MatCats shine in duals, go 9-0
It was great week of wrestling. On Jan. 2, the Columbia Falls wrestling team dropped Sandpoint, Idaho, 54-22 in a dual in Kalispell. They also beat Flathead 41-39 and Glacier 39-27.
Two days later, the MatCats won the Western Montana Duals in Ronan, defeating Mission-Charlo 69-15, Frenchtown 57-27, and Corvallis 56-24.
On the first day of the Ronan tournament, the MatCats walloped Drummond, 75-0, beat Hamilton 49-21, and thumped Fairfield 57-12.
The wins against Frenchtown and Corvallis were the most significant. Frenchtown is ranked sixth in the state, and Corvallis is fifth. Columbia Falls is fourth in the rankings.
The MatCats had six wins by pins against Corvallis and four against Frenchtown. Columbia Falls is getting good results across the board, including nice performances from Winfield West, Mason Fetters, Shonn Roberts, Bryan Shaffer, Spencer Ross, Ike Schweikert and Jason Williams.
Roberts, the top-ranked wrestler in the state at 126 pounds, has yet to lose a match this season.
“I feel good about the team overall,” said coach Jessie Schaeffer. “We’re firing on about 10 of the 15 cylinders we need to be firing on. We went 9-0 in duals and responded well after the holiday break.”
The MatCats will travel to Libby on Thursday and Frenchtown on Saturday.
Ronan Tournament championship (Jan. 4) results:
Columbia Falls 69 vs. Mission/Charlo 15
98- Manny Guzman (CF) won by forfeit
106- Morgan Schultz (M/C) dec. Winfield West 9-6
113- Mason Fetters (CF) pin Danny Helmer :29
120- Kaleb Gravelin (CF) won by forfeit
126- Shonn Roberts (CF) pin Jamie Mullins 2:21
132- Wyatt Green (CF) won by forfeit
138- Colton Gove (CF) pin Jay Wadsworth 2:54
145- Zayne Brunz (CF) pin Trent Dennison 1:21
152- Bryan Shaffer (CF) pin Kyla Couture 3:44
160- Cody Walters (CF) dec. Manuel Ammann 10-6
170- Jacen Petersen (M/C) pin Jason Williams :34
182- Ike Schweikert (CF) pin Shane Morigeau 2:56
195- Andrew Burgess (CF) pin Steven Bravo 4:53
220- Ethan Goss (M/C) pin Mikey Dennison 5:17
285- Spender Ross (CF) pin Tyler Seidel 0:15
Columbia Falls 57 vs. Frenchtown 27
98- Caleb Bagnell (Ftn) pin Manny Guzman (CF) 1:43
106- Cody Warner (Ftn) pin Winfield West (CF) 5:37
113- Mason Fetters (CF) pin Cade Livoti (Ftn) 3:22
120- Preston Downard (Ftn) pin Kalob Graveline (CF) 5:54
126- Shonn Roberts (CF) dec. Tyler Ishler (Ftn) 19-5
132- Wyatt Green (CF) tech fall Bryce Williams (Ftn) 19-4
138- Colton Gove (CF) pin Jon Blanchard (Ftn) 2:31
145- Cody Lemons (Ftn) pin Zayne Brunz (CF) 3:40
152- Bryan Shaffer (CF) pin Brett Jensen (Ftn) 0:51
160- Cody Walters (CF) open
170- Jason Williams (CF) open
182- Ike Schwiekert (CF) pin Cole Allen (Ftn) 1:50
195- Nathan Bennett (Ftn) dec Andrew Burgess (CF) 7-3
220- Rand Pritzkau (Ftn) pin Mikey Denison (CF) 0:47
285- Spencer Ross (CF) open
Columbia Falls 56 vs. Corvallis 24
98- Manny Guzman (CF) won by forfeit
106- Winfield West (CF) pin Will Wissenbach 4:27
113- Mason Fetters (CF) won by forfeit
120- Kalob Graveline (CF) dec. Paul Allsop 4-0
126- Shonn Roberts (CF) tech fall Josh Venema 20-5
132- Gunnar Fairbrother (Cor) dec. Wyatt Green 8-5
138- Tylor Olsen (Cor) pin Colton Gove :47
145- Zayne Brunz (CF) pin Baylee Burt 1:04
152- Bryan Shaffer (CF) pin Riley Jessop 3:07
160- Wyatt Jessop (Cor) pin Cody Walters 3:57
170- Jason Williams (CF) pin Tucker Jessop 4:45
182- Sam Burdette (Cor) pin Ike Schweikert 1:06
195- Andrew Burgess (CF) pin Garrett Hunt :39
220- Luke Channer (Cor) dec. Mikey Dennison 7-2
285- Spencer Ross (CF) pin Cole Schmitt 4:45