Roberts, Ross take second at Holiday Classic

Two Columbia Falls wrestlers took second place at the C.M. Russell Holiday Wrestling Classic in Great Falls on Dec. 19-20.

Shonn Roberts fell to Jarrett Degen of Belgrade 4-2 in the championship round for 138 pounds, while Spencer Ross was pinned by Colstrip’s Jake Session in the championship round for heavyweights.

Kaleb Gravelin took fourth in the 132-pound class. He was pinned by Logan Harms of Forsyth.

As a team, the MatCats took 10th overall. The CMR tourney is one of the biggest in the state, pitting the best wrestlers against each other across different school classes.

Roberts’ loss was his first this season. He will likely face Degen again in the state tournament later this year.

On Dec. 18, the MatCats drubbed Libby 51-18 in an away dual that primarily featured Columbia Falls junior varsity wrestlers.

Austin Nelson (103), Ben Windauer (113), Brandon Thomas (126), Nathan Hader (132), Hunter Peterson (138), Colton Sweeney (145) and Troy Meyer (152) all had wins against the Greenchain, which has fallen on hard times in the past few years. Libby used to have a solid wrestling program.

At the Buzz Lucey Tournament in Eureka on Dec. 20, Windauer took second in the 113-pound class. He was pinned in the championship round by Kahden Bakkila of Eureka.

Nelson, Thomas, Ike Schweikert (205) and Blake Arneson (heavyweight) all had third-place finishes in the tournament, which also featured the MatCats’ junior varsity wrestlers. The MatCats took fourth as a team.

The MatCats return to action at the Ronan tournament Jan. 2-3.