Longhorn wrestlers hit mats hard in first week

    Chase County wrestlers jumped into the season with both feet last week. The team hit the road for three-straight days of meets, staring off with the Garden County Duals Thursday in Oshkosh.
    Vlasin said his team didn’t wrestle well in their first matches of the year, but the Longhorns still came out on top of Garden County, 42-28, thanks to five forfeits by the Eagles.
    CCS looked a lot better in its second dual, Vlasin said. Chase County won five matches and got three forfeits to give it a 43-21 win over Bridgeport.
    Friday the Longhorns were at the Hi-Line Invite in Elwood.
    CCS took third place as a team behind a first place finish by Cayden White at 120 lbs. Also placing in the top four were Arturo Miscles, third at 113 lbs, Brice Vitosh, third at 160 lbs, Thomas Reeves, third at 182 lbs, Jaret Peterson, third at 285 lbs, Cody Duffy, fourth at 152 lbs, and Zach Tarin, fourth at 220 lbs.
    Vlasin said CCS got off to a slow start but got better as the day went on.
    With 16 athletes in action, the numbers were definitely in Chase County’s favor. Vlasin said his team wrestled well and, with some brackets having multiple CCS wrestlers, whittled away at the competition.
    From Elwood the Longhorns headed to Broken Bow. The team got there at midnight and was up by 6 a.m. the next morning to start preparations for the Broken Bow Invite.
    The meet had a different feeling compared to the other two with Broken Bow and Ord providing stiff competition.
    After freshmen Westyn Mendenhall and Luis Co didn’t place at Hi-Line, Vlasin was happy to see them bounce back with fourth place finishes at 138 and 145 lbs, respectively.
    Peterson moved down from 285 lbs at Hi-Line and took the 220 lb crown at Broken Bow.
    “We’ve got to get in shape and clean some small things up,” Vlasin said.
    Longhorns started running out of gas in their second and third matches, Vlasin said.
    After facing three meets in three days, the coming weeks will feel easier, he added.
    CCS will only have three meets in one week one other time this season.
Up next
    CCS will be at the Southern Valley Invite Friday.
    As 2021 wraps up, the Longhorns will have a JV meet at McCook Dec. 16 and the Bridgeport/Sidney Invite at Bridgeport Dec. 18.
    Several wrestlers are working through their descent plans. Vlasin is hopeful everyone will be at their appropriate weight after Christmas and most are close now.
    Then comes the challenge of finding the best sports for team members.
    “We’re still trying to figure out where everyone fits,” Vlasin said.