:Sports Goulash

Some of this weekend’s most highly anticipated high school sporting events:

GYMNASTICS: Pick your poison — Rock Springs or Douglas. They both host events this weekend.

NORDIC SKIING: Sorry. The Casper Invitational was postponed, and the start of the season is now pushed back a week.

BOYS SWIMMING: Saturday’s a busy day, certainly, but Friday’s Casper Relays will be the first real look at Wyoming swimming. And as anyone in NASCAR can tell you, being first is all that matters.

WRESTLING: If Wyoming had border check stations, they’d be busy this weekend, as a generous portion of Wyoming teams are headed out of state to wrestle. But the Lusk Invitational, the only two-day meet in Wyoming this weekend, will be a good preview for Class 2A in 2007-08.

Where are you headed this weekend? Comment below and let us know.

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Here it is, this winter’s first installment of the five teams turning heads, in no particular order and certainly not all-inclusive…

1. St. Stephens girls basketball: If I had told you that St. Stephens had won the Upton Invitational, you probably would have thought of the boys. But it was the Eagles’ girls that won the tournament, which bodes well for the rest of the year.

2. Star Valley wrestling: The Braves won the Evanston Invitational. By 58 points. Yes, by 58 points. Not a bad start to their first year in 4A. The Braves had two individual champs and three others that finished second.

3. Evanston boys basketball: Three games, 3-0. The three victories the Red Devils racked up at the McDonald’s Invitational were pretty impressive. Watch out.

4. Big Horn girls basketball: You can’t ask for a much better start than the top-ranked Rams had last weekend, going 3-0 at the Tiger Jamboree in Lusk.

5. Natrona County boys sports: The basketball team went 3-0, while the wrestlers won the Powell Invitational. It was a good week to be a Mustang.

I think I’m coming down with some crud, so I’m off to take a nap. So feel free to add your thoughts to opening weekend below.
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Basketball and wrestling previews were in today’s Star-Tribune, but they’re also online. They’re permalinked on the right side of this page (scroll down to the PAGES header and you’ll see them there). Or just click here for boys basketball, here for girls basketball and here for wrestling.
Previews for other sports will be compiled as the winter progresses.

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Lo and behold, basketball is NOT the only sport in the winter, and there are enough cool wrestling stories this year to demand the attention of even the casual fan. Two wrestlers (Torrington’s Jared Hatley and Greybull-Riverside’s Kasey Garnhart) are going for their fourth consecutive state championships. It’s pretty cool, because not since 1998 have two wrestlers won their fourth consecutive state title in the same year.

A handful of other wrestlers are going for their third in a row, including Gillette junior Tyler Cox. The Camels are shooting for their sixth straight team championship, a run that would bring them close to a state record (Star Valley won seven in a row from 1992-98; Cody won six in a row from 1947-52).

Star Valley is now in 4A, and that leaves 3A wide open for old favorites like Douglas and Torrington and new ones like Powell and Wheatland. And 2A could be fun with Lusk, Cokeville and a host of others fighting it out for first.

My preseason picks are simple: Gillette, Douglas and Cokeville. But what do you think? If not those teams, who? Will Hatley and Garnhart finish their four-year domination? Who might be among this year’s surprises?

Edited to fix state Star Valley’s state record.

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A simple question for y’all: What is Wyoming’s biggest high school sports rivalry?

Is it one of the intra-city rivalries (like Natrona County-Kelly Walsh or Cheyenne East-Cheyenne Central)? Or a neighborhood rivalry (like Mountain View-Lyman, Greybull-Riverside or Lovell-Rocky Mountain)? Or a county bragging rights rivalry (like Pinedale-Big Piney, Burns-Pine Bluffs or Tongue River-Big Horn)? Or something else?

I’m working on something a bit bigger and I was just curious to hear what everyone thinks.

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I know you’ve got your thoughts, but here are mine… Granted, they’re my first impulses, having gone through hardly any of the preview info I’ve received (hey coaches, e-mail or fax your stuff to me ASAP if you haven’t already! patrick.schmiedt@trib.com or (307) 266-0568).

Anyway, here they are, “First Impulses at Pumpkin-pounding Favorites”:

4A Boys: Natrona County. Return three of their five starters from the championship team.

