Chiefs grapplers still undefeated with win over Polson

With two in a row, the tides are turning in Ronan's favor.

The Ronan Chiefs handled the Polson Pirates easily last Friday, taking a 58-16 win over their crosstown rivals for the second year in a row, as the Chiefs remain undefeated in dual action halfway through the season.

Polson had to forfeit four weight classes, which cost them 24 points, but it would not have affected the outcome of the dual, and the Chiefs looked stronger in most of the weight classes, winning seven of the 11 contested matches, including five by pins.

Cameron Neiss (112) started the action off against Shawn Medland, one of many Pirates with experience at the state level, but Neiss quickly jumped out to a 4-1 lead with a takedown before pinning Medland.

Ryan Hardy (119) probably had the comeback of the night for the Chiefs, after falling behind 8-2 against Pirate Jacob Young. Young did a great job of taking control in the first period, but Hardy had more gas in the tank, getting a big pin for his team to give the Chiefs an 18-0 lead overall.

Chief Tyson Noyes then faced off against Keio Salmonson in the 125 weight class, and the two proved to be pretty evenly matched. Noyes battled to a 3-0 lead after the second period, and held on to win 4-0 to give his team a 21-0 lead after three matches and one Polson forfeit at the 105 pound class.

Chiefs Zach Robinson (105), Mickey Cheff (135), Marcus Schiele (189) and Tomy Parker (Hwt.) all won by forfeit, as Polson has been unable to fill some weight classes this season.

The Pirates got a boost from Trae Fouty (130), who pinned Nate Templer in 1:13 to get Polson on the board, but the Chiefs came roaring back with a major decision win by Toby Cheff over Ty Fouty, 13-0, in the 140 weight class.

"Toby Cheff had another great showing against the Fouty kid. Both of the Fouty boys are solid wrestlers and I expect great matches with them. Toby just wrestled very well; he does exceptionally well for a freshman at his weight," Ronan head coach Ryan Fisher said.

Fisher was very pleased with his frosh grapplers, which include Cheff, Cole McArthur, and Jesse Robinson.

"I am really excited with the development of our freshmen group. We have three freshmen in the varsity lineup right now, and they have been doing a great job for us," Fisher said.

McArthur had to take on one of the toughest in the state, Logan Torgison, at 145, and Torgison came away with a major decision, 11-2, although McArthur deserves credit for avoiding the pin.

"Cole McArthur, although he lost his match, he kept wrestling hard throughout the entire match. He has a great deal of flexibility and good balance; he frustrates a lot of wrestlers," Fisher noted.

Torgison's win represented a brief momentum change for Polson, who went on to win the next two matches. Ronan's Westyn Kiehn lost a tough battle to Pirate frosh Sheldon Fischer in the 152 class. The two were tied 0-0 after two periods, but Fischer came away with the 2-0 victory in the third to make it 31-13 Ronan.

Ricky Luchau then faced off against another all-state Pirate, Brock PIcard, in the 160 weight class. Picard jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period, then 5-0, before winning 9-3 to make it 31-16 Chiefs.

Chief Josh Krantz faced off against Pirate Ryley Duford in the 171 class, and the two battled it out for three full periods. Krantz had a 4-2 lead in the second, but Duford managed to fight off a couple of close pin attempts before Krantz took the 7-2 win.

Frank Swan got the pin for the Chiefs in the 215 weight class, over Pirate Skylar Knutson 46 seconds into the second period, to give his team a 46-16 lead.

The final match of the night was the 98 pound class, with Jesse Robinson facing off against Pirate Jesse Alfiero, and Robinson came away with the pin just before the end of the first period to solidify the Chiefs' victory, 58-16.

"I am extremely pleased with Jesse Robertson's progress lately. He's not overly aggressive by nature and so it's been difficult to get his motor revved for some of his matches. But lately, he has shown some real spark and has opened up with his offense," Fisher said. "He won his first match in Great Falls last week and that gave him a great confidence boost. Since then, he has realized that he can wrestle and has been improving greatly."

Fisher noted that despite the score, a few matches could have gone either way, and the Pirates gave the Chiefs some areas to work on.

"There were a number of matches determined by narrow point margins, and they could easily go either way on any given night. I expect a tough showing from Polson again when we meet them next," he said.

The Chiefs did have some trouble with Polson's game plan, Fisher said.

"Although we were able to get the win, I am a little miffed at our inability to defend Polson's spiral ride. It's no mystery what Polson does from the top position, so we drill it in the wrestling room in preparation for them," Fisher said. "But, to their credit, Polson runs that move very well, and we were not able to get control from the bottom position very well. We'll be working on that over the break."

The Chiefs will head into the break undefeated in dual action, and will host the Western Montana Duals Jan. 4-5, which will feature Polson along with a dozen other teams around the region. Last Friday's win was a good way to head into the Christmas break, Fisher noted.

"Overall, our team should be proud of themselves. The team has been working hard and had a great start to this season. We still have some work to do to keep pace with the progress of other teams, but it is nice to head into the break on a positive note," Fisher said. "Our state of mind and focus has remained steady all year, something that is relatively new from our teams in the past. We've had great leaders and dedicated underclassmen to keep this element of our team headed in the right direction."

Ronan 58 Polson 16

#98 Jesse Robertson (Ron) win by pin Jesse Alfiero 1:55

#105 Zach Robinson (Ron) win by forfeit

#112 Cameron Neiss (Ron) win by pin Shawn Medland 5:13

#119 Ryan Hardy (Ron) win by pin Jacob Young 3:02

#125 Tyson Noyes (Ron) win by dec Keio Salmonson 4-0

#130 Nate Templer (Ron) lost by pin Trae Fouty 1:13

#135 Mickey Cheff (Ron) win by forfeit

#140 Toby Cheff (Ron) win by major dec. Ty Fouty 13-0

#145 Cole McArthur (Ron) lost by major dec Logan Torgison 11-2

#152 Westyn Kiehn (Ron) lost by dec Sheldon Fischer 2-0

#160 Ricky Luchau (Ron) lost by dec Brock Picard 9-3

#171 Josh Krantz (Ron) win by dec. Ryley Duford 7-2

#189 Marcus Schiele (Ron) won by forfeit

#215 Frank Swan (Ron) won by pin Skylar Knutson 2:46

#285 Tomy Parker (Ron) won by forfeit