Ronan wrestlers exceed expectations at state

BILLINGS — Chiefs wrestlers impressed their coach as nine wrestlers advanced to the state competition and Seth Clary placed fourth at 98 lbs.

"Everyone but two of our kids won matches, so that was a great improvement," said coach Ryan Fisher. "I think this can set the tone for future teams.

The Chiefs were a few bad breaks from picking up more victories and placing more wrestlers.

"R.J. Olson had a heartbreaker," said Fisher. "We made a mistake on choice of position near the end of the match. We chose top position and should have chosen bottom or neutral."

Sophomore Ben White was particularly encouraging to Fisher, because he was just one match away from placing which would have been outstanding considering his weight class.

"160 lbs. was an extremely difficult weight class, so Ben was a bright spot," said Fisher. "Ben beat two state champs (Logan Kugler of Polson and Gresh Melby from Sidney) to be within one match of placing."

And Fisher applauded the way Clary wrestled because he maintained his poise, having wrestled at state before.

"Seth wasn't intimidated, and it was important to show some of the younger kids that attitude," said Fisher.

The nine students that advanced to state were Seth Clary, Josh Krantz, Ben White, T.C. Garcia, Mike Trosper, Dan Brown, and seniors R.J. Olson, Alex Marquez, and Curtis Flesch. Dion Brown missed out in divisionals because he had a shoulder injury.

"My goal this year was to change the direction the program has been going, working on mental capabilities and staying competitive," said Fisher. "It's going to take some work, but I think what we accomplished this year can filter into next year."

Full results can be seen on B3.

Editor's note: Due to our oversight, we accidentally omitted our story on Ronan's performance at the divisional tourney last week. We apologize to the team and their fans for this.