Mat Cats topple Loggers; head to Divisional tournament

By JOE SOVA / Hungry Horse News

In a Northwestern A Conference wrestling dual that boiled down to criteria, Columbia Falls claimed a victory over Libby on Thursday (Jan. 24) in Libby.

When the 15 matches were completed, the Mat Cats and Loggers each had scored 39 points. Trailing by 12 points with two weights to go, Sal Baccaro at 98 pounds and Cody Edstrom at 105 picked up forfeit wins, allowing the Mat Cats to tie the Loggers.

The dual was then decided by criteria, and since the Mat Cats had eight individual wins and Libby had seven, CFHS claimed the victory.

CFHS finished with a 3-5 record in Northwestern A Conference duals. The Mat Cats compete in the Divisional Tournament on Saturday in Ronan. The top finishers advance to state Feb. 8-9 in Billings.

It was Kodie Kenfield's win by fall at 215 pounds over Pat Wood with four matches to go that was crucial. That was because Brandin Mills of Libby then pinned Bryce Arneson for a 39-27 Logger lead. The back-to-back forfeit wins by Bacarro and Edstrom forced the tie.

The Kenfield-Wood match came down to the wire as Kenfield was able to pin the Logger with 14 seconds remaining.

"Kodie's win was huge," Mat Cats head coach Jessie Schaeffer said. "We told him he needed to go out there and get a pin."

In the last dual of the season Schaeffer said it was great to come out with a team win against the Loggers, who were ranked in the top 10 in Class A.

"The team wrestled really, really well, and we wrestled well on top," Schaeffer said.

Every point was precious for the Mat Cats as they won two matches by fall, three by major decision, one by decision and two by forfeit. CFHS forfeited once, at 171 pounds.

Kelly Houle's win at 189 pounds was a key. Houle earned a 2-1 decision over Justin Graham. Houle had beaten Graham in double overtime in the previous meeting.

Clayton Patterson (119) won by fall for the Mat Cats, pinning Dakota Bassett in 1:19. Getting major decisions were Shawn Whitman (130), Cody Kolodejchuk (140) and Michael Hader (160).

The Mats Cats hosted a jamboree on Saturday (Jan. 26) that gave coaches an opportunity to get some of their wrestlers more mat time and a full complement of individual matches.

"Our main line-up guys were not out there. We left our horses out," Schaeffer said.

The purpose was also to help a number of Mat Cats raise their confidence levels.

CFHS will fill 14 of the 15 weight classes at the Divisional Tournament, where the top four finishers in each weight class qualify for state. The Mat Cats will be open at 171 pounds.

"It will come down to wrestling solid and who wants it more," Schaeffer said. "It's who's ready to wrestle."

Realistically, Schaeffer feels 10 Mat Cats will advance to state, maybe more.

"Everyone has a realistic chance (to qualify)," the coach said.

Seeding for the Divisional is based on percentage of wins against Class A opponents, and head-to-head competition.

Divisional action begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Ronan Middle School, and the tourney will wrap up around 9 p.m.

Columbia Falls 39, Libby 39

CFHS won by criteria, eight individual wins to seven

98 — Sal Baccaro (CF) forfeit win. 105 — Cody Edstrom (CF) forfeit win. 112 — Michael Roby (L) pinned Hunter Fishel, 1:31. 119 — Clayton Patterson (CF) pinned Dakota Bassett, 1:19. 125 — Levi Edwards-Myslicki (L) pinned Jacob Hader, 3:36. 130 — Shawn Whitman (CF) maj. dec. Cody Elliott, 16-5. 135 — Kyle Sweedman (L) pinned Nick Toavs, 2:28. 140 — Cody Kolodejchuk (CF) maj. dec. Charlie Berget, 15-2. 145 — Kody Berget (L) dec. Joe Gross, 7-4. 152 — Seth Wright (L) pinned Trevor Miller, :36. 160 — Michael Hader (CF) maj. dec. Steve Gary, 11-1. 171 — Lucas Puckett (L) forfeit win. 189 — Kelly Houle (CF) dec. Justin Graham, 2-1. 215 — Kodie Kenfield (CF) pinned Pat Wood, 5:46. Hwt — Brandin Mills (L) pinned Bryce Arneson.

Columbia Falls Jamboree

Mat Cat winners:

Nate Woods (hwt) pinned Jake Seibert (Ronan), 3:53; Kenfield maj. dec. Kasmir Spilas (Glacier), 11-2; Toavs pinned Kline Keller (Glacier), 3:08; Whitman dec. Devin Kanarainen (Polson), 10-7; Kolodejchuk tech. fall Zax Martin (Polson), 17-1; Whitman tech. fall Eric Rasmussen (Polson), 19-4; Baccaro pinned Dakota Jensen (Polson), 1:48; Russell Plevel (130) pinned Keata Yokoyama (Polson), 4:33; Toavs pinned Morgan Peck (Libby), :57; Miller pinned Jeremiah Larson (Libby), 1:40; Cody Barto (hwt) pinned Keaton Hardwick (Glacier), 1:30.