Roberts, Gravelin go undefeated on the road
The Columbia Falls wrestling team had a busy week. The MatCats were on the road against Dillon and Sydney on Dec. 11 and then competed in the Mining City Duals in Butte over the weekend.
Austin Nelson (103), Winfield West (113), Haze Bell (126), Kaleb Gravelin (132), Shonn Roberts (138), Colton Gove (145), Tristen Steinwand (160), Storm Kemppainen (170), Mikey Denison (182) and Ike Schweikert (205) all had wins for the MatCats in the Dillon-Sydney mixer.
If the mixer was scored as a dual, the MatCats would have beaten Dillon 48-18, but against Sidney, the boys would have lost, 36-27, coach Jessie Schaeffer said.
Roberts, Nelson and Kaleb Gravelin went undefeated in their matches. Roberts recorded pins against Bridger Nelson of Dillon and Ethan Graves of Sydney.
At the Mining City Duals in Butte, the MatCats beat Conrad 51-20, Ronan 57-18 and Helena High 42-23, but they were lost to Missoula Big Sky 35-30, Helena Capital 48-27 and Great Falls High 42-31.
“It was a rollercoaster ride,” Schaeffer said. “We’d get some momentum going and fall short.”
The highlight of the tournament was going up against AA Great Falls High, Schaeffer said. The team came together and supported each other and fell just a match short.
Havre took first place as a team in Butte. Gravelin and Roberts again went undefeated to lead the MatCats. Gravelin had a great weekend, Schaeffer noted, pinning state champion Jarren Komac of Great Falls High to highlight his effort.
“He was patient and had smart, sound wrestling,” Schaeffer said.
Overall, the coach likes the way the team is progressing.
“We just have to get all our kids wrestling well at the same time,” Schaeffer said.
Columbia Falls is on the road again this week, competing in a dual against Libby on Thursday followed by the Great Falls Holiday Invitational.
The Invitational is the biggest meet in the state, even Columbia Falls’ best wrestlers will have their hands full, as the tournament draws schools from across all classes to the meet.
“It really mixes thing up,” Schaeffer said. “We’re looking forward to it.”