MatCats pound Bulldogs in opener

Columbia Falls wrestlers walloped Whitefish in their opening-season dual last week. The Wildcats beat the Bulldogs 72-9 on Dec. 2 at home.

Wildcats Seth McCall, Cody Hader, Josiah Osborne, Adam Richardson, Chase Ramberg, Bryan Shaffer, Kohl Thompson and Marcus Ross all won by pins.

"We're excited about where we're at this early in the season," coach Jesse Schaeffer said. "My hats are off to the kids."

The next day at the Polson Invitational, three Columbia Falls wrestlers made it to the final rounds. Jordan Hughes took fourth, losing to Anthony Parkin, of Superior. Richardson took fourth, losing to Eric Mason, of Missoula Sentinel, and Kohl Thompson won by decision over Quincy Jessop, of Corvallis, 3-2 to take third.

The Cats took eighth in a tournament that featured a host of AA schools. Glacier High School won the tournament. Corvallis took second.

Schaeffer noted that while some wrestlers didn't place, the team did well - most went 3-2 at the tournament. Schaeffer was also pleased with the JV squad, which competed in the Wes Heinz tournament at Glacier. Several had first-place finishes and nine took second.

The squad will likely see some lineup changes - several wrestlers normally on the team were out because they didn't have enough practices.

The Cats have a tough road this week. They travel to Dillon for a dual Thursday night, then face them again Friday morning at the Mining City Duals in Butte. The Cats also will dual Glacier and Billings West this weekend in Butte. Glacier is the top AA team in the state.

That's OK with the coach.

"Getting mat time is our primary goal," Schaeffer said.