Wreck-on-Wheels takes fifth at WyoCup

Posted 7/19/16

“There are probably 12 or 13 teams throughout the state but only seven made it here,” said Heart Mountain’s Heather Rhodes, aka Gingersnaps. “The seven that were here are pretty much the top teams, including the two-time defending champion …

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Wreck-on-Wheels takes fifth at WyoCup

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Against just about the best field of competition it has gone up against, the Heart Mountain Wreck-on-Wheels roller derby team made a good showing at last weekend’s third annual WyoCup tournament at the Riley Arena in Cody.

“There are probably 12 or 13 teams throughout the state but only seven made it here,” said Heart Mountain’s Heather Rhodes, aka Gingersnaps. “The seven that were here are pretty much the top teams, including the two-time defending champion Cheyenne Capidolls.”

Roller derby teams are made up of three elements:

Heart Mountain opened up its tournament run with a strong 178-104 win over the A’Salt Creek Roller Girls, but were then faced up against a top-notch Powder River Rousta Bout It Betties squad.

“We’re friends with all the teams, but we’re especially close with the Betties,” Rhodes said. “They are really good and we knew we couldn’t beat them, so we just wanted to have fun with it and save ourselves for our next game.”

The 266-30 final shows the reasoning was valid.

In their third game of the day, Wreck-on-Wheels met up with the Bittersweet Bombshells, a team that hadn’t played since an early-morning win.

“We were looking forward to that game because that’s a team that is more on our level, competitively,” Rhodes said.

But the difference was initially heightened by the day’s schedule as the well-rested Bombshells roared out to a 100-point lead by halftime.

Heart Mountain, however, collected itself skated, blocked and jammed all the way back to get within two points in the waning minutes.

But as is often the case in all sports, the energy spent in making a big comeback can fade in the end, and two late power jams pushed Bittersweet to a 159-122 win.

“A power jam is where one of the jammers is sent to the penalty box so the remaining jammer has the track to themselves,” Rhodes explained. “It’s one of the best opportunities to score points because the blockers with the remaining jammer can focus fully on offense.

“We took a double hit because our jammer also fouled out and we couldn’t put another jammer back on until the end,” she continued. “It was especially physical in all the games and the refs were calling it tight to keep the games as clean as they could, so there were a lot of penalties called.”

Their tournament run ended with the loss, and the Wreck-on-Wheels players were on hand to watch the final rounds Sunday and see Cheyenne defend its title to make it a three-peat, though they were tested by the Betties, who wound up in second.

“The Betties actually beat them when they played the morning game,” Rhodes said. “But then the Capidolls won to get to the title game and beat them.”

Behind Cheyenne and Powder River in the top two spots, the Jackson Hole Juggernauts finished third, Bittersweet was fourth, Heart Mountain fifth, the Rawlins Pen Ups sixth and A’Salt Creek seventh.

“We had a lot of fun and even went back to take part in the fundraising scrimmage on Sunday,” Rhodes said. “Teams are growing and it is creating a more elite set of teams to compete with. We love it and are working to get on that level.”

Their season is essentially done, but the Wreck-on-Wheels girls aren’t done with derby action as they will be hosting a mixer at the end of August or early September.

“In the past we’ve had themes like “D.C. vs. Marvel” or “Star Trek vs. Star Wars” and we are throwing around ideas for this one,” Rhodes said. “It is more of a fun event and girls from all over come in to take part.”

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