Challenges and opportunities ahead for the Ramsthesheridanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/123017-Winter...Reish and Nick Summers, have the potential to provide quality offense

2 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2017 THE SHERIDAN PRESS WINTER SPORTS

SHERIDAN — Sheridan High School boys

basketball head coach Jeff Martini wants one

simple thing out of his team each and every

night. It doesn’t involve what the final score-

board shows or how the scorebook may read. It

simply comes down to one thing — effort.

“Our identity is we are trying to play harder

than anyone else,” Martini said. “We want

people to walk away from the gym, win or lose,

thinking those guys play harder than any team

we’ve seen. We want the opponent to feel that

consistent pressure every time they catch the

ball. We just want to outplay other teams. Win

or lose, we want to go out of the gym going,

‘We played hard, and we may have lost, but we

played hard.’”

The Broncs hope that relentless effort earns

them another trip to the state tournament.

Sheridan placed second in the conference last

season. The Broncs lost their state semifinal

matchup against the best team out west, Kelly

Walsh, prior to toppling conference champion,

and rival, Campbell County in the third-place

game.

The name of the game for the Broncs — effort

JUSTIN SHEELY | THE SHERIDAN PRESS

The Sheridan High School boys basketball team includes, back row, from left, coach Tim Cooper, coach Mark Elliott, manager Ben Novotny, Ryan Sessions, Abraham Ross, Gus Wright, Samuel Lecholat, Blayne Baker, Aaron Woodward, Parker Christensen, Josh Ahrens, Dalton Gregory and head coach Jeff Martini. Front row, from left are, Than Rickett,Kirby Coe-Kirkham, Brock Bomar, Jacob Boint, Noah Erickson, Tristan Bower, Kyle Custis, Carter Wells, Aaron Sessions and Elliot Boley.SEE HOOPS, PAGE 16

V

BY BUD DENEGA

[email protected]

WINTER SPORTS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2017 THE SHERIDAN PRESS 3

BIG HORN — For the young Big Horn Rams,

this season will present plenty of challenges

and opportunities.

Big Horn lost seven seniors and all five

starters from last year’s state-qualifying

team, including two-time All-State perform-

ers Colton Bates and Nolan McCafferty. The

Rams will also be without All-Conference

players Tanner Warder and Wheaton Wil-

liams.

This season will feature an almost entirely

new group of players, none of whom are

seniors. The early season has been a learning

process for player and coaches alike, said

head coach Ryan Alley, who is in his 10th year

at the helm.

“When you’re talking about young kids,

they’re going to have those mental lapses,”

Alley said. “They’re going to have those times

when they make mistakes. We just have to

understand that.”

The Rams already have as many losses

as last season and currently sit at 1-5 over-

all. They have faced difficult competition and

are short-handed, however, as juniors Kade

Eisele and Kade VanDyken recover from foot-

ball injuries.

The injuries have given underclassmen

the chance to learn on the fly. Carson Bates,

Quinn McCafferty and Will Pelissier have

stepped up early on but have also dealt with

growing pains, mainly in the form of costly

turnovers.

Big Horn has almost entirely guards and

wing players, so the Rams will struggle

against bigger opponents but plan to shoot a

lot of 3-pointers and get out in transition.

Once Eisele and VanDyken return and Alley

has a better idea of what rotation to play,

the Rams should look vastly different. Over-

all, Alley expressed confidence in his young

team’s ability to progress.

“By the end of the season they’ll have a lot

of experience and a lot of things to grow on,”

Alley said. “I’m excited to see where they can

go.”

Challenges and opportunities ahead for the Rams

2018 scheduleJan. 4-6 North-South Invitational

Jan. 12 at Rocky Mountain, 4 p.m.

Jan. 13 vs. Greybull, 3 p.m.

Jan. 19 vs. Sundance, 7 p.m.

Jan. 20 at Tongue River, 4 p.m.

Jan. 26 vs. Wright, 7 p.m.

Jan. 27 at Upton, 2 p.m.

Feb. 2 vs. Moorcroft, 7 p.m.

Feb. 3 at Sundance, 3 p.m.

Feb. 9 vs. Tongue River, 7 p.m.

Feb. 10 at Wright, 4 p.m.

Feb. 16 vs. Upton, 7 p.m.

Feb. 17 at Moorcroft, 5 p.m.

Feb. 22-24 at Regionals (Torrington)

March 1-3 at State (Casper)

Key stats:Head coach: Ryan Alley

Last season’s record: 21-5Last season’s conference record: 8-0Key contributors: Carson Bates, Kade Eisele, Quinn McCafferty, Will Pelissier

and Kade VanDyken

The Big Horn High School boys varsity and junior varsity bas-ketball teams include, back row, from left, Gentry Lattin, Cutler Bradshaw, Jaxon Parker, Quinn McCafferty, Isaac Pearce, Kade VanDyken, Will Pelissier, Wyatt Emond, Robert Morton and Ayden Phillips. Front row, from left are, Bode Neeson, Dalton Nelson, Carson Bates, Kade Eisele, Bran-don Cummins, Garrett Custis, Billy Watson, Jacob Brogdon and Eli Philips.


BY RYAN PATTERSON

[email protected]

FILE PHOTO | THE SHERIDAN PRESS

Jaxon Parker shoots a short jump shot Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016 at Big Horn High School.


DAYTON — Sporting an extremely young

squad, this season’s Tongue River boys bas-

ketball team faces a steep learning curve.

With only one senior on the roster, the Eagles

must get comfortable playing with one an-

other in head coach Ronnie Stewart’s motion

offense.

Stewart is in his second year as head coach

and expects a big year from junior Jaren Fritz,

Tongue River’s only returning starter.

