Panther wrestlers host Vern Rose Memorial

RANGELY | A former Panther wrestling parent and father was remembered last Saturday when Rangely High School hosted the third annual Vern Rose Memorial wrestling tournament, where two Panthers placed. Rangely will wrestle in the Screamin’ Eagle tournament in Paonia this Saturday.
“We were super proud of how our guys wrestled in our home tournament,” Rangely head coach Travis Witherell said on behalf of himself and assistant coaches J.C. Chumachero and Claude Rose. “We dueled Olathe the night before and won three of the five matches wrestled, then at our tournament, Justin Rusher placed third, Tytus Coombs placed fourth and Landon Rowley wrestled some close matches but did not place.”
Coombs won two matches in the 120-pound bracket, as did Rusher in the 126-pound bracket, while Rowley was entered in the 132-pound bracket.
“All of our guys wrestled to our expectations and our coaching staff feels they represented our program well,” Coach Witherell said. “We thank all of those who helped with the annual Vern Rose Memorial and for all of their support.”
The Panthers will be tested this weekend in Paonia and Coach Witherell is looking forward to the challenge.
“We are excited to see many of our regional competitors in Paonia, it’s always a good tournament to get us ready for the regional tourney,” Coach Witherell said. “We still have plenty of room for improvement but our guys continue to push themselves each week and Paonia will be a great test to see where we really are.”