Ronan Chiefs slip past Pirates for first place at Northwestern A Divisionals

The fourth-ranked Ronan Chiefs picked up six individual titles on their home mats and used a strong championship round to pull out the Northwest A Divisional Tournament team trophy Saturday.

Ronan qualified a total of 15 wrestlers for next weekend's All Class State Wrestling Tournament in Billings, while second-place Polson will also send 15. The fifth-ranked Pirates actually held the team lead for most of the day, but fell behind after picking up just four wins in the championship round.

"As I thought it might be, it was a tight race clear through to the finals. We had a couple of disappointing losses, but I am very pleased with the team's performance this weekend," Ronan coach Ryan Fisher said. "It was very rewarding for the team to capture the Divisional under our own roof; it's a goal they've been looking forward to achieving all year."

Ronan and Polson, grappling for conference bragging rights all season, had eight head-to-head matchups in the championship and placing rounds. Ronan picked up seven wins in those matches, including four by pin.

Senior Josh Krantz picked up one of those pins and his first Divisional title against Polson's Ryley Duford.

"Josh has been in the varsity lineup and took some early beatings that would drive many others away from the sport," Ronan coach Ryan Fisher said. "He's never missed a practice, though, and I'm glad to see the dedication pay off."

Juniors Tyson Noyes and Zach Robinson continued to anchor the top of Ronan's lineup with Divisional titles. Noyes, who spent most of the season at 119, was forced to move up a weight after a three-week injury but still took top honors at 125 pounds. He has won a divisional crown in all three of his seasons. Robinson needed just one match for his first 105-pound title, pinning Polson's Dakotah Jensen.

Sophomores Cameron Neiss and Micky Cheff also continued solid seasons with championship wins over their Polson rivals. Neiss pinned Pirate Shawn Medland in 3:08 for the 112-pound crown. Cheff added to the growing list of great matches against Polson's Trae Fouty, coming away with a 6-4 decision at 130.

Freshman Cole McArthur continued to use his unorthadox style to earn a title and state berth of his own for the Chiefs at 135.

Polson's title efforts were led, yet again, by senior Logan Torgison at 145 pounds. Torgison picked up his fourth Divisional title and will enter state as a top seed after winning last year's state crown.

Junior Jesse Alfiero picked up his first Divisional title at 98 pounds and will make his first trip to the state tournament. A determined Alfiero outpointed Columbia Falls' Sal Bacarro for his crown.

Sophomore Brock Picard continued the family tradition of attending the state tournament with his 11-3 major decision over Libby's Steve Gary at 160. The trip will be Brock's first.

This weekend's matches will begin in the Billings Metra Park Arena at 10 a.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday.

TEAM SCORES

Ronan 211, Polson 188.5, Libby 142.5, Columbia Falls 134, Whitefish 81.

CHAMPIONSHIPS

98 - Jesse Alfiero, Polson, dec, 8-4, Sal Bacarro, Columbia Falls, 105 - Zach Robinson, Ronan, pinned, :27, Dakotah Jensen, Polson, 112 - Cameron Neiss, Ronan, pinned, 3:08, Shawn Medland, Polson, 119 - Clayton Patterson, Columbia Falls, dec, 4-0, Jacob Young, Polson, 125 - Tyson Noyes, Ronan, pinned, 1:44, Keio Salmonson, Polson,; 130 - Mick Cheff, Ronan, dec , 6:4, Trae Fouty, Polson,; 135 - Cole McArthur, Ronan, dec, 6:4, Kyle Sweedman, Libby,; 140 - Cody Kolodejchuk , Columbia Falls, dec, 10-8, Matt Starr, Whitefish,; 145 - Logan Torgison, Polson, TF, 5:45 19-4, Cody Morris, Whitefish,; 152 - Michael Hader, Columbia Falls, dec, 11-4, Seth Wright, Libby,; 160 - Brock Picard, Polson, maj dec, 11-3, Steve Gary, Libby,; 171 - Josh Krantz, Ronan, pinned, 3:38, Ryley Duford, Polson,; 189 - Kelly Houle , Columbia Falls, dec, 5-4, Justin Graham, Libby, 215 - Kodie Kenfield, Columbia Falls, dec, 7-4, Jake Scheel, Whitefish, Hwt - Brandon Mills, Libby, maj dec, 15-6, Tommy Parker, Ronan.

THIRD-FOURTH PLACE

112 - Michael Roby pinned, 3:45, Ryan Hardy, Ronan, 119 - Randy Kelley, Polson, pinned, 2:46, Levi Edwards-Myslicki, Libby, 125 - Nate Templer, Ronan, dec, 6-2, Cody Elliott, Libby, 130 - Shawn Whitman, Columbia Falls, pinned, 2:05, Skilur Dilley, Libby,; 135 - Shane Ludwick, Polson, dec, 6-2, Shadow LeMay, Libby, 140 - Toby Cheff, Ronan, dec, 6-2, Ty Fouty, Polson, 145 - Tanner Bennedict, Whitefish, dec, 4-2 OT, Joe Gross, Columbia Falls, 152 - Sheldon Fisher, Polson, maj dec, 9-1, Levi Maughan, Ronan, 160 - Ricky Luchau, Ronan, pinned, 2:15, Josh Rostad, Polson, 171 - Derek Silva, Libby, dec, 8-5, Lucas Puckett, Libby, 189 - Marcus Schiele, Ronan, pinned, 2:47, Derek Crittenden, Whitefish, 215 - Pat Wood, Libby, pinned, 2:26, Frank Swan, Ronan, 285 - Kevin McDowell, Whitefish, pinned, :30, Cody Bartos, Columbia Falls.