“He is one of the best scorers in the state,”

Stewart said. Fritz, this fall’s golf state cham-

pion, was named All-Conference as a fresh-

man and figures to receive the same honor if

he stays healthy this year. The Eagles lost five

seniors from last year’s team that finished

11-12 overall, and will be without Jay Keo and

Brennan Kutterer, both All-Conference per-

formers last year. Center Hugh Patterson, last

year’s sixth man, is the lone senior this year

and has played well early on.

Tongue River has an inexperienced roster

but several sophomores, including Cade

Reish and Nick Summers, have the potential

to provide quality offense with their 3-point

shooting. Stewart said the team will mainly

rely on outside shooting, along with Patter-

son’s presence down low to provide most of

the scoring this year.

RYAN PATTERSON | THE SHERIDAN PRESS

The Tongue River High School boys basketball team includes, from left, Elias Dillon-Bennett, Braden McCafferty, Nick Summers, Justice Rees, Jaren Fritz, SamPatterson, Cade Reish and Daien Bear Don’t Walk

Eagles get young contributors up to speed

2018 schedule

Jan. 4-6 North-South Invitational

Jan. 12 at Greybull, 7 p.m.

Jan. 19 at Wright, 7 p.m.

Jan. 20 vs. Big Horn, 4 p.m.

Jan. 26 at Moorcroft, 7 p.m.

Jan. 27 vs. Sundance, 4 p.m.

Feb. 2 vs. Upton, 7 p.m.

Feb. 3 vs. Wright, 4 p.m.

Feb. 9 at Big Horn, 7 p.m.

Feb. 10 vs. Moorcroft, 4 p.m.

Feb. 16 at Sundance, 7 p.m.

Feb. 17 at Upton, 4 p.m.



SEE TR HOOPS, PAGE 16

BY RYAN PATTERSON

[email protected]


SHERIDAN — The Sheridan College men’s

basketball team has already accomplished a

great deal in the nonconference portion of its

schedule. The Generals sported a No. 17 rank-

ing in the most recent National Junior College

Athletic Association top 25 and currently ride

an 11-game winning streak.

SC accomplished all of this early-season

recognition with a youthful roster comprised

of just three sophomores and 10 freshmen.

“This group we have, we challenged them

early with five road games to start the season,

and they responded well, and they did a good

job of going into some tough environments

and getting some good wins,” SC head men’s

basketball coach Matt Hammer said. “I feel

like we improved at a lot of different things

throughout the semester, and I think there are

some things we didn’t see as much improve-

ment in and that’s what we are looking at

during the second semester.”

The trio of elder statesmen — Channel

Banks, Ladan Ricketts and Kon Anguik — have

carried a good bit of the load so far this sea-

son.

Banks, who was an All-Region IX selection

a season ago, is averaging a team-best 18.6

points per game, which includes a 44-point

outburst against Laramie County Community

College. Fellow starter, Ricketts, pours in 12.7

points per contest for the Generals who aver-

age 94.1 points per game as a team.

Freshmen Camron Reece and AJ Bramah

round out Sheridan’s double-digit scorers,

averaging 13.9 and 13.5 points per game, re-

spectively.

The offense has been stellar — hitting 52.7

percent of its field-goal attempts — and

that can make it easy to overlook Sheridan’s

defense. The Generals are only allowing 73.4

points per game, meaning, on average, SC

is beating teams by more than 20 points

per game. The Generals only blemish came

against Trinidad State 87-85 and that one

defeat separates SC from Gillette College, at

the moment. The No. 10 Pronghorns boast a

14-0 record and appear as the team to beat,

once again, in the conference. Casper College

and Northwest College lay claim to identical

11-4 records and only two teams, Miles City

Community College and Little Big Horn are

below .500.

Generals aim to bring strong play into conference season

COURTESY PHOTO | DENNIS JACOBS/SHERIDAN COLLEGE

The Sheridan College men’s basketball team includes, back row, from left, Trace Murphey, Jani Griffth, Sidy Sissoko, Cody Baumstarck, AJ Bramah, Jerrez Porter and Camron Reece. Front row, from left, are Ladan Ricketts, Kon Anguik,Caleb Stewart, Channel Banks, Josh Bagley, Deone Stovall, Sean Sutherlin and Keenan Dowell.

SEE GENERALS, PAGE 17

Key stats:Head coach: Matt HammerLast season’s record: 23-9Last season’s conference

record: 8-6Key contributors: Channel Banks, Camron Reece, AJ Bramah, Laden Ricketts, Sean Sutherlin, Kennan

Dowell

BY BUD DENEGA

[email protected]


CLEARMONT — The state’s smallest school

district boasts an abnormally high number of

high school basketball players for the 2017-18

season. The Arvada-Clearmont boys basket-

ball team has 14 players that encompass a

good mix of experience and youth.

“Our goal is to develop our younger kids to

try and support our older kids and continue

to grow as a team that way,” AC boys head

basketball coach Ross Walker said.

Of those 14 players, only two started last

season and one, Riley Malli, is still in the pro-

cess of returning from a hand injury sustained

during football season. Clayton Auzqui earned

All-Conference recognition last year.

An unseasonal bounty of players

BUD DENEGA | THE SHERIDAN PRESS

The Arvada-Clearmont boys basketball team includes, back row, from left, Ben Briscoe, Colin Malli, Mason Beam, Tanner Klatt, Torrey Veach, Clayton Auzqui and Ethan Packard. Front row, from left, are Parker Manor, Cameron Klatt, Harry Fort, John Klier and Shane Miller.

