

His only loss of the weekend came in the 50-yard freestyle, where he finished in 32 seconds, snagging second. He finished out his weekend with three more gold medals, winning the 25-yard, 100-yard and 500-yard freestyle.

“The older you get, you need more motivation to stay in shape and I’ve always been competitive,” said Winget, who ended the weekend with five gold medals and a silver.

Harris named UW starter

LARAMIE – Torrington’s Logan Harris was named the starting center for the University of Wyoming Cowboys in a depth chart released Monday.

“Beyond being a feel-good story about a young man who hails from our state, he is a competent, good football player,” UW head coach Craig Bohl said in an interview earlier in camp. “This is important to him. He loves the University of Wyoming. This was his school from the time we started recruiting him. We gave him that opportunity to come here and play, and he’s done well.”

Harris stepped onto campus in June and has been spending all summer preparing for the fall season. Over the past few months, he has been participating in workouts and drills in Laramie, while getting to know his teammates.

“I’ve really enjoyed being here,” Harris said. “I’ve met a lot of new people and I’m building bonds with my teammates. Our whole freshman class really bonded together.”

Southeast earns rivalry win

LINGLE – After a first set that went extra points, the Southeast Lady Cyclones cruised to a three-set win on the road, but still in the county, Tuesday over the Lingle-Fort Laramie Lady Doggers.

To open the action, L-FL held a marginal lead early in the first set, before the Lady Cyclones picked up their game. They managed to build an eight-point lead, twice. When trailing 19-11, the Lady Doggers rattled off five-straight points and trimmed the deficit to one point (23-22) forcing a Southeast timeout.

After the break, L-FL recorded two points in a row to take a one-point lead. The two teams tied again at 25 before the Lady Cyclones put the set away, 27-25.

“The first set I thought we played very tough and with great intensity,” L-FL coach Barb Clark said. “Unfortunately, from there on we just weren’t able to regain our composure.”

Cyclones run away with Homecoming win

YODER – Chase Lovercheck broke the Southeast single-game rushing record with 288 yards on the ground, guiding the Cyclones to a 48-32 Homecoming win Friday over Bayard, Neb.

Lovercheck got things started early, scoring on a 24-yard touchdown in the first quarter. The Tigers rebounded to score three minutes later. Southeast’s Brady Fullmer found the end zone with 0:45 left in the first, scoring on a 6-yard touchdown run. Bayard scored twice in the second quarter, including a 95-yard touchdown pass. Heading into halftime, the Cyclones trailed 18-14.

“If you have a slow second quarter, they come back and make a big game out of it,” Lovercheck said. “It makes you more motivated later in the game in the second half to pour it on.”

Essert wins first THS golf title

DOUGLAS – Torrington junior Caleigh Essert won the individual girls state championship by 14 strokes over the weekend in Douglas to become the first Trailblazer to win a state golf championship.

“Everything clicked. Nothing was off and everything finally just clicked,” Essert said of her title-winning performance. “I was just here to play my game and play like Caleigh does and see what happens.”

On the first day, Essert posted a blistering 79, which was 12 strokes ahead of two-time defending champion Macy Jacobson (Lander), who sat in second after the first round. Essert distanced herself by another two strokes Friday by shooting a 78 to finish with a two-day score of 157, 14 strokes ahead of Jacobson’s 171.

“I like pressure – it makes me focus more,” Essert said of being in the same group as Jacobson both days. “It’s just kind of a friendly competition.”

L-FL demolishes NSI for first win

SHERIDAN – The Lingle-Fort Laramie Doggers picked up a road win by a wide margin Friday in Sheridan, besting Normative Services Institute 75-7 for their first win of the season.

The scoring got started quickly for L-FL, with Ty Mueller scoring on a 23-yard reception. Hayden Hill took a 55-yard run to the house on the first rushing attempt of the game for the Doggers. Brandon Hill got in on the action, scoring a 33-yard touchdown, followed by a tackle for a safety by Brandon Hill and Zane Rising.

Still in the first half, Hayden Hill found the end zone again on a 37-yard touchdown. In the second quarter, Brandon Hill toted the rock for a one-yard score and Mueller scored on both a reception (43 yards) and a 60-yard interception return. Cordell Forkner also scored on defense, with his touchdown coming on a fumble recovery. Gaven Niles found the end zone on a 33-yard run for the final score of the first half.

“The kids came out excited to play – they were really pumped up to play,” coach Matt Cornelius said. “The kids really changed up the pace of things.”

All Trailblazers snag win at state tennis

GILLETTE – Led by Ethan Creagar, who earned all-state for finishing fifth in No. 1 singles, all Torrington Trailblazers won at least one match at the state tennis tournament in Gillette over the weekend.