3A Boys: Buffalo. But that’s just a guess. To put it politely, 3A boys is anyone’s guess, especially since last year’s two championship-game teams (Star Valley and Mountain View) aren’t even in the classification any more.

2A Boys: Lusk. Lots of players back from last year’s team that went 24-3, but there is a lot of parity in 2A this year.

1A Boys: Kaycee. Young team last year now has the experience to go deep into the state tournament.

4A Girls: Sheridan. Of last year’s “Big 4″, the Broncs have the most returning talent.

3A Girls: Jackson. That is, if the Broncs can find a post to replace Jennifer Fischer. If not, lots of teams have enough skill to take Jackson’s spot on top.

2A Girls: Big Horn. Last year’s runners-up have a ton of talent coming back.

1A Girls: Burlington. Good core of returners should be enough for the runners-up from a year ago.

So there you go, my early prognostications that are sure to change. Convince me I’m wrong and tell me your favorites below.

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About every couple months, inspiration strikes and I think I’ve hit THE answer when it comes to reclassification. Then I muse some more and come up with something I think is better. This post is the latest of those musings.

Anyway, with the clock ticking, I’ll humbly suggest this as the answer to the state’s reclassification problems (even though it’s really not). Most of these examples will use basketball references, but feel free to add your favorite sport (wrestling, soccer, volleyball, etc.) into the equation:

Class 4A
One conference: Cheyenne East, Gillette, Cheyenne Central, Natrona County, Kelly Walsh, Rock Springs, Laramie and Sheridan. Eight schools; each play each other twice; use those conference records to seed alll eight teams into a state tournament.

Class 3A
Southwest: Jackson, Evanston, Green River, Star Valley.
Northwest: Lander (or Riverton), Cody, Powell, Worland.
East: Douglas, Rawlins, Torrington, Buffalo, Wheatland, Newcastle, Glenrock, Riverton (or Lander).
Use East-West regional to seed teams for state. Basically, this is like the current 3A, only bringing in the bottom four current 4A teams (Evanston, Green River, Star Valley and Riverton) and bumping the current bottom four 3A teams that match up better enrollment-wise with 2A schools anyway (Kemmerer, Lyman, Pinedale and Lovell)

Class 2A
Southwest: Pinedale, Kemmerer, Lyman, Mountain View, Big Piney, Wyoming Indian, Wind River.
Northwest: Lovell, Thermopolis, Greybull, Rocky Mountain, Riverside, Shoshoni.
Northeast: Wright, Moorcroft, Big Horn, Tongue River, Sundance, Midwest.
Southeast: Burns, Pine Bluffs, Lusk, Lingle, Guernsey.
This puts 11 teams in the East Regional and 13 in the West Regional.

Class 1A
Southwest: Hanna, Cokeville, Encampment, Fort Washakie, Snake River, Farson.
Northwest: Burlington, Dubois, St. Stephens, Arapahoe Charter, Meeteetse, Ten Sleep.
Northeast: Normative Services, Upton, Hulett, Kaycee, Arvada-Clearmont.
Southeast: Saratoga, Southeast, Rock River, Chugwater, Glendo.
This puts 12 teams in the West Regional and 10 in the East Regional.

Obviously, there are kinks in every system, and this one is the same. But I think this might provide a good starting point for a discussion. What do you think needs to be done in the next few months to give the Wyoming High School Activities Association a base from which to kick-start some possible reclass discussions? Would this option work? What might be better?

Cool. I’m going on break.

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To butcher a quote from Meatloaf, “Two out of five ain’t bad.”

What am I talking about? Why, the CST preseason football rankings, of course. It’s time for our annual look back at what we thought back in August, when the title races all seemed wide-open:

Class 5A
1. Natrona County: A little high. While NC might have had more talent than any other team in the state, we never got to see the Mustangs play any playoff games past the quarterfinals.
2. Evanston: Right on!
3. Gillette: A little high, although the Camels did save a forgettable season by nearly reaching the state title game.
4. Cheyenne Central: Probably about right. The Indians won the South Conference but lost in the first round of the playoffs.
5. Kelly Walsh: Probably about right. Runners-up in the North, KW had a tough draw and lost to Evanston in the first round.
Also to playoffs: Cheyenne East: Low, low, low. Too low. The Thunderbirds tied for the South title and got hot at the right time, winning the school’s first football championship in more than three decades.
Also to playoffs: Sheridan: Missed. Sheridan was the unfortunate team left out by the decimal crunching of the power ratings.
Also to playoffs: Green River: Yep.
Out: Riverton: Yep.
Out: Rock Springs: Missed on that one. The Tigers barely made it to the playoffs, but then knocked off Central in the first round to make it to the semis.
Out: Laramie: Yep.