2018 scheduleJan. 5 at Tongue River, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 6 vs. Dubois, 1 p.m.

Jan. 12-13 at Little Six Tourney (Rock River)

Jan. 19 vs. NSI, 7 p.m.

Jan. 20 at Hulett, 6 p.m.

Jan. 26 at Kaycee, 4 p.m.

Jan. 27 vs. Ten Sleep, 4 p.m.

Feb. 2 at Midwest, 5 p.m.

Feb. 3 vs. Kaycee, 4 p.m.

Feb. 6 vs. Thunder Basin sophomores,

5:30 p.m.

Feb. 8 at NSI, 2:30 p.m.

Feb. 16 vs. Hulett, 6 p.m.

Feb. 17 vs. Midwest, 4 p.m.

Feb. 22-24 at Regionals (Douglas)


SEE PANTHERS, PAGE 17

BY BUD DENEGA

[email protected]


SHERIDAN — Everyone is still trying to get

a feel for everyone within the Sheridan High

School girls basketball team. Head coach

Larry Ligocki, in the midst of his first year

coaching the varsity squad, brings a wealth

of knowledge within the game of basketball,

but hasn’t coached the varsity ranks. He’s still

learning and his players are working to adjust

to a new direction, and a new mentality.

“First and foremost, we all want to enjoy

the season,” Ligocki said. “When we look back

at the season we want to say, ‘It was worth

it and we really enjoyed it.’ … We’d love to be

competitive and have a shot at winning the

conference title. We look at conference at

maybe the most important thing right now.

We obviously all want to win state, but when

you compete and you compete well in confer-

ence, that’s telling.”

New-look Lady Broncs push for improved 2018 season

The Sheridan High School girls basketball team includes, back row, from left, Bailey Coon, Mollie Morris, Katie Ligocki, Kailee Ingalls, Jordan Chris-tensen and Emily Kil-patrick. Front row, from left, are Zoie Jones, Alli Puuri, Kaylee Aberna-tha, Riley Rafferty and Katie Tomlinson.

RYAN PATTERSON | THE SHERIDAN PRESS SEE LADY BRONCS, PAGE 16

BY BUD DENEGA

[email protected]


Lady Rams hope to return to 2A title game

BIG HORN — Last year’s state championship

set a high bar for the Big Horn High School

girls basketball team.

It will be a tremendous challenge to match

last year’s performance, even though the

Lady Rams return most of last year’s players.

Nine of 12 players come back, but the team

lost its two best players, All-State performers

Emily Blaney and Abby Buckingham. Michael

McGuire, in his third season as head coach,

said the team will again compete for a confer-

ence championship and state appearance.

“We have a pretty good mix of experience

coming back,” McGuire said. “Three returning

starters and a lot of girls that played a lot last

year.”

The returning starters are Jill Mayer, who

was named All-Conference last year, Reata

Cook and Britny Hutton.

Defense won the championship for the

Lady Rams in 2017, and it will be their calling

card again this season. Big Horn also plans to

convert defensive stops into points by having

a fast-paced offense.

“We want to be aggressive defensively,”

McGuire said. “We’re not very big, so we want

to get out and run the floor. We’re athletic

and fast, so that’s kind of what we want to

make our strength.”

The Lady Rams may struggle against bigger

opponents, but hope to exhaust their com-

petitors with constant movement.

“Try and be comfortable being uncomfort-

able,” McGuire said. “Try and find that level

where we’re playing as fast as we can without

being completely out of control, which is kind

of hard to find sometimes.”

The team still needs to improve its defen-

sive effort and conditioning early on.

Big Horn is currently 3-3 after two tough

early-season tournaments, but McGuire said

they should improve and be ready to play

their bestball of the year by the time the con-

ference season begins after the Winter Classic

in early January.

2018 schedule

Jan. 4-6 at North-South Invitational

Jan. 12 at Rocky Mountain, 2:30 p.m.

Jan. 13 vs. Greybull, 1:30 p.m.

Jan. 19 vs. Sundance, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 20 at Tongue River, 2:30 p.m.

Jan. 26 vs. Wright, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 27 at Upton, 12:30 p.m.

Feb. 2 vs. Moorcroft, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 3 at Sundance, 1:30 p.m.

Feb. 9 vs. Tongue River, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 10 at Wright, 2:30 p.m.

Feb. 16 vs. Upton, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 17 at Moorcroft, 3:30 p.m.



Key stats:Head coach: Michael Mc-

GuireLast season’s record: 24-2Last season’s conference

record: 8-0Key contributors: Reata

Cook, Emma Enloe, Britny Hutton, Alison Hutton, Jill

Mayer and Courtney Wallach

The Big Horn High School girls varsity and junior var-sity teams include, back row, from left, manager Camryn Hecker, Jenny Trabert, Shyan Davidson, Sydney Schmidt, Jill Mayer, Bridget McCurry, Amelia Gee, Chrysanthi Pani-nos, Alisyn Hutton, manag-ers Koen Gore and Georgina Ringley. Front row, from left:, are Maggie McStay, Jersey DeHaven, Cassie Guelde, Madison Butler, Courtney Wallach, Jordan Frank, Emma Enloe and Britny Hutton.


BY RYAN PATTERSON

[email protected]


DAYTON — This season’s Tongue River girls

basketball team has a senior-laden roster but

the Lady Eagles are relatively new to playing

together on the court.

Tongue River lost four of its starters from

last year to graduation, most notably two-

time All-State performer Kylee Jo Knobloch.

Senior guard Jenna Keller is the team’s only

returning starter. Keller was an All-Confer-

ence performer last year.

Head coach Tyler Hanson is in his second

year and said it will take some time for the

team to reach its potential.

