Wolves fall sports season underway

After nearly two weeks of practice, four of the five varsity teams at Green River High School will get their first chance to compete starting Friday.

The cross country team will start a busy day of action by hosting the annual Green River Invitational that is scheduled to start with the girls race at 3:30 p.m. The boys race is slated for 4:10 p.m.

While around ten teams from southwest Wyoming will be running, the high school tennis team will be kicking off their home season at the high school courts with both varsity and junior varsity matches scheduled at 4 p.m. against Powell.

Cross Country preps for home invitational

The Green River High School cross country team won't have to travel far to start their 2014 season.

The Wolves will open their season by hosting the annual Green River Cross Country Invitational at Stratton Myers Park.

The girls race is scheduled to take place at 3:30 p.m. and the boys race is set for 4:10 p.m. Their will also be to middle school races with the boys first to hit the course at 2:30 p.m. and the girls at 3:00 p.m.

"It's nice to have the first meet here at home and you don't have to travel the first week," head coach Steve Boyd said.

In the past few years, he said the meet has becoming more poplar and they have been getting more teams and he expects 10 teams to attend.

The team started the season Aug. 18 and so far Boyd is happy with the progress.

He said things are going well and they are building their base, something they work on the first couple weeks of the year.

"We are happy with the kids we have. They are working hard and they want to be here," Boyd said.

The members of the 2014 team are Kaleigh Allison, Nicole Davis, Josie Givens, Jaryn Johnson, Sarah Joyner, Kirsten Knezovich, Brayden Kovick, Shelby Lockman, Shawn McGuire, Cheyenne McMichael, Miles Moffat, Caleb Nathan, Cassie Newcomb, Braden Reichl, Mary Shafe, Greg Vanderpool, Austin Waters and Curtis Westenskow.

Football scrimmages Douglas Bearcats

The Green River High School will get an unofficial chance to see where they stand among the best in Class 3A this Saturday in Laramie.

The Wolves will be making the trip for a scrimmage against the Douglas Bearcats, who lost in overtime of last year's 3A State Championship game against Powell.

After the first full week of practice, head coach Don Maggi said they are going to look at the scrimmage as a practice and are going to get after it.

"Hopefully we will get some guys to step up and see what it takes to play varsity football and we will be in a better spot for the first real game against Riverton," he said.

After playing Douglas each of the past three seasons, including a playoff matchup two years ago, Maggi said they know what to expect from the Bearcats.

He said Douglas knows the schemes Green River runs, the Wolves know the schemes the Bearcats will run and they will need to be prepared for the speed and physical style of play they will see.

Overall, Maggi said what he wants to take out of the scrimmage is to see his team get better.

"That's the way you go into every practice and every game of the regular season. You want to see some improvement. You want to see some guys grasp concepts with speed and technique and just to grow as football players and as a team," he said.

Volleyball headed to Cokeville Invite

The Green River Lady High School varsity volleyball team is ready for the start of the 2014 season.

The Lady Wolves will open their season Friday at the Cokeville Invitational.

Following a tough 2013 season, head coach Rikki Shantz said her team is "super hungry' to start the year.

"They want some wins. They really want to compete and do there best," she said. "I think this is going to be a really big breakout weekend for us."

Much like last season, Shantz said the first day of the tournament will feature best three of five matches for Green River and will be followed Saturday by bracket play.

While the longtime coach admitted the team is young and still has a lot of juniors, those players have the experience they need on the varsity level, which she says is a good thing for the team.

The team will continue in tournament play next week when they travel for another two-day tournament in Gillette.

Swimmers travel north for opener

With the start of the season just two days away, Green River Lady Wolves swim coach Colleen Seiloff is pleased with the way her team is shaping out.

Seiloff said the team has a great group of returning swimmers, but will also be complemented by an outstanding group of freshman.

The team will start the season Friday competing against Lander and will make the short trip the following day for a competition in Riverton.

Seiloff said the first meet will be nice to get into the pool and see where the team is at.

"It should be a really fun year," she said.

(Editor's Note: Read more about the six teams in next week's fall sports preview edition.)