“There was a ton of quality tennis this year all over the state and our tennis team was competitive,” coach Lyle Wiley said. “I was really impressed with our effort even though we did not get any competitors into the championship rounds.”

Boys

As a team, the Torrington boys took 11th, racking up 8.5 team points. Laramie (45 points), Campbell County (33) and Jackson (31) rounded out the top-three teams.

Creagar had the best finish among all of the Blazers in Gillette, despite losing his opening match to Ben Radosevich (Natrona) in three sets, 1-6, 6-4 and 6-1. Creagar went on to handle business starting in the consolation bracket.

THS earns Homecoming revenge, punches postseason ticket

DOUGLAS – Propelled by 189 receiving yards and three touchdowns through the air by Nathan Stitt and five interceptions by the defense, the Torrington Trailblazers shutout previously undefeated and second ranked Douglas on their field Friday, 41-0.

The game between the Blazers and Bearcats was on Douglas’ Homecoming. In Torrington’s Homecoming game last year, Douglas won 37-6, so this year the Blazers paid back the favor.

“We wanted to come prepared. It was their Homecoming so we knew they were going to be all riled up,” Stitt said. “We kind of had a bad taste in our mouth from last year when they came to our Homecoming and beat us.

“We came out and started early and just kept going. We never let them get any momentum.”

Local Olympians bring home the hardware

CASPER – Four competitors put their talents on display at the Wyoming Special Olympics Fall State Games over the weekend in Casper, combining to bring home three gold medals and a silver medal.

“The athletes were very coachable and improved so much over our practice sessions that coach (Sage) Fields and I were not surprised at all by their success at the Games,” said Craig Schadwinkel, the local Special Olympics coordinator and coach. “The smiles on their faces as they received their medals on the Olympic stand made all of our efforts worthwhile.”

The four Olympians have been working on their craft since September. They started by working on flexibility, cardio and soccer fundamentals, according Schadwinkel. When the competition got closer, the group began working on specific skills every night to hone its craft for the competition – individual soccer skills.

E.J. Haas and Austin Bayless, both of which are newcomers to Special Olympics, picked up gold medals in their divisions. Ethan Lemman was the final local competitor to snag gold, winning his division.

Lady Doggers exact sweeping revenge over Lady Cyclones

YODER – Led by 13 kills by Amanda Riley, the Lady Doggers swept the Lady Cyclones in Yoder, getting payback from earlier this season when Southeast swept Lingle-Fort Laramie in Lingle.

“That was amazing,” Riley said. “We knew coming into this game was going to be really hard, but we never gave up on each other. We all played really good together. We have been practicing our digging and that really helped us tonight.”

Despite the Lady Dogger win, Southeast’s Hailey Anderson started the evening off going Southeast’s way, recording three-straight kills. L-FL rallied to tie the game at 5, 6, 7, 8 and nine, before Anderson and Ellie Schmitt combined for three kills over four plays to give the Lady Cyclones a 12-10 lead.

Ashley Riley recorded a kill for the Lady Doggers to tie the game at 12, followed by back-to-back-to-back kills by Southeast’s Anderson, upping the Southeast advantage to 15-12. L-FL patiently chipped away at the Southeast lead and a solid serve by Paige Forkner tied the game at 17. An ace by Amanda Riley a few points later gave the Lady Doggers a 20-18 and they didn’t look back, scoring the next five points to seal the win, 25-18.

Cyclones drop road playoff game

COKEVILLE – The Southeast Cyclones went on the road Friday as the No. 4 seed from the east and committed too many turnovers to hang with Cokeville, falling 42-0.

The Panthers scored in the opening quarter, giving themselves a 7-0 advantage after the first 12 minutes. Southeast gave the ball away twice in the second quarter, setting up Cokeville in Cyclone territory. The Panthers punched in both of those possessions to lead 21-0 at the break.

“After that first drive we settled in and started playing defense but then we gave them short fields,” coach Mark Bullington said. “I thought we were going to be down 7-0 at halftime until those turnovers.”

Cokeville came out of the break and scored a touchdown in the third quarter, before scoring again twice in the fourth to win 42-0.

Lady Doggers win east regional, advances to state

WHEATLAND – The Lingle-Fort Laramie Lady Doggers swept their way to the championship game Saturday in Wheatland, where they faced some resistance, but eventually won the 1A East Regional Title.

“I’m really proud of our team,” senior Jade Cooper said. “All of the new starters really stepped up and I’m so proud of them, especially at the end of the season.”