“The girls understand that it is a process to

get better, and we are striving to improve so

that we are as good as possible when confer-

ence play starts,” Hanson said.

He credited Tongue River’s seniors with

providing quality leadership and setting a

positive, unselfish tone so far. The Lady Ea-

gles have a nice blend of seniors and under-

classmen, including four sophomores. Some

younger players have already provided quality

contributions, including junior Holly Hutchin-

son and sophomore RaeShawna Red Star.

With few returning players from last sea-

son’s team that finished 8-15 overall, the

Lady Eagles have to expand maximum effort

to stay competitive. Hanson said the team’s

defensive effort is getting better as the sea-

son goes along, but the Lady Eagles have

struggled to score so far. Tongue River has

lost by double digits in most of its contests so

far, though it did suffer a close 44-36 loss to

Big Piney.

Hanson said the main goal is to improve

every day. The Lady Eagles snatched their

first win right before break with a 49-25 vic-

tory over Riverside. There is plenty of room for

improvement going forward, and the team

will get a chance to build off that first victory

in the North-South Invitational beginning Jan.

4.

Lady Eagles return 1 starter, boast senior-laden roster for 2018

RYAN PATTERSON | THE SHERIDAN PRESS

The Tongue River High School girls basketball

team includes, from left, Jenna Keller, Sarah

Summers, RaeShawna Red Star, Courtney

Good, Holly Hutchinson, Angel Richards, Kalie

Bocek, Zaveah Kobza, Brittany Fillingham and

Nikki Perfetti.

Key stats:Head coach: Tyler HansonLast season’s record: 8-15Last season’s conference

record: 3-5Key contributors: Jenna Keller,

Brittany Fillingham, Holly Hutchinson and RaeShawna

Red Star

2018 schedule

Jan. 4-6 North-South Invitational

Jan. 12 at Greybull, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 19 at Wright, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 20 vs. Big Horn, 2:30 p.m.

Jan. 26 at Moorcroft, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 27 vs. Sundance, 2:30 p.m.

Feb. 2 vs. Upton, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 3 vs. Wright, 2:30 p.m.

Feb. 9 at Big Horn, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 10 vs. Moorcroft, 2:30 p.m.

Feb. 16 at Sundance, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 17 at Upton, 2:30 p.m.



BY RYAN PATTERSON

[email protected]


SHERIDAN — The Bruce Hoffman Golden

Dome and Ryan Davis have been acquainted

for some time now. Davis, in his first year as

the head coach of the women’s basketball

team, sported an assistant coach’s jacket on

the men’s team a few years back.

So Davis is familiar with Region IX and JUCO

basketball, but there have still been some

early-season bumps along the way — partic-

ularly with the Lady Generals’ identity on the

court, which is still taking shape.

“I think we’ve already started, but the big-

gest improvement I’d like to see is us to play

our game,” Davis said. “What I mean by that

is, I think we are really set up to be a perime-

ter shooting team and while I don’t love that,

I think you have to play to your strengths.”

SC connected on 23 3-pointers in its last

two games leading up to the break, which

marked the same number of made treys the

Lady Generals had in the past four games

prior to that, combined.

“I think the last two games, especially, we

played really loose, and we just shot the ball,”

Davis said.

Lady Generals find themselves ahead of Region IX play

COURTESY PHOTO | DENNIS JACOBS/SHERIDAN COLLEGE

The Sheridan College women’s basketball team includes, back row, from left,Madison Chavez, Tyra Limpy, Ashleigh Frampton, Aubrey Meiwald, Kassie Hoyer, Noora Parttimaa and Lauren Hallcroft. Front row, from left, are Lily Jex, Carmen Ramey, Ashley Tehau, Sara Storeshaw, Brooke Cargal, Raelynn Keefer and Aloma Solovi. Note: Tyra Limpy (40) and Ashley Tehau (20) are no longeron the team.

SEE LADY GENERALS, PAGE 18

BY BUD DENEGA

[email protected]


CLEARMONT — The Arvada-Clearmont girls

basketball team has its sight set on another

state tournament appearance. But, unlike last

season, the Lady Panthers won’t be satisfied

with just qualifying to the bright lights of state.

They want to return to Casper, show more fight

and perhaps log a couple victories.

“Last year, it was just about going to state,

and this year it’s about going and competing

at state,” AC girls head basketball coach Sarah

Walker said. “Most of the team returns, so we

have that experience that we’ve already been

there. Now it’s about, how do we get there, and

how do we win a game?”

AC placed fourth at regionals before drop-

ping both of its games at state by a combined

tally of 96-54. Hulett and Kaycee appear as

the highest hurdles for the Lady Panthers

within the conference. AC — which has started

the season 4-2 — dismantled the Lady Bucka-

roos and fell to the Lady Red Devils during an

opening-season tournament in Upton to get a

taste of what conference play will feel like.

AC doesn’t boast a plentiful roster, but every

player that suits up for AC will see floor time.

And a lot of it. The Lady Panthers only have

nine players, but each one provides Walker

with a useful skill set.

“We really are nine deep,” Walker said. “We

don’t have girls on the bench that we don’t

want on the floor. We want them all on the

floor when we can. We have a continuous ro-

tation where someone will play hard for two

minutes and then I’ll give them a breather for

a minute.”

The Panthers return four starters led by

All-Conference selections Ashlynn Fennema,

McKenna Auzqui and Kristin Klaahsen.

AC has plenty of guard-oriented players that

can handle the ball and Walker believes in a

fluid man-to-man defense where she’ll identify

mismatches and exploit them. The Lady Pan-

thers would still like to pride themselves on

the defensive end of the floor, and have that

translate into a transition game to best take

advantage of their speed and depth.

r r

Lady Panthers set sights on state again2018 schedule

Jan. 5 at Tongue River 4 p.m.