Class 4A
1. Star Valley: Too high. The Braves finished with a losing record, although they did make it to the state semifinals.
2. Cody: Too high. Cody entered the playoffs as the No. 8 seed and lost in the first round.
3. Douglas: Probably pretty close — although Douglas did not win the East like I had anticipated. But the Bearcats were second and narrowly missed the chance to play in the state title game.
4. Powell: High. Powell struggled in its title defense and lost in the first round of the playoffs.
5. Buffalo: Low. The Bison had another stellar season and finished as state runners-up.
Also to playoffs: Wheatland: Yep.
Also to playoffs: Jackson: Um… low. All Jackson did was win state.
Also to playoffs: Rawlins: Nope.
Out: Worland: This one is painful. I had Worland as one of the “also to playoffs” teams, only to change it at the last minute to Rawlins. That’s it, no more Jolt Cola before making preseason picks.
Out: Torrington: Yep.
Out: Lander: Yep.

Class 3A
1. Kemmerer: Right on! Rangers, 2007 state champs.
2. Mountain View: Pretty close. Mountain View got knocked out in the semis.
3. Glenrock: A tad low. Glenrock dominated the East Conference and finished second in 3A.
4. Big Piney: About right. Big Piney had a strong record but a not-so-strong playoff experience, losing in the first round.
5. Newcastle: Remember all that talk about the resurrection of the Dogies’ program? Yeah, me, too. Didn’t quite pan out this year. (But be careful, the Newc could be tough next year).
Also to playoffs: Lyman: Yep.
Also to playoffs: Wright: Yep and then some, as the Panthers made the semifinals.
Also to playoffs: Lovell: Yep.
Out: Moorcroft: Missed that one, as the Wolves were fodder for Kemmerer in the opening round.
Out: Pinedale: Yep.
Out: Thermopolis: Yep.

Class 2A
1. Tongue River: High. And I’m still not sure what happened in Dayton.
2. Riverside: A little low… The Rebels won it all for the first time in school history.
3. Burns: A tad high. The Broncs left their playoff mojo behind after about Week 5.
4. Sundance: About right. Sundance was solid all year and lost to Riverside in the first round of the playoffs.
5. Big Horn: Low. Big Horn went undefeated in the West Conference and finished as the state’s runner-up.
Also to playoffs: Lusk: A little low. Lusk tied for the East title and finished one point away from a title-game appearance.
Also to playoffs: Saratoga: A tad low. The Panthers, too, tied for a share of the East title and were also a scant few points away from the title game.
Also to playoffs: Wind River: Yep. Even in August, 2A’s top eight teams were easy to identify.
Out: Greybull, Pine Bluffs, Lingle and Rocky Mountain: Yep, yep, yep and yep.

Class 1A
1. Southeast: Right on! Southeast didn’t let any 1A teams come within two touchdowns on their way to another championship.
2. Cokeville: A little high. Cokeville won the West but got knocked out in the semis by Guernsey.
3. Guernsey: A little low. Guernsey took care of Cokeville on the road to earn its spot in the championship.
4. Upton: A little high. The Bobcats’ season got derailed early and they never quite got going again, although they did make the playoffs.
5. Dubois: A little high. Dubois was in the hunt in the muddled bottom half of the West Conference but couldn’t make it past the first round of the playoffs.
Also to playoffs: Shoshoni: Yep, until….
Also to playoffs: Hulett: Yep.
Also to playoffs: Burlington: Yep.
Out: Hanna: Yep.
Out: Midwest: Yep.
Out: Normative Services: Way too low. The Wolves got hot late in the season and made it to the state semifinals.

Ahhh… what a nostalgic look back on a simpler time. So, while we’re at it, let’s open the floor…. Who are your favorites to win it all next year? Start the thoughts below.

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Jackson breaks a 21-year drought. 

Cheyenne East, a 33-year drought.

Riverside, a drought that extends back to the dawn of time.

Three of Saturday’s five championship-winning teams broke some pretty long droughts on their way to first-place trophies.

