MatCats win three divisional championships
Three Wildcat grapplers won divisional crowns as Columbia Falls hosted the Northwest A divisional tournament Feb. 4. The MatCats came in fourth as a team but put seven grapplers into the finals.
Shonn Roberts downed Frenchtown's Tyler Ishler at 98 pounds, 9-6; Josh Folsom pinned Frenchtown's David Anderson at 171 pounds; and Jacob Babcock dropped Frenchtown's Jordan Zuraff 8-4.
Roberts had easily pinned Ishler the week before at a dual in Columbia Falls, but this time around it was much tougher, as an Ishler move caught Roberts on his back. Roberts squirmed out of the spot and went on for the victory.
Folsom's bout with Anderson was also a rematch and was tight down to the wire until Folsom made a nice move and flattened Anderson for the pin.
Babcock built a big lead against Zuraff and then held on in the final period for the victory.
MatCat Marcus Ross had a tough loss at 189. He appeared to take down Gunnar Moe, of Libby, in the closing seconds of a tied 2-2 match, but the referees ruled that Ross had his hands locked around Moe, which is illegal.
Moe was given a point for the illegal move, but the referees also didn't stop the clock - about 30 seconds ticked off as the two continued to wrestle and the match ended. MatCats Coach Jessie Schaeffer argued the time should have been put back on the clock, but to no avail.
"I thought they should have put time on the clock," Schaeffer said. "It's unfortunate."
If Ross had won the match, it would have changed not only the team-point standings but also Ross's seeding heading into the state tournament. But overall, Schaeffer was pleased with the team's effort.
"They wrestled to their ability and wrestled well," he said. "We're excited about how they finished individually ... we knew it was going to be a tight tournament."
Schaeffer had kudos for athletic director John Thompson, the Columbia Falls Booster Club and all the volunteers that helped.
"They did a great job and made it a positive tournament for the community," he said.
The MatCats qualified 14 wrestlers for state tournament in Billings this weekend. They'll leave early Thursday morning and make the long bus ride down to the tournament, which starts Friday morning.
Jug Beck Quick Pin Award: Taylor Martin, Polson (3 pins in 3:10)
Team Totals - Polson 200, Libby 187, Frenchtown 185.5, Columbia Falls 182, Whitefish 33
Championship Finals - 98: Shonn Roberts, CF, def. Tyler Ishler, F, 12-6. 105: Taylor Martin, P, p. Dylan Roby, L, :43. 112: Glenn Hensley, F, p. Carlos Quinones, P, 5:36. 119: Zach Crace, L, p. Dylan Moll, P, 3:57. 125: Craig Feistner, P, p. Cody Lemmons, F, 2:24. 130: Mitch Haugen, L, tech. fall Drew Fouty, P, 18-2. 135: Cody Ishler, F, dec. Adam Richardson, CF, 5-1. 140: Alex Nystrom, P, p. Garret Chapel, 1:30. 145: Kyle Leir, L, dec. Kohl Thompson, CF, 6-2. 152: Mike Devlin, P, dec. Joshua Bowers, L, 6-0. 160: Dylan Berget, L, dec. Jacob Burgess, CF, 12-5. 171: Josh Folsom, CF, pinned. David Anderson, F, 5:29. 189: Gunnar Moe, L, dec. Marcus Ross, CF, 3-2. 215: Jacob Babcock, CF, def. Jordan Zuraff, FT, 8-4. 285: Josiah Clairmont, P, p. Wolf Zinke, WF, :35
Consolation Finals - 98: Alex Helgeson, P, dec. Caleb Bagness, F, 6-3. 105: Preston Downard, F, maj. dec. Ryan Stenerson, F, 11-1. 112: Lucas Polk, P, p. Matt Barton, W, :39. 119: Carson Wabaunsee, F, p. Trysten Armstrong, W, :28. 125: Cody Hader, CF, maj. dec. Aaron Seefeldt, L, 14-5. 130: Josiah Osborne, p. Roy Schutter, F, :46. 135: Skylar Anderson, P, dec. Zayne Brunz, CF, 7-5, OT. 140: Bryan Shaffer, CF, def. Chase Ramberg, CF, 6-3. 145: Travis Provicne, CF, dec. Tel Motichka, P, 8-7. 152: Seth Hagan, F, tech fall Jared Young, P, 20-3. 160: Sam Gordan, F, won by injury default. 171: Robin Kyes, L, dec. Austin Bailey, L, 3-2. 189: Marlin Burke, P, p. Rand Pritzkau, F, 5-4. 215: Zach Dolezal, L, p. Aaron Vick, W, 1:59. 285: Nathan Bennett, F, def. Wayde Motichka, CF, 3-1, OT
Fifth/Sixth Place - 105: Garrett Rice, W, p. Jordan Hughes, CF, :31. 130: Steven Walk, P, def Judah Prestegaard, W. 140: Drew Carruth, P def. Kody Wilson, F. 145: Ricky Roach, L, def. Tucker Truett, F. 152: Aundre Condit, L, def. Brendan Moseman, CF. 189: Jacob Forrest, W, received a bye. 215: Spencer Ross, CF, def. Keleb Auld, P.