Jan. 6 vs. Dubois, 10 a.m.

Jan. 12-13 at Little Six Tournament

(Rock River)

Jan. 19 vs. NSI, 4 p.m.

Jan. 20 at Hulett, 3 p.m.

Jan. 26 at Kaycee, 1 p.m.

Jan. 27 vs. Ten Sleep, 1 p.m.

Feb. 2 at Midwest, 2 p.m.

Feb. 3 vs. Kaycee, 1 p.m.

Feb. 6 vs. Thunder Basin sophomores,

4 p.m.

Feb. 8 at NSI, 4 p.m.

Feb. 16 vs. Hulett, 3 p.m.

Feb. 17 vs. Midwest, 1 p.m.

Feb. 22-24 at Regionals (Douglas)


Key stats:Head coach: Sarah WalkerLast year’s record: 12-13Last year’s conference

record: 6-3Key contributors: McKenna

Auzqui, Kristin Klaahsen, Ashlynn Fennema

BUD DENEGA | THE SHERIDAN PRESS

The Arvada-Clearmont girls basketball team includes, from left, Kristin Klaahsen, Taziree Smith, Charlynn Mercer, Ashlynn Fennema, McKenna Auzqui, Kerri Malli, Krista Malli, Kailei Beam and Shaylee Adamson.

BY BUD DENEGA

[email protected]



SHERIDAN — The Sheridan Hawks

already have nearly half of their season

completed. But even still, not much has

changed. The Hawks sport a 4-4 record,

and are present and accounted for within

the middle of the Wyoming Amateur

Hockey League standings. There’s not

much to celebrate and not much to scoff at

yet, for Sheridan.

“We need to focus on just keeping sure

we are working to improve more than any-

thing,” Sheridan head coach Kirk Viren said.

“We need to work on being intense with

the puck, getting to the puck quick and

winning the individual battles. But more

than anything, we need to make sure that

when the puck goes into the corner, we are

coming out with it more often than not.”

Sam Boyles leads the Hawks with 12

points — six goals and six assists. Justin

Bailey owns the team lead in goals with

eight to go alongside his two assists. Gun-

nar Swanson has six goals and nine points,

and Jack Chase has recorded five goals and

three assists.

The Hawks average 5.4 goals and only

allow 3.3 goals per game. Those numbers

got a boost in Sheridan’s final two games

prior to the holiday break. The Hawks

scored a combined 25 goals in a pair of

contests against Douglas en route to a

couple of comfortable wins.

Sheridan resides in fifth place of the

WAHL with eight points. Jackson sits atop

the standings with a spotless 9-0 record

and 18 points. Gillette owns the second

spot with 17 points while Casper and Pi-

nedale lay claim to third and fourth with 15

and 10 points, respectively.

The Hawks have some work to do if they

want to vault into the ‘A’ state tourna-

ment bracket. Three teams have already

declared ‘A’, leaving just one spot up for

grabs. Casper and Pinedale currently own

the best position to seize that coveted

spot, but Sheridan and Laramie are lurking.

The Hawks, who took runner-up at last

year’s state tournament, will play host

to the state tournament this year for the

first time in program history. With that dis-

tinction comes a level of excitement and

urgency for the Hawks to finish the regular

season out strong.

“It’s kind of an honor to host it,” Viren

said. “I think it’s good for the kids to be

able to play and have more family around,

and I think you take more pride in it when

it’s on your home ice. I know we are looking

forward to it.”

Hawks to host state tournament for first time


The Sheridan Hawks high school hockey team includes, back row, from left, Gavin Jones, Joel Bailey, Kelly Buchanan, Jus-tin Bailey, Walker Billings, Samuel Boyles, Jack Chase, Gunnar Swanson and Win-

Camdyn Cook, Jackson Gould, Toby Ja-cobs, Joshua Eaton, Wade Jacobs, Tris-ten Cox and Matthew Hooge. Not pictured are Ben Lavigne, Seth Rasmuson and Hunter Swanson.

2018 scheduleJan. 20 vs. Pinedale, 12 p.m.

Jan. 21 vs. Pinedale, 12 p.m.

Jan. 26 at Cheyenne, 7 p.m.

Jan. 27 at Cheyenne, 6:45 p.m., 2:45 p.m.

Jan. 28 at Cheyenne, 9 a.m.

Feb. 3 at Rock Springs, 8:30 p.m.

Feb. 4 at Rock Springs, 10:45 a.m.

Feb. 9 at Gillette, 6:15 p.m.

Feb. 10 vs. Riverton, 12 p.m.

Feb. 23-25 at State (Sheridan)

Key stats: Head coach: Kirk Viren

Last season’s record: 17-5 Second at state

Key contributors: Sam Boyles, Justin Bailey, Jack Chase, Josh Eaton

BY BUD DENEGA

[email protected]


SHERIDAN — The Sheridan boys swimming

and diving team’s list of goals for the 2018 sea-

son doesn’t stretch too long. If you wrote small

enough, it would likely fit on a just a fraction of a

small post-it note.

“We just want to improve and get faster every

meet,” Sheridan head coach Brent Moore said.

Those expectations aren’t shared by many

either. The Broncs only have 12 swimmers on this

year’s squad, and the short and sweet goal of

improving each and every meet is a byproduct of

having very few student-athletes.

“We aren’t going to be able to compete on a

scoreboard as well as we’d like because of our

low numbers,” Moore said. “That’s why we’d just

like to keep getting faster.”

