Wrestling teams see action at CMR Christmas Classic
Wyatt Elwell takes on a Ronan wrestler during action at the Owen Invitational in Polson earlier this season. (Bob Gunderson photo)
The Vikes and Vals wrestling teams were in action in Great Falls over the weekend as the Vikings took 22nd and the Valkyries 45th at the CMR Holiday Classic.
Evan Tidwell (182) and Felix Zambergs (285) each finished eighth in their weight classes to lead the Vikings as Bigfork compiled 69 team points at the two-day event.
Tidwell fell in his opening match but bounced back with four straight wins, pinning Helena’s Sam Schlitz in 4:34 and Big Sky/Loyola’s Quincy King in 2:22 before earning a 9-6 decision against Browning’s Ashton Granados.
Tidwell pinned Sentinel’s Alexander Beck in 4:22 before dropping his final two matches.
Zambergs opened the meet by pinning Laurel’s Tye Brown in 2:35 before dropping a 7-0 decision to Anaconda’s Aidan Miller.
Zambergs won his next three matches with a 6-3 decision over Layne Powers of East Helena, a 2-1 tie-break victory over Ronan’s Jackson Davis and an 11-0 major decision against Gunnar Rathjen of Columbia Falls.
Zambergs dropped his final two matches to settle for eighth.
Lyrik Fainter (113) went 3-2 in his matches, all by pin, but did not place Diego Rodriguez (103), Michael McCarty (145) and Holland Jantzen (285) each went 2-2 in their matches.
Wyatt Elwell (170), Damien Kato (182) and Ryder Zambergs (205) each won one match for the Vikes at the tourney.
Ella Tidwell (145) and Angela Farrier (152) combined to go 5-5 for the Valkyries at the meet as the Bigfork Girls posted 17 points to take 45th.
Tidwell fell in her opening match but bounced back by pinning Billings Senior’s Annika Robertson in 2:14 and Ronan’s Lola Schock in 2:11 before earning a 12-4 major decision over Alayna Hockhalter of Thompson Falls/Noxon.
Tidwell fell in her final two matches but earned eighth in her division.
Farrier won her first two matches by pinning Ronan’s Jasmin Hakes in 42 seconds and Browning’s Sadaiyah Momberg in 59 seconds before falling in her final two matches of the meet.
The teams traveled to Anaconda for a match after press time Tuesday and will finish out their 2023 schedule at the Columbia Falls Mixer Thursday, beginning at 5 p.m.