Saturday’s two other champions — Kemmerer and Southeast — extended dynasties that stretch well beyond this year.

So….. Let’s start with the game I was at, the 1A championship, where Southeast needed a big second half to top Guernsey. Trailing 6-2 at halftime, the Cyclones got four second-half touchdowns to win their second consecutive championship. 28-12 was the final, but Southeast was definitely the beneficiary of some Vikings’ miscues. None of the Cyclones’ scoring drives were for more than 20 yards. But who said it had to be pretty to win? Southeast gets its fifth championship since 1999.

In Class 2A, the Rebels pulled out a move we’ve seen several times this year — the two-point conversion try for the victory late in the fourth quarter. It worked, as Chanse Darling made it over the line with 3:05 to go and probably had several new girlfriends waiting for him by the time he got back to Basin. You tend to get popular when you seal your school’s — and your community’s – first state football championship.

Class 3A’s championship trophy went to Kemmerer. The Rangers became the ninth West Conference team in the past 11 years to win the 3A title, topping East Conference champ Glenrock 22-0. There was not a whole lot of offense — less than 400 yards between both teams — but opportunistic play led the Rangers to their second title in three years.

The 4A title went the way of Jackson, as the Broncs used a huge goal-line stand late to beat Buffalo. The odd part about this game is that Jackson also had a big stand on the goal line in the first half. In my preview, I wrote how Jackson coach Bill Wiley wanted the Broncs to be building a dynasty. My question now is: Can the Broncs repeat?

Cheyenne East picked up the 5A title, using timely offense to knock off Evanston for the second time this season. This has got to be cathartic for East, which shook off two years of title-game losses and 33 years without that first-place trophy. Say what you want, but no team has been consistently at the top of 5A as often as Cheyenne East the past three years. Don’t forget, East was a team that had 14 consecutive non-winning seasons in the late 1980s and through the ’90s. From perennial doormat to perennial contender, East’s rise is complete. Now, they just have to continue find a way to stay on top.

As for me? Well, I had my first perfect week in three years of picking these games. Finally! Now, if I could just do that EVERY week…

Winter sports practice starts Monday.

This week: 5-0 (100 percent). Overall 2007 total: 215-76 (74 percent). Three-year total: 644-218 (75 percent).

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Here we are, less than 40 hours away from the state football championships. Championship Saturday is a day like none other in the Equality State, as 10 teams stand toe-to-toe for five state championship trophies.

This year in particular is especially intriguing, because none of the five games appear to be a mismatch. Saturday is set up perfectly for some dramatic finishes — the only question is whose name will suddenly be thrust into Wyoming’s title-game lore.

Now, on to one man’s opinion on how this weekend’s games might go:

Class 5A: Evanston (8-2) at Cheyenne East (8-2)
Any previous meetings? East beat Evanston 35-26 on Sept. 28 in Evanston.
Any common opponents? Six. Kelly Walsh (Evanston won 29-15, East won 42-35); Green River (East won 30-12 and 38-10, Evanston lost 21-20); Laramie (East won 28-12, Evanston won 28-14); Natrona County (East lost 35-7, Evanston won 34-27); Cheyenne Central (East lost 21-17, Evanston won 21-15); Rock Springs (East won 35-14, Evanston won 19-13 and 38-6).
Recently? Evanston has won four in a row, and posted its biggest blowout of the season in last week’s semis (38-6 over Rock Springs). East has won three in a row, including a gutty 35-34 double-overtime victory over Gillette.
The pick? The Red Devils have played their best football of the year over their last 57 or so minutes on the field. Meanwhile, East has been just efficient enough — and has came up with the big plays at the right times — to move into their third consecutive championship game. I really like both of these teams, and both have equally compelling cases as to why they’ll win on Saturday. So I’ll do what I usually do in these situations…. I’ll flip a coin. And…. Abe Lincoln says to pick East. So I will.
Why I could be wrong: Because Abe Lincoln might be a dirty liar.