Nine of those 12 swimmers return from last

year’s club that placed eighth at the state meet.

The state meet this season will be held at Lara-

mie High School and Moore hopes to improve on

the 2017 finish while also boasting at least one

individual champion.

Oscar Patten represents Moore’s best chance

to get someone to the top of the podium. Patten

can compete with most anyone in the state, and

is still looking for that elusive first state title. He

returned from a knee injury, that required surgery

at the Bison Invite Dec. 12 and promptly won

all four of his events. Patten ideally competes

in the 100- and 200-yard freestyles while also

dabbling in the 100-yard butterfly. Teammate

Sam Sampson will jockey with Patten during the

butterfly and perhaps the 200-yard freestyle.

Sampson will also throw his hat in the ring in

the 500-yard freestyle. Sampson led the Broncs

during the season-opening weekend in Gillette,

placing 30th in the pentathlon.

Moore will likely put a lot on young-gun

Thomas Yates’ shoulders. Yates’ versatility —

which gets put on display during the 200-yard

individual medley where he’s not particularly

weak in any one leg — and youth fosters a siz-

able upside for the sophomore.

Noah Hodges and diver Emmett Potter also

give Moore a couple more bodies that will ac-

cumulate points in big meets toward the tail

end of the season. Moore placed higher than

any other teammate in the butterfly during the

pentathlon, 17th, while Potter walked away with

an 11th-place finish in Gillette. The team isn’t

big and the goals aren’t complex but Moore and

company are optimistic for what 2018 holds.

Short, sweet goals motivate Broncs


The Sheridan High School boys swim team includes, back row, from left, Walkara Robinson, Matthew Thompson, Sam Sampson, Kody Palmer and Noah Hodges. Front row, from left, are coach

Adam Martin, Emmett Potter, Kaleb Yager, Caleb Johnannesmeyer, Oscar Patten, Thomas Yates, Cisco Gallegos and head coach Brent Moore.

2018 schedule

Jan. 5 Sheridan Pre-Invite,

4 p.m.

Jan. 6 Sheridan Invite, 9 a.m.

Jan. 12 at Laramie, 5 p.m.

Jan. 13 at Cheyenne Invite,

8 a.m.

Jan. 20 at Kelly Walsh, 10 a.m.

Jan. 26 vs. Kelly Walsh, Natrona,

Riverton, Cody and Worland,

4 p.m.

Jan. 27 at Gillette Invite, 8 a.m.

Feb. 2-3 at Conference

(Cheyenne South)

Feb. 16-17 at State (Laramie)

Key stats: Head coach: Brent Moore

eighth at stateKey contributors: Oscar Patten,

Sam Sampson, Thomas Yates, Noah Hodges, Caleb Johannesmeyer

BY BUD DENEGA

[email protected]


SHERIDAN — The Sheridan wrestling team

features a lot of fresh faces this year. After

last year’s team consisted mainly of juniors

and seniors, the Broncs have as many under-

classmen as upperclassmen this season.

Head coach Tyson Shatto said the younger

group provides different challenges but the

overall mentality remains.

“It is different, but you do things the same,”

he said. “If this was a veteran team, we’d still

take the steps to make sure we prepare them

for what to expect.”

Shatto set three clear objectives for the

team at the beginning of the season.

“Work hard. Have fun. Score points. That’s

what we’re trying to do,” he said.

The Broncs return two wrestlers who placed

at state last year. Senior Trevon Covolo took

fifth at 126 pounds and junior Quinn Heyneman

took fifth at 138 pounds. Both of them have

moved up classes this year, as Covolo now

wrestles at 132 and Heyneman competes at

160. Some newcomers have already contrib-

uted to the team. Freshman Reese Osborne

(113) is one of the top-ranked 4A wrestlers in

his class and freshman Hayden Crow (138) has

won nearly all of his matches so far.

New faces take center stage for Broncs


The Sheridan High School wrestling team includes, back row, from left, coach Kasey Garnhart, head coach Tyson Shatto, Sam Smart, Camden McArthur, JustinVela, Brenden Clem, Wesley Ndago, Tristan Scheeles, Joel Sayer, Leif Norskog and coach Mark Lane. Middle row, from left, are Mason Lydic, Vera Torkelson, Mikel Dobson, Jake Thomas, Garrett Coor, Drake deCastro, Chance Watt, Kel Tritschler, Chance Quarterman, Hayden Crow, Thomas Serenson and coach Kyle Ewing. Front row, from left, are Branton Williams, Zach Dilloway, Quinn Heyneman, Trevon Covolo, Nicolas Clemens, Matthew Legler, Reese Osborne, Steen Avery, Drake Fisgus and Ethan Johnson.

SEE WRESTLERS, PAGE 18

BY RYAN PATTERSON

[email protected]


FROM 4

Young teams take time to mesh together, and

are usually prone to turnovers and defensive

breakdowns. Tongue River, which runs a man-

to-man defensive system, is no exception to

those growing pains. The Eagles have allowed

more than 70 points in four games so far.

After a slow start, this young team can only

go up from this point. Coming back from winter

break, the Eagles resume play at the North-

South Invitational, beginning Jan. 4.

HOOPS : Team’s size will helpFROM 2

Martini, in his second year at the helm,

would like to follow a similar script as the

top two seeds in each conference earn an

automatic bid to the state tournament

while the bottom five battle in a regional

tournament for the final two spots at state.

The Broncs return three starters to the

fray in Blayne Baker, Parker Christensen

and Aaron Woodward.

Christensen earned Honorable Mention

All-State honors while also reeling in first-

team All-Conference honors and Wood-

ward received second team All-Conference

recognition.