Against Rock River in the championship game, L-FL struggled to get out of the gates. The Lady Longhorns rushed out to a 9-4 lead, forcing a Lady Dogger timeout. Following the timeout, L-FL still couldn’t regain its footing, surrendering to a 14-7 lead before chipping away at the deficit.

Lady Blazers state tournament bound

NEWCASTLE – The Torrington Lady Trailblazers secured their spot in the 3A State Tournament after going 2-2 and finishing fourth at the east regional tournament in Newcastle over the weekend.

The Lady Blazers, who were the second seed from their quadrant, got going on the right track to open the tournament, sneaking away with a four-set win over Worland. The first set was a back-and-forth affair, with the biggest lead by either team at four points. Torrington got out to one of its four-point leads after a kill by Nakalyn Garner (14-10), but then the Lady Warriors scored two in a row.

Torrington held on to a marginal lead until back-to-back tips by Worland tied the score at 21, forcing a Lady Blazer timeout. Coming out of the break, Torrington scored four-straight to seal the 25-21 win.

Lady Lancers 1-2 at Region IX Tourney

SHERIDAN – The Eastern Wyoming College Lady Lancers took all three of their games to four sets at the Region IX Tournament in Sheridan over the weekend, falling in two of them.

EWC opened the tournament against Northwest College. The Lady Lancers narrowly lost the first set, 25-23, before dropping the second, 25-14. EWC rebounded to pick up a win in the third, 25-23, before pushing the fourth set to extra points, falling 29-27.

Helena Khouri had a solid game at the service line, recording three aces. She also led the team in digs, with 22. Alex Simmerman recorded 11 digs and Kylee Tresch added another 10. Tresch and Simmerman also paced EWC in assists, with 14 and 13, respectively.

L-FL reaches consolation semi-finals

CASPER – The Lingle-Fort Laramie Lady Doggers went 1-2 at the 1A State Tournament over the weekend, reaching the semi-finals of the consolation bracket before suffering their second loss.

“Getting to state was great,” coach Barb Clark said. “I never doubted that we would make it. The game against Dubois was disappointing because I truly feel that we should have won it. However, Dubois had different plans.”

L-FL began the tournament with a thrilling five-set match against Dubois, the fourth seed from the west. The Lady Doggers came to play, running out to a 7-2 lead. Back-to-back aces by Paige Forkner added to the Lady Dogger lead (14-5) and a Jordan Hunt kill continued the hot start, growing the lead to 19-7. Three-straight errors by Dubois ended the first set, 25-12.

Going to the ‘ship

TORRINGTON – Clutch plays in crunch time on both offense and defense helped the Torrington Trailblazers pick up the win over Green River on Friday, 17-13, securing their spot the state championship game.

“Feeling wise, what I can describe is happy, excited and motivated,” defensive end Josh Kingsley said. “It’s been forever since we made it this far and I’m just hoping we can pull one off and take it all the way, coming out No. 1.”

Down 17-13, Green River took over possession on their own 15-yard line with 4:36 remaining in the game. The Wolves had a 1-yard run, an incompletion and a 3-yard pass, setting up a fourth-and-6. Kingsley, who had made a tackle a couple plays earlier, came up with a sack, forcing a turnover on downs.

Big plays derail title hopes

LARAMIE – Although the Torrington Trailblazers led in time of possession, plays and yards, two of Cody’s three scoring plays combined for 175 yards in the 3A State Championship game Friday in Laramie, resulting in a 20-0 loss for the Blazers.

“It was one of those games where I don’t think the score was indicative of how well we played,” Lenhardt said. “When you look at the game, it came down to them making a few plays and we couldn’t make any.”

Torrington’s offense lived on the field for the opening frame, holding the ball for 10:20. The Blazers’ opening drive went 13 plays but stalled out and resulted in a punt. Cody went 3-and-out, giving the ball back to Torrington. The Blazers marched the ball down the field again, putting together an 11-play drive that ended in a turnover on downs.

The Broncs offense started clicking into the second quarter, taking the ball within the Blazer 10-yard line but Josh Posten came up with an interception that he returned for 21 yards, setting the Blazers up at their 29-yard line. Torrington punted on their next drive to give Cody the ball at their 35-yard line.

EWC women continue streak

RIVERTON – The Eastern Wyoming College Lady Lancers extended their winning streak to six games after picking up two high-scoring victories over the weekend in a tournament hosted by Central Wyoming College.

“Both games were pretty tight at halftime,” coach Tom Anderson said. “Our third quarter of both games we turned up our defensive intensity, got some stops and got some transition points.”

The Lady Lancers started the weekend with a game against Western Wyoming Community College on Friday. EWC rushed out to a 25-16 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Lady Mustangs had a solid second quarter to hold a 42-40 lead over the Lady Lancers.