Class 4A: Buffalo (10-0) at Jackson (10-0)
Any previous meetings? None since 1977.
Any common opponents? Five. Lander (Buffalo won 30-6, Jackson won 34-0); Worland (Buffalo won 25-0, Jackson won 39-11); Powell (Buffalo won 21-0 and 21-7, Jackson won 14-6); Star Valley (Buffalo won 14-7, Jackson won 25-7); Douglas (Buffalo won 40-6, Jackson won 16-14).
Recently? Buffalo is undefeated but has seen diminishing returns in their past five games — winning margins have gone from 42 to 26 to 21 to 14 to 7. Jackson, too, is unbeaten, and last week’s semifinal 16-14 win over Douglas was their closest game of the year.
The pick? Trying to decipher a favorite in this one is tough. Basically, the teams come in with identical records and nearly identical victories against common opponents. The one edge Buffalo has is in its history (this is the Bison’s fourth championship game appearance in five years). But otherwise, it’s even. And in a basically even game on paper, you give the extra three points to the home team. I’ll take Jackson.
Why I could be wrong: Because no other 4A team has had as much recent success as Buffalo. The Bison know how to win.

Class 3A: Glenrock (9-1) at Kemmerer (9-1)
Any previous meetings? Not since the ‘05 title game.
Any common opponents? Four. Mountain View (Glenrock won 28-0, Kemmerer won 33-6 and 47-0); Thermopolis (Glenrock won 42-0, Kemmerer won 50-12); Moorcroft (Glenrock and Kemmerer both won 47-0); Lyman (Glenrock won 50-0, Kemmerer won 58-0).
Recently? Glenrock has won seven straight, scoring at least 42 points in every one of those games; Kemmerer has won three in a row and has won its two playoff games by identical 47-0 scores.
The pick? Of Saturday’s five championships, the 3A title game might be the most even of the bunch. Both squads blasted through their conference foes and breezed right on through the playoffs. Both teams are healthy, confident and mentally prepared. While I think neither team will put up gaudy offensive numbers, I do think Kemmerer has a defense that’s a tad stronger and an overall team that’s a bit more experienced. Rangers, but not by much.
Why I could be wrong: Sweet mother of pearl, Glenrock has more than 4,000 rushing yards this year. And 53 rushing TDs. And a backfield full of game-breakers. In what could be a low-scoring game, a couple big runs might be enough.

Class 2A: Riverside (8-2) at Big Horn (9-1)
Any previous meetings? Big Horn beat Riverside 13-12 in overtime on Sept. 14 in Basin.
Any common opponents? Five. Sundance (Big Horn lost 33-24, Riverside won 17-15); Rocky Mountain (Big Horn won 43-12, Riverside won 51-8); Greybull (Big Horn won 48-16, Riverside won 54-6); Tongue River (Big Horn won 29-20, Riverside won 14-7); Wind River (Big Horn won 16-0, Riverside won 18-0).
Recently? Big Horn sports an eight-game winning streak, but has had to rely more on its defense to make up for a waning offense (Rams’ point totals have gone from 42 to 29 to 16 to 15 to 13 in their past five games). Riverside has won five in a row and won their two playoff games by three total points.
The pick? Since the Week 2 loss, Riverside has proven it has the ability to win close games. I say Rebels earn revenge on the road — and earn their first state championship — by something like 7-6 or 12-10.
Why I could be wrong: Big Horn beat Riverside once before — in Basin. And this time, the Rams have the home field.

Class 1A: Guernsey (7-3) at Southeast (10-0)
Any previous meetings? Southeast beat Guernsey 30-12 on Sept. 7 in Yoder.
Any common opponents? Six. Lusk (Guernsey lost 17-14, Southeast won 21-7); Normative Services (Guernsey won 60-30, Southeast won 67-0 and 42-8); Upton (Guernsey won 63-36, Southeast won 27-0 and 74-21); Burns (Southeast won 8-6, Guernsey lost 32-6); Hulett (Guernsey won 34-8 and 32-0, Southeast won 46-0); Midwest (Guernsey won 53-0, Southeast won 65-0).
Recently? Guernsey has won five in a row, including three by shutout. Southeast is loss-free and has seen its offensive production improve significantly since Week 1.
The pick? In a matchup of two defending state champions, you know pride won’t be in short supply. But this has been the Cyclones’ championship to take since August. Although it could be closer than the 30-12 score the two had in their first game, I still think the Cyclones have too many weapons. Southeast.
Why I could be wrong: Guernsey has nothing to lose — and the talent to make some go-for-broke play calls pay off big time.

There they are, the championship picks. Your thoughts? Comment below.

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