WEB EXTRA : Bulldogs shine at own tourney

The Mission/Charlo wrestling team hosted the Mission Mountain Classic wrestling tournament on Saturday and while there was no exact scorekeeping due to technical difficulties, the Mission/Charlo wrestling team was the probable winner, according to Mission/Charlo head wrestling coach Lyle Cronk.

Going up the weight classes, many Mission/Charlo wrestlers left with medals at the event.

Freshman Russell Shultz took third fro the 98-pound weight class.

Russell went 1-1, losing to a Drummond wrestler he also had a chance to wrestle on Tuesday.

“Hopefully we’re gaining on him,” Cronk said.

At 112 pounds, freshman Scott Gilleard placed third after losing to a plains wrestler in the semifinals, then winning his consolation finals.

At 119 pounds, freshman Casey Nitschke took third. Cronk said he moved up a weigh class for the tourney and had to wrestle some guys that out-sized him.

“He wrestled pretty well, getting two wins and a loss. I was impressed with the way he wrestled on Saturday,” Cronk said.

At 135 pounds, senior Michael Beebe took the gold, defeating Arlee’s Jordan Lefler in the championship round. This is the second time in a row Beebe has defeated Lefler.

“It’s important to have beaten that kid twice,” Cronk said. “Hopefully it gets him even more confident. It was good for him to reinforce where he’s at. We know that kid’s coming.”

The rivalry has been a healthy one for Beebe, Cronk said.

“Sometimes it’s good to a have a real solid rival pushing you,” he said.

At 140 pounds, junior Jame Petersen took first as well.

“He’s been wrestling real aggressive, like he has something to prove,” Cronk said. “I like to see that.”

At 145 pounds, sophomore Dakota Matt took second, his highest tournament placing so far in his career.

Junior Travis Dumont took second for 171 pounds, a very strong showing, Cronk said.

The final gold medal winner for the Bulldogs was senior Matt Faroni at 189 pounds.

Although he weighed in at 215 pounds, junior Jake Durglo ended up wrestling for the 189-pound weight class because there weren’t enough competitors to fill both weight classes. Faroni beat him, as he usually does when they wrestle in practice. Durglo ended up taking silver just the same.

“It seems as though he’s got ability and he’s got wrestling skill and knowledge. He needs confidence and I think that comes with working hard and doing something extra to get that confidence,” Cronk said.

Cronk said improving oneself as a wrestler takes extra effort.

“I think it’s like isolating a weakness or a strong point and then coming up in the wrestling room outside of practice and just working on that when nobody’s watching,” he said. “That’s what will get wrestlers over that hump a lot of times.”

Heavyweight senior Ben Egars also took third place.

“He’s doing an outstanding job for us,” Cronk said.

Mission/Charlo wrestles at the Western Montana Duals Tourney on Friday and Saturday in Ronan. Wrestling starts at 1 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday.

The Bulldogs then dual Arlee at 5 p.m. on Tuesday in Arlee.