Those three have shown well in the first

six games for Sheridan, which boasts a 4-2

record. Tristan Bower entered the starting

five this season and made a strong debut. A

year after coming off the bench, Bower has

directed the offense and averaged nearly

20 points per game in the early stages of

the season.

“Our size, strength and experience (are

our team’s strengths),” Martini said. “We

have a lot of guys that played a lot of min-

utes for us last year. We also have a lot of

depth and guys that can step into any role

and be successful.”

2018 scheduleJan. 4-6 at Cheyenne Tournament

Jan. 12 vs. Billings Senior, 7 p.m.

Jan. 13 at Natrona, 1 p.m.

Jan. 19 vs. Laramie, 7 p.m.

Jan. 20 vs. Cheyenne South, 1 p.m.

Jan. 26 at Cheyenne East, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 27 at Cheyenne Central,

1:30 p.m.

Feb. 1 vs. Campbell County, 7 p.m.

Feb. 3 at Thunder Basin, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 9 vs. Cheyenne Central, 7 p.m.

Feb. 10 vs. Cheyenne East, 1 p.m.

Feb. 16 at Cheyenne South, 7 p.m.

Feb. 17 at Laramie, 1 p.m.

Feb. 23 vs. Thunder Basin, 7 p.m.

Feb. 24 at Campbell County,

2:30 p.m.

March 1-3 at Regionals (Laramie)


Key stats: Head coach: Jeff Martini

Last season’s record: 14-12Last season’s conference

record: 8-3Key contributors: Blayne Baker, Aaron Woodward, Parker Christensen, Aaron Sessions, Tristan Bower

Key stats:Head coach: Ronnie StewartLast season’s record: 11-12Last season’s conference

record: 5-5Key contributors: Elias Dil-

lon-Bennett, Jaren Fritz, Hugh Patterson, Cade Reish and Nick

Summers

TR HOOPS : Can only go up at this point

LADY BRONCS : Hope for better seasonFROM 7

The Lady Broncs didn’t accomplish that too

well a season ago. They struggled and finished

the season 6-16 and 2-8 in conference play. But

the new voice in the huddle coupled with the

experience returning — Sheridan used a number

of different starting rotations last season — give

the Lady Broncs promise.

That showed in Sheridan’s home opener

against Billings Senior — which placed third in

the AA Montana state tournament. The Lady

Broncs, while undersized, battled for 36 min-

utes and led with under a minute to play before

Billings Senior prevailed.

The stick-to-itiveness of Sheridan in that

game is precisely what Ligocki wants his team

to embody each and every night.

“We are going to come at you, and we are

going to put pressure on you, and we aren’t

going to quit,” Ligocki said. “That’s what I want

our identity to be. When we get off the floor,

whether we won or lost, I want people to realize

we played a tough game, and that the Sheridan

Lady Broncs bring it every time they play.”

Alli Puuri represents the tip of the spear for

Sheridan. She sets everything in motion from

her point guard position and is a threat to score

in double figures every night. Jordan Chris-

tensen, Kailee Ingalls and Riley Rafferty add an

abundance of basketball prowess to the fray

along with a host of other Lady Broncs.


Sheridan’s Kailee Ingalls is fouled by Senior High School’s Mariah Linse, left, and Kola Bad Bear during the home opener at Sheridan High School Friday, Dec. 15, 2017.

Key stats: Head coach: Larry LigockiLast season’s record: 6-16

Last season’s conference record: 2-8Key contributors: Alli Puuri, Jor-dan Christensen, Riley Rafferty, Kailee Ingalls, Emily Kilpatrick,

Katie Ligocki

2018 schedule

Jan. 4-6 at Cheyenne Tournament

Jan. 12 at Billings Senior, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 13 vs. Natrona, 1 p.m.

Jan. 19 vs. Laramie, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 20 vs. Cheyenne South, 11:30 a.m.

Jan. 26 at Cheyenne East, 6 p.m.

Jan. 27 at Cheyenne Central, 12 p.m.

Feb. 1 vs. Campbell County, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 3 at Thunder Basin, 6 p.m

Feb. 9 vs. Cheyenne Central 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 10 vs. Cheyenne East, 11:30 a.m.

Feb. 16 at Cheyenne South, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 17 at Laramie, 11:30 a.m.

Feb. 23 vs. Thunder Basin, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 24 at Campbell County, 1 p.m.

March 1-3 at Regionals (Laramie)



Sheridan’s Parker Christensen (21) and Natrona High School’s Ben Acres go for a rebound at Sheridan High School Fri-day, Dec. 22, 2017.


FROM 5

“There’s really not an off night,” Hammer

said. “Gillette College, returning the majority

of their guys from last year’s region cham-

pionship team, will obviously be a tough

test for us. Casper College, they usually

have more size than anyone in the league

and that’s true again this year. Western

Wyoming and Central Wyoming, they both

looked very good here in the non-confer-

ence, and they’ve both played tough sched-

ules and have competed well against really

good teams.

“… You have to come focused and ready to

play every time.”


Sheridan’s Camron Reece dunks against Bismarck State College during the Holiday Inn Tournament in November at the Bruce Hoffman Golden Dome.

2018 schedule

Jan. 5 vs. Wyoming All-Stars, 3 p.m.

Jan. 10 vs. Central Wyoming, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 13 at Western Wyoming, 5 p.m.

Jan. 17 vs. Miles City CC, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 20 vs. Little Big Horn, 5 p.m.

Jan. 24 at Gillette College, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 27 vs. Casper College, 4 p.m.

Jan. 31 at Northwest College, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 3 at Central Wyoming, 4 p.m.

Feb. 7 vs. Western Wyoming, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 10 at Miles City CC, 4 p.m.

