Cats take fourth in Polson, Tarr's streak is broken
Hungry Horse News
It was an average weekend for the Columbia Falls wrestling team. But for one Wildcat, it was no way near average.
Columbia Falls earned 127 points and finished fourth at the 12-team Polson Invitational, with six wrestlers placing in the top four.
"We wrestled well," coach Wes Knutson said. "We ended up with about six placers which is about average."
But the big shocker was a loss by 119-pound senior Aric Tarr. The two-time Class A state champion had won every match since his freshman season.
Along with Tarr's second-place finish, the Wildcats had three wrestlers finish third- freshman Mike Hader at 130 pounds, junior Dalvin Averill at 135 and senior Ryan Buck at 145.
Senior Tom Church (275) and junior Bobby Opp (140) took fourth.
Tarr lost 3-2 in the finals against Frenchtown's Brandon Stedman, who was a state champion last season at 112 pounds.
"The kid was no slouch by any means," Knutson said. "It was a tough, hard-fought match."
The pair were locked at 0-0 after the first period. In the second period Stedman escaped from Tarr to go up 1-0. Then Stedman took down Tarr for two more points. But Tarr quickly escaped to make it 3-1.
In the third period, Tarr started down and got another escape to cut Stedman's lead to 3-2. For a thrilling final 1:40, Tarr battled for a takedown but couldn't get it.
The loss ended Tarr's 61-match winning streak.
"He handled it very well," Knutson said. "He was a great sport about it."
Knutson told him he can turn it into a positive. He said Tarr needs to open his offense up. And he said Tarr can be thankful that "the monkey is off his back" because he won't have the pressure of trying to be an undefeated wrestler for three straight years.
One over achiever on Saturday was Hader. He lost his first career match and then came back to win four straight, including his final match against the wrestler who gave him his first loss.
"He came storming back," Knutson said. "We're hoping for some big things out of him. He's a very solid wrestler."
Junior Daniel Byrd didn't place but had a positive impact for the team. He went 3-2 with three pins, which count for two extra team points.
The three teams that finished ahead of Columbia Falls were Flathead (244 points), Polson (176) and Whitefish (166).
The rest of the week is going to be busy for the Wildcats. At 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday), they wrestle at Ronan.
"Team-wise we should be OK, but some of our guys are going to have some tough matches," Knutson said.
Then Friday and Saturday, they wrestle in the Mining City Dual in Butte. It's a dual-match tourney, a format Knutson likes because all the wrestlers get a lot of mat time.
"It's a great weekend for growing, developing," he said.
On the first day, Columbia Falls faces Billings Senior at 1 p.m., Helena Capital at 4 p.m. and Conrad at 7 p.m. Teams must win two matches to reach Saturday's championship rounds.
"We're going to have our hands full," Knutson said.
Polson Wrestling Invitational
Saturday
Team scores - Flathead 244, Polson 176, Whitefish 166, Columbia Falls 127, Corvallis 99, Frenchtown 90, Missoula Sentinel 71, St. Ignatius/Charlo 56, Thompson Falls 44, Superior 35, Hamilton 34, Eureka 12.