By Dylan Rohrer, Wyo4News.com
ROCK SPRINGS, WYOMING (Dec. 31, 2019) — As we look back on the year in Wyoming sports, one thing has become abundantly clear — Wyoming sports and its athletes are on the rise.
2019 saw an infusion of new talent, new faces on the sidelines, as well as an entirely new sport for locals to look forward to.
Here, we will take a look at some of the most prominent sports stories of 2019, both locally and statewide:
Sweetwater County sports find success as talent surges and competition becomes fierce
An increased level of competition throughout Wyoming led many Sweetwater County High School teams to find success in both regular and post-season play.
One of the more drastic turnarounds of the year was the 2019 Rock Springs Lady Tigers Volleyball squad. Head coach Shawn Pyer, in just her second year, coached the Lady Tigers to a 25-11 record, after a 2018 record of 6-16. The 25-11 record was good enough to qualify the Tigers for the 2019 WHSAA State Volleyball Championship, a feat that had not accomplished in nearly a decade.
Tiger football also found the postseason this year under first-year coach Mark Lenhardt. Equipped with a strong running attack and stifling defense, the Tigers found their stride mid-season, racking up consecutive wins against Kelly Walsh, Cheyenne South, and Campbell County. Entering round one of the playoffs, the Tigers found themselves in a week three rematch against Cheyenne Central. The Tigers would come up just short, falling 20-16. An infusion of young talent and early success from coach Lenhardt should have Tiger fans feeling good about the upcoming 2020 season.
Highlighting Green River sports was the success of the 2019 tennis team, led by head coach Phillip Harder. The boys’ squad finished with a record of 7-5 overall, placing second of eight at the WHSAA South Regional Tournament, and going on to place 10th of 16 at the State Championships. The girls’ squad finished with a record of 9-3, placing second of eight at the South Regional Tournament, and taking a strong fifth of 16 finish at the state level.
The Lady Wolves swimming team this year held onto its standard of success, placing second overall at the 4A Girls State Swimming Meet Finals. Rock Springs girls swimmers saw great individual success, including senior Abi Robinson-Kim, who placed first in a number of events.
Rock Springs boys swimming has just recently begun, featuring second-year coach David Galindo, who looks to focus on team building and specialized training to find success in the pool. Time will tell if this will pay off, though Galindo is very confident in his teams’ ability to perform at dual meets.
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Flaming Gorge Classic basketball tournament
The Flaming Gorge Classic basketball tournament was Dec. 19, 20, and 21, giving both local and state-wide basketball fans a unique chance to tune into matches from teams across three different states. While the majority of teams featured in the tournament were from Wyoming, select teams from Idaho and Utah also made an appearance.
The Rock Springs Lady Tigers went undefeated at the tournament, taking wins over Lyman, Bear Lake ID, and Pinedale. The boys’ team went 1-3 at the tournament, with a win over Thunder Basin, and losses to Mountain View, Rawlins, and Worland.
For Green River, the Lady Wolves found themselves undefeated, taking wins over Rawlins, Bear Lake ID, Lyman, and Mountain View. The boys’ team went 2-2 at the tournament, taking wins over Pinedale and West Side ID, while taking losses to Worland and Bear Lake ID.
Wyoming high school basketball will resume play after the Christmas and New Year holidays.
High school girls’ softball to begin in 2021
After much hard work, girls’ softball will finally be recognized by the WHSAA as an official high school sport. Sweetwater County School District #1 was at the forefront of making this happen, as they posted the very first vote in the state in favor of high school softball. Heather Anderson, who worked with members of the Rock Springs Girls Softball League and SWCSD #1, was ecstatic when the vote finally passed.
“We’re so excited. We’ve been working on this a very long time,” Anderson told Wyo4News after the vote passed in November. “It’s great the girls will have the opportunity to be recognized by the schools.”
Softball games are planned to begin in the Spring of 2021. As of now, 11 schools are signed on to begin in the first season.
Details of the first season have yet to be discussed by the WHSAA.
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WWCC wrestling ranked #1 by NJCAA
After a record-breaking season in 2018-19 which saw the Mustangs qualify 10 wrestlers for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Championships, Western Wyoming Community College was ranked #1 in the nation among all junior colleges for wrestling.
The 2019-20 season began with the Intrasquad/All-Star Dual on Oct. 24. Western will look to many of the qualifying sophomores from last season, as well as a strong 2019 recruiting class featuring some of the top wrestlers in the region and state, to keep the success flowing on the mat in 2019-20 and beyond.
Highlights from the University of Wyoming 2019 sport season
One of the most intriguing stories from UW sports came in the regular-season finale of the 2019 Cowboy football season. Down 20-6 against Air Force, Cowboy quarterback Tyler Vander Waal was sacked for a big loss on first down. However, instead of second down as expected, the officials marked the play as being third down. The Cowboys would then fail to convert on the ensuring ‘third’ and ‘fourth’ down tries. As USA Today reports, the problem happened with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.
The following day, the Mountain West Conference, or MWC, acknowledged the major gaffe. In addition, all of the on-field officials and the members of the replay crew received a suspension. The suspension pertains to their “next assignments.” It’s unclear what those assignments would be, however.
Sticking to the theme of Cowboy football, Wyoming won its 111th edition of the Border War this season. An annual rivalry match, the game featured the Wyoming Cowboys and Colorado State University Rams battle it out for the Bronze Boot traveling trophy.
The 17-7 victory marks a four-game winning streak for the Cowboys in the Border War, as well as putting the stamp on an undefeated home record.
For a final note on the Cowboy football team, they have had a very busy and productive early signing period. 18 student-athletes have committed to the Cowboys so far, including the number one Wyoming football prospect in the state, Caleb Driskill, a fullback from Gilette. Click here to see the full list of committed athletes for the 2020 season.
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For the third straight year, the Cowgirl volleyball team made the playoffs. Posting a 21-8 record, the Cowgirls had an extremely successful season littered with individual accolades and records. A standout player on the squad was Madi Fields, who set the bar high for the Cowgirls obtaining four Mountain West Player of the Week awards.
Fields also set a record for digs in a season by a Cowgirl with 1,701. The Cowgirls made it to the second round of the NIVC tournament before falling to Weber State 3-2.
To close out our look at UW sports, we take a look at the new head coach for the Wyoming Cowgirl basketball team, coach Gerald Mattinson. A former basketball coach at Rock Springs High School, Mattinson spend 16 years on the Cowgirl bench as an assistant coach before getting the head coaching nod.
Mattinson has a host of accolades as an assistant and associate head coach, including six of the top-10 scoring teams, six of the top-10 free throw shooting teams, all of the top-10 three-point total teams, seven of the top-10 three-point percentage teams, five of the top-10 rebounding teams, six of the top-10 assisting teams and six of the top-10 shot-blocking teams in Cowgirl history.
Mattinson has already set records in his first year as a head coach, becoming one of the only coaches in Wyoming history to win his first two starts as a head coach.
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