Feb. 14 at Little Big Horn, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 17 vs. Gillette College, 5 p.m.

Feb. 21 at Casper College, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 24 vs. Northwest College, 5 p.m.

GENERALS : Region IX North once again brings top competition

PANTHERS : Young players

FROM 6

He’s the unquestioned leader of the

Panthers, at least early on, as he tries to

bring along an inexperienced group that

has yet to win a game this season.

“We usually kind of always knew or

had a lot of guys coming back, but this

has been the first time we graduated a

lot of experience and a lot of older kids,”

Walker said. “All of a sudden we have

a lot of younger kids trying to get used

to the game and find out what they

are good at and what they aren’t good

at. We’re trying to find out what their

strengths and weaknesses are and how

we can we put them in the best spots

possible.”

Many of those young players sport a

lot of speed and Walker will look to uti-

lize that to the Panthers’ advantage as

the basketball IQ grows in each of them.

Walker enters his fourth year as the

head man of the Panthers. Last season

marked AC’s best season under Walker

as the Panthers finished third in the

conference with a 13-13 overall record.

The 13 victories were more than Walker

had in his first two seasons combined

guiding the Panthers. Kaycee looks to

be the bell cow in the region, once again,

with Midwest likely providing the most

resistance.

Key stats:Head coach: Ross WalkerLast year’s record: 13-13Last year’s conference

record: 4-4Key contributors: Tanner

Klatt, Clayton Auzqui, Riley Malli, Mason Beam

‘We’re trying to find out what their strengths and weaknesses are and how we can we put them in the best spots possible.’Ross WalkerArvada-Clearmont Panthers head coach


LADY GENERALS : Enter break at 6-8FROM 10

“When we are not telling them not to

wait for that shot that may be there later,

we just get stagnant offensively, when

we could be shooting the ball with confi-

dence,” Davis added”

Through the first wave of games this sea-

son, Davis put extra emphasis on throwing

the ball into the paint and scoring from in

close when perhaps he doesn’t have a ros-

ter that’s best suited for that style of play.

“I think it’s somewhat my fault because

I’ve tried to form them in a certain way, and

we are just not built that way,” Davis said.

“We are not built to throw the ball inside,

and maybe I was getting some people, that

need to be peripheral players on the inside,

more shots and those kids on the perimeter

less shots.”

Sheridan enters its winter break at 6-8

overall, having won back-to-back games

for the second time this season. The Lady

Generals average 67 points per game and

surrender 58.9 points per contest.

Raelynn Keefer represents the lone

Lady General averaging double figures

in points scored as she pours in 13.6 per

game. Brooke Cargal adds 9.9 and Ashleigh

Frampton chips in nine points per contest.

Casper College boasts the best non-con-

ference record at 13-2 while Miles City

Community College checks in at 10-2 and

Northwest College sits at 10-4.

Key stats:Head coach: Ryan Davis

Last season’s record: 19-12Last season’s

conference record: 6-8Key contributors: Raelynn Keefer, Brooke Cargal, Ashleigh Framp-

ton, Noora Parttimaa, Lily Jex, Au-brey Meiwald, Aloma Solovi

2018 schedule

Jan. 4 vs. Dawson Community College,

5:30 p.m.

Jan. 10 vs. Central Wyoming, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 13 at Western Wyoming, 2 p.m.

Jan. 17 vs. Miles City CC, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 20 vs. Little Big Horn, 2 p.m.

Jan. 22 at Eastern Wyoming, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 24 at Gillette College, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 27 vs. Casper College, 2 p.m.

Jan. 31 at Northwest College, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 3 at Central Wyoming, 2 p.m.

Feb. 7 Western Wyoming, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 10 at Miles City CC, 2 p.m.

Feb 14 at Little Big Horn, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 17 vs. Gillette College, 3 p.m.

Feb. 21 at Casper College, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 24 vs. Northwest College, 2 p.m.


Sheridan’s Matthew Legler, right, competes against Natrona County High School’s Wade Charron during the double dual meet at Sheridan High School Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017.

WRESTLERS : Added confidenceFROM 15

Of course, the Broncs have

a huge hole in the 170-pound

class. For the first time in

four years, they are without

three-time state champion

Hayden Hastings, who now

wrestles at the University of

Wyoming.

Sheridan has had a solid

start to its season, defeating

Worland in a dual and per-

forming relatively well in two

tournaments, including tak-

ing fifth place at the Battle

in the Big Horns at Worland.

Shatto expressed confi-

dence in the team’s ability

to improve throughout the

year.

“With their work ethic and

from what I’ve seen so far, I

think we’re going to progress

very well,” Shatto said.

2018 schedule Jan. 5-6 at Douglas Invite

Jan. 11 at Colstrip, Montana, 3 p.m.

Jan. 12-13 at Miles City (Montana) Invite

Jan. 19-20 at Moorcroft Invite

Jan. 26-27 at Riverton Invite

Feb. 2 vs. Cheyenne East and Cheyenne Central,

4 p.m.

Feb. 3 vs. Laramie and Cheyenne South, 10 a.m.

Feb. 8 vs. Campbell County, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 9 at Thunder Basin, 6 p.m.

Feb. 16-17 at Regionals (Cheyenne East)

Feb. 23-24 at State (Casper)

Key stats:Head coach: Tyson Shatto

Last season’s record: third in 4A EastNinth at state

Key contributors: Trevon Covolo, Quinn Heyneman, Reece Osborne and Kel

Tritschler


Sheridan’s Lily Jex is fouled by a Western Nebraska Community College de-fender at the Bruce Hoffman Golden Dome Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017.



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