Polson sends 11 to state tourney

POLSON — The Polson Pirates will send 11 grapplers to the state tourney in Billings this weekend, after placing third in last week's divisional tourney.

Libby, the only team to beat the Pirates twice this season, finished first, and Whitefish exceeded expectations with second place. Although both teams qualified 14 for state, Polson bested all schools with six individual championships Saturday, which bodes well for state tourney seeding.

Shayne Ludwick took first in the 98-pound class, Logan Torgison took first at 105, Colby Wolfenden placed first at 125, Kaine Zetterberg was tops at 130, Logan Kugler finished atop the 160 weight class, and Kevin Owen was first at 171 pounds.

Shawn Medland finished fourth at 98, Conlin Benson lost a squeaker to finish second at 112, Pat Dellwo took fourth at 140, Ted Morigeau finished fourth at 145, and Aaron Jones took fourth at 215.

Ludwick almost had a pin in the second period of his championship match against Seth Clary of Ronan, but instead relied on a takedown and near fall to get the 5-3 win.

Torgison pinned Columbia Falls' Cody Kolodejchuk with 45 seconds left in the second period — the only Pirate to have a pin in the finals.

Benson had a nearly identical match against Whitefish's Danny Neff that he did on Jan. 22, with Neff giving up points for stalling. Neff won on a near fall in the first period, 3-2, after Benson couldn't quite mount the comeback. Both his points were for stalling.

Wolfenden was neck and neck with Wildcat Michael Hader, tied 4-4 in the third, when Wolfenden got two points for a reversal and two for a near fall in the last 30 seconds of the match to take the 8-4 win.

Zetterberg had no problems in his match, winning 7-2 on three takedowns.

Kugler made his match a little closer than it should have been, giving up three points on escapes, two of which were intentional. Kugler likes to let his opponent have the disadvantage position, and then simply places his hands on his back, giving him the one point for an "escape" instead of making him earn it. Kugler won, 11-8.

"It hasn't backfired on me yet," Kugler said of his strategy of giving a point away here and there.

Owen had one of his best showings of the season, winning by technical fall, 23-8, after getting 11 takedowns and one escape.

For Owen, who set the school record for takedowns and wins this season, the state tourney represents the one thing he's never had - a state title. Although he has four Rocky Mountain Classic titles in as many weight classes, the best he's done at state is second place.

"My biggest competition is myself. It's all mental. There's no chance for slip-ups at the state level," Owen said after his championship match. "I just need to get myself in the right mindset and go out there and do it."

"The toughest part for Kevin has been the misfortune at the state level. I know how hard he trains," said Bob Owen, his father and Polson wrestling coach.

Owen should have it easy through the semi-finals, his father said, but will probably face a Hardin state champ later on. Other Polson grapplers will have similar predicaments, depending on whether other former state champs are in their brackets, or in other brackets from the other conferences around the state.

Ludwick "wound up with a nice bracket, and has a chance to make it to the finals," Owen said.

Torgison, on the other hand, has a former state champ in his bracket. "He's going to have a tough time (making it to the finals)," Owen said. "But he's had an outstanding season as a freshman."

Benson also has good potential, but not exploding out of the gates cost him his match against Neff, Owen said. Coming out hard early will be the key to his success at state.

Wolfenden has good momentum, but will also face a state champion in his first bracket, Owen said. The same fate awaits Dellwo.

"It's tough sleddin' from the get-go for Pat," Owen said. "He had some hard luck in the divisional tourney - he could have been in the finals."

Zetterberg, however, has a good chance to make it to the finals, with two Sydney state champs working their way up through the other bracket - clearing the way for a meeting with Zetterberg.

"Sydney's got more state champs than you've got hot meals," Owen said. "But Kaine's on a mission. He's got a good chance."

Morigeau's status for the state tourney is doubtful, after hurting his knee Saturday, and the team isn't allowed a substitute. He hurt his MCL, which probably ended his season.

"It's really unfortunate," Owen said. "He was doing well."

Kugler might have the best shot — there's two state champs in the other brackets, which means they'll have to battle each other to get to him.

"He came out smelling like a rose," Owen said of Kugler's tourney seeding.

"For the semi finals, I'm going to have to face Caleb Cousins from Corvallis. I faced him at the Rocky Mountain Classic, and won 6-4," Kugler said. "In the finals, the other two guys are state champs, so it could go either way."

Jones didn't have his best showing at divisionals, so he'll face a No. 1 seed early on at state, but Owen said he's hopeful Jones will do well. He lost a close 4-2 match to Bulldog Kyle Burns in the semis.

Shawn Medland also is showing good promise.

"I'm really excited about him. He's tough as nails, and worth his weight in gold," Owen said of the 98 pounder.

Northwestern A Divisional

Team Scores — Libby 209, Whitefish 191, Polson 172, Columbia Falls 171, Ronan 95.

State Qualifiers

98 — 1, Shayne Ludwick, Pol; 2, Seth Clary, Ron; 3, Shawn Medland, Pol; 4, Phillip Murphy, WF.

105 — 1, Logan Torgison, Pol; 2, Cody Kolodejchuk, CF; 3, Loran Nelson, Lib; 4, Cody Morris, WF.

112 — 1, Danny Neff, WF; 2, Conlin Benson, Pol; 3, Alex Marquez, Ron; 4, Trevor Kelly, Lib.

119 — 1, Aric Tarr, CF; 2, Kyle Ames, Lib; 3, Kevin Kaltschmidt, WF; 4, Cory Pete, CF.

125 — 1, Colby Wolfenden, Pol; 2, Michael Hader, CF; 3, Matt Roberts, Lib; 4, Bo Hader, CF.

130 — 1, Kaine Zetterberg, Pol; 2, Keyvin Walter, CF; 3, Matt Starr, WF; 4, Boomer Peek, Lib.

135 — 1, Seth Cummings, Lib; 2, Dalvin Averill, CF; 3, Pete Starr, WF; 4, Josh Krantz, Ron.

140 — 1, Cody Mikesell, WF; 2, Tim Spencer, Lib; 3, Bobby Opp, CF; 4, Pat Dellwo, Pol.

145 — 1, Ryan Buck, CF; 2, Brad Watterud, WF; 3, Steve Bertelson, Lib; 4, Ted Morigeau, Pol.

152 — 1, Nils Unger, Lib; 2, R.J. Olsen, Ron; 3, Brad Kuntz, WF; 4, David Lautaret, WF.

160 — 1, Logan Kugler, Pol; 2, Calvin Williams, CF; 3, Ben White, Ron; 4, Reese Gassett, Lib.

171 — 1, Kevin Owen, Pol; 2, Jake Spencer, Lib; 3, Tim Lehner, WF; 4, Curtis Flesch, Ron.

189 — Jake Graham, Lib; 2, Nik Caron, CF; 3, Matt Mangold, WF; 4, T.C. Garcia, Ron.

215 — 1, Travis Hjort, Lib; 2, Dan Brown, Ron; 3, Kyle Burns, WF; 4, Aaron Jones, Pol.

HWT— 1, Troy Parker, WF; 2, Tyler Goff, Lib; 3, Tommy Church, CF; 4, Mike Trosper, Ron.