Last night was an evening that 2,580 Wyoming wrestling fans will never forget. In front of a sold-out crowd at Storey Gym in his hometown of Cheyenne, Bryce Meredith broke Oklahoma State All-American Dean Heil's 55-match win streak and avenged his loss to Heil in the 2016 NCAA Championship.

The victory capped an epic week for the Central grad, who also defeated the #3 and #5 ranked wrestlers in his weight class. Now in his senior season, Meredith still has several months left to cement his legacy, but he already ranks among the greatest athletes in Cheyenne's history.

The Capital City has produced several professional athletes and olympians over the years.

John Godina was an All-American in football and track at Central who went on to become a three-time World Shot Put Champion, won a Silver Medal at the 1996 Olympics and added a Bronze Medal four years later.

Boyd Dowler is the only Cheyenne native with a Super Bowl ring. After starring as a three-sport athlete at Cheyenne High School, he later helped the Green Bay Packers win five NFL Championships and was named to the NFL All-Decade Team in the 1960s.

East alum James Johnson is, arguably, the greatest Wyoming high school basketball player since Kenny Sailors. After two years at Wake Forest University, he was drafted in the first round by the Chicago Bulls in 2009 and currently plays for the Miami Heat.

Chris LeDoux is Cheyenne's most famous athlete. LeDoux won two state rodeo titles at Central and went on to win the World Bareback Riding Championship at the National Finals Rodeo before gaining worldwide fame as a recording artist.

Central grad Don Westbrook was a key member of the undefeated 1971 University of Nebraska national championship team. He went on to play four seasons in the NFL with the New England Patriots.

Another Central product, Jim Eliopulos was an All-WAC linebacker at the University of Wyoming and spent four injury-plagued years in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys, St. Louis Cardinals and New York Jets.

Jesse Johnson was star defensive back at East in the 70s. After attending the University of Colorado, he played four seasons in NFL with the New York Jets.

Where does Bryce Meredith rank on the list of Cheyenne legends? You tell us.

 

 

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