Wildcat grapplers wrestle at WTC

Prior to the mandatory break for student athletes, the Banner County Wildcats wrestled at the Sutherland Invitational.

Trenten Eskew finished fourth overall in the meet, and as a team, the Banner County grapplers placed 15th with 21 points.

Wrestling in the 106 weight range, Eskew scored 11 of the teams 21 points, falling to Ryan Patrick of Sutherland by a technical fall, 15-0.

Following his first loss Eskew rebounded to pin Matthew Wissink of Dundy County-Stratton in :35 and then beat Brenden Warman, also of Dundy County-Stratton, by fall in 1:42.

Eskew lost his match for third place to Hunter Cobb of Amherst in 1:41 placing him in fourth for his weight division.

“Trenten had a good tournament, finishing fourth. He really wrestled well and competed well in the matches that he eventually lost,” Banner County coach Bill Gifford said. “It was good to see him go out and not be afraid to battle with the best in the state. He needs to keep moving forward and learn from these losses and imrpove on those things he is doing well.”

Teammate Simon Hendricks, in the 138 pound weight bracket and Josh Boston, 145, did not fare as well.

Hendricks (1-11) fell to Jaylen Kruep of Rawlins County in 1:24 followed by a fall to Nikolas Willis of Dundy County-Stratton in 2:25.

Boston (1-8) scored three points for the Wildcats with his sole win over Isaac Margritz of Hershey by forfeit. Boston fell to Cole Sramek of Rawlins County in :38 and lost to Seth Spanel of Anselmo-Merna, by 18-11 decision.

Senior wrestler for the Wildcats, Garrett Grubbs (8-6) scored the remaining seven points for his team wrestling in the 152 weight bracket.

Grubbs pinned Jacob Schmitt of Hershey in 1:54 but fell to Justus Monette of Mullen in 5:49. He came back to win over Ryan Weekly of Stapleton by fall in :42 then lost by a 9-4 decision to Tony Vollmer of Sumner-Eddyville-Miller.

“We are definitely making progress, but we have a long way to go,” said Banner County Coach Bill Gifford. “There were some good moments, and some not so good moments.”

Coming back from break the Wildcat matmen participated in the Garden County invite with senior wrestler Garret Grubbs missing.

Wrestling in the 106 pound weight division, Wildcat Trenten Eskew (8-10) lost by 12-5 decision to Brady Gracey of Mullen in his championship round.

Eskew followed up with a bye win in the first consolation round and a 3-1 decision over Corey Parsons (10-10) of North Platte in the second consolation round.

Eskew ended his day with a fall to Dakota Ferguson (7-7) of Sedgwick County in 2:48, but gained two team points.

Teammate Simon Hendricks (1-17), wrestling at 138 pounds, fell to Isaiah Jackson, 7-8 for the season, of North Platte in :49.

Hendricks also had a bye in the first consolation round and followed that up with a win by forfeit over Jacob Cushman (1-2) of Southeast High School in the second.

Hendricks lost by technical fall in 4:58 with a score of 19-2 to Josh Cox, 5-6 for the season, of Mullen. Hendricks added four points for the Wildcats.

Wildcat Joshua Boston, 1-13 for the season, received a bye for the first round. Boston fell to Jake Johnson (18-7) of Hay Springs in 4:59 and ended his day in consolation round two with a loss by 4-2 decision to Justin Ambrose (1-12) of North Platte.

The Banner County wrestlers were invited to participate in the Western Trails Conference hosted in Kimball on Jan. 7, though the Wildcats are in the MAC.

“We have been very fortunate that the WTC has invited us to participate in their tournament,” Gifford said. “We enjoy the opportunity to wrestle with them, and it is good experience for us. We do not compete for conference awards or anything, but it is nice to have the opportunity to wrestle another tournament.”

Gifford added that Boston and Eskew each placed fourth and they are continually improving. While Hendricks did not place, Gifford added that he continues making big strides as he learns the sport.

“Both Simon and Josh have come a long way since the beginning of the season,” Gifford said.

Next up for the Banner County grapplers is the Cheyenne East tournament on Jan. 16.