Wrestling's regular season has wrapped up and teams are awaiting Thursday's regional bracket release. With the change to eight-person brackets for State, extra pressure will be upon the wrestlers at this weekend's regionals. Only the top two in each weight class will advance from each region for the boys and four from each of the girls' regions. There will also be no consolation bracket until the quarterfinals this weekend.

Lamar's girls dropped a dual to Eaglecrest (42-12), but the Savages won the only two contested weight classes on Saturday. Heather Hancock earned a pin in 40 seconds at 100 pounds, and Crystalyn Felan needed just seven more seconds to get the job done at 118 pounds. La Junta's Justina O'Canas earned a pair of pins against Eaglecrest, one at 111 pounds in 2:34 that counted in the team scoring and one at 118 in 2:46 that was an extra match.

Rocky Ford dominated a triangular at Burlington on the boys' side, defeating the hosts 58-27 and Holly 53-21 last Saturday. The Meloneers won seven matches against Burlington, while the Cougars won the other three that were contested. Only five weights were settled on the mat in the dual with Holly and the Wildcats took three of them. Two of Holly's wins came from Cael Nordyke at 182 pounds.

It was a good weekend for County Line, who defeated La Veta (42-6) and split with Fowler (30-30) at the Fowler Tri on Thursday and then beat Peyton 36-18 at the Peyton Tri on Saturday. Tate Krentz went 4-0 in those three matches, winning three by pinfall and one by technical fall.

Fort Morgan struggled in a quad hosted by Roosevelt on Saturday, as the Mustangs lost to the hosts 68-12 and Severance 72-6. They defeated Centaurus 48-15 for their lone win in the event. Cael Langford was solid for the Mustangs, earning a pinfall victory for the only points against Severance.

Wray is looking to pull off a rare double in Season B. The Eagles are the top-ranked team in Class 2A wrestling and they appear to be the favorites in Class 2A boys’ basketball after beating previously #1 Limon 72-66 last Saturday. They are the lone remaining unbeaten in the class and should be the top seed when the bracket comes out next Monday. It could be a very special March, as their girls are also ranked in the top-10 in Class 2A, entering this week at 9-3 overall. All three losses are by single digits.

Saturday was a rough one in Limon, as not only did their boys drop the close contest to Wray, but the Lady Badgers also suffered a 69-44 defeat. Both face big challenges this weekend, as they visit Holyoke on Friday and host Fowler on Saturday. The Holyoke Lady Dragons are unbeaten on the season and one of the favorites for the Class 2A crown, while their male counterparts look to be one of seven or eight LPAA teams in the postseason.

Holly's boys kept chugging away, pushing their winning streak to six after picking up narrow victories at home over Fowler (52-49) and Class 1A Primero (75-70). The Wildcats went on the road Saturday and defeated Crowley County, 57-38. They will close out the regular season on Thursday at Fowler. The Wildcats own a pair of non-league wins over the Grizzlies, taking a 56-44 victory in their first meeting. The two teams are tied atop the Santa Fe standings and Thursday's winner gets an automatic spot into the 2A bracket. Holly should be looking at a first round bye, regardless of the outcome.

It was a very bumpy weekend for the ladies from Rocky Ford, who suffered consecutive losses. After a lopsided win over Las Animas last Thursday pushed their record to 10-0, the Lady Meloneers dropped a tough 52-48 decision at highly ranked Rye on Friday. That was followed by a 46-39 loss at Class 1A #2 Kit Carson on Saturday. The rough stretch to close out the regular season continues on Friday, when Rocky Ford visits 1A #3 Sangre de Cristo.

Undeterred by a lopsided loss to Wray earlier in the week, Burlington bounced back with wins over Flagler (60-29) and Byers (49-44) on the weekend. Those victories improved the Lady Cougars to 9-3 overall and gave them second place in the Union Pacific. They are hoping to finish the season high enough in the standings to host a first round game next Tuesday.

Kit Carson is already a lock for the 1A bracket, but there's still plenty of meat left on the bone. The Lady Wildcats had a non-league clash at Genoa-Hugo/Karval on Tuesday, but the focus quickly shifted to Friday's finale against McClave. The winner of that contest is the High Plains champion and both squads would love to add that hardware to the trophy case. Each team should be looking at a first round bye. With Kim/Branson and South Baca, the southeast corner of the State could receive half of the byes into the Sweet 16.

In Class 3A, Brush looks to firmly be in the postseason, but the Lady Beetdiggers can help their seeding this week. They were favored in Monday's Morgan County showdown with Wiggins and should have been on Wednesday against Frontier Academy. That would set the stage for Friday's finale at Eaton. The two are tied for second in the Patriot, one game behind Platte Valley. Not only does the winner take sole possession of second in the league, but there's a good chance that a first round bye comes along with that.

Flipping to 1A boys, Cheraw is in the mix for the top overall seed as one of two remaining unbeaten teams in the classification. The gap between #1 Belleview Christian and the Wolverines is sizable, but a win over Granada on Friday would not only give Cheraw the High Plains title, but also a significant boost in all four data points. Granada, who enters the week 11-1, also has an important non-league clash on Saturday against Kim/Branson, who has wrapped up the Ark Valley crown.

As mentioned earlier, the LPAA could place as many as eight boys’ teams in the postseason. One of those is Haxtun, who is already in solid position in Class 1A. The Bulldogs are joined by Merino as representatives in the 1A field, with Caliche holding a spot on the bubble. All four of Haxtun's losses are in league play. After a non-league tilt with Otis on Tuesday, the Bulldogs close the regular season against league foe Sedgwick County on Friday.

Despite opening the season 0-4, Hi-Plains will be in the bracket thanks to their YWKC championship. The Patriots entered this week having won five straight and six of seven overall. They locked up the league title with a 56-43 victory over Idalia on Friday. The Patriots visits Arickaree/Woodlin on Friday and close the regular season at home against Cheyenne Wells on Saturday.

It's looking like Brush will be the only area team in the 3A bracket, as the Beetdiggers come into the week at 8-3 overall. Lamar (3-7) and La Junta (3-8) are well back in the standings. Those two met Monday, with rivalry bragging rights at stake.

For Brush, they got back on track with a 72-50 win over Estes Park last Friday. The Beetdiggers had dropped close games to Strasburg (66-58) and Resurrection Christian (47-44) earlier in the week.

Fort Morgan entered the final week of the regular season needing to do some work to get into the Class 4A field. The Mustangs began the week at 6-5, standing over .500 for the first time since winning the opening game of the year. They were outside the top-32 in the seeding index heading into games at Mountain View (Monday) and Greeley Central (Wednesday). The Mustangs wrap things up at home on Saturday against Centaurus.