Ronan Chiefs beat odds to win home tourney

The Chiefs knew they had a lot on their plate. Facing significant competition from around the state as well as heated local rivals, winning wasn’t going to be easy. And wrestling isn’t easy to begin with. It’s a battle of will and strength where every last fiber of a muscle is tested and comforts like a breath of fresh air are given up for an edge — the change in position and leverage it takes to win.

Those with the most skill win only if they can do it with opponent after opponent’s arms wrapped around their neck, and go a step further than fighting through the pain: they must pin, mustering the last bit of their own strength and mental tenacity to snuff out that of the guy wearing the other jersey.

In perhaps the biggest local test of Lake County wrestlers so far, it was Ronan that emerged victorious, winning the Western Montana Duals tournament in front of the home fans.

The task had looked hefty from the start, Ronan head coach Ryan Fisher said.

“With this being a dual tournament and our team being short handed on numbers, I really wasn’t sure if we could make it into the championship rounds let alone win it,” Fisher said. “We gave up three weight classes to forfeits each dual. Sometimes the opposing team did the same thing, which helped level the playing field. Things had to fall exactly into place during a number of our duals in order to be successful.”

But things didn’t just fall into place for the Chiefs. They had to earn it. On Friday, things started rough.

Ronan beat down Plains 63-12 but struggled against Hamilton. The Chiefs won, but narrowly, by a score of 42-37.

“On Friday we did not perform well as a team. I think we underestimated our opponents and did not wrestle to our capabilities. Fortunately for us, we still had some kids wrestle to their potential to carry us through,” Fisher said.

Senior Chief Marcus Schiele had a rough go-around with Brady Anderson, a state-placer for Hamilton. Though Anderson won the 189-pound match 13-2, Schiele said he held off the pin to keep Anderson from scoring big team points.

Schiele shared his coaches sentiments about Friday.

“We wrestled pretty flat in the second round,” Schiele said.

Saturday was a different day but brought no mercy with it. The Chiefs were scheduled to face Arlee and Polson - two local rivals with plenty of talent and armed with their own arsenal of state placers as well. And smack in the middle of those duals, Ronan also had to pass Frenchtown, a school known to compete.

Against Arlee in the sixth round, it was going to be a battle for pins. Ronan only gave up one.

It was Arlee’s Jordan Lefler who nailed the Chiefs, throwing a pin on Chiefs’ freshman Dustin Goldsby in the 140-pound matchup. But Ronan countered with four pins, each of huge importance in securing the 45-35 dual win.

Juniors Cameron Neiss, Micky Cheff, Tyler Wheeler and sophomore Toby Cheff all pinned their Warrior opponents for the big points and the dual win. Fisher complimented the Arlee team on a well-fought battle.

“(Arlee head coach) Ken Hill has a great group of kids and does an excellent job with each. They’re technically sound and mentally tough,” Fisher said.

Frenchtown suffered a series of injuries prior to facing Ronan, and had to forfeit a number of wrestlers. Ronan wrestled to an easy 60-30 win.

“When they have their full team, they are tough, especially in the lower weights. The score here is a poor reflection of their capabilities,” Fisher said of Frenchtown.

Polson offered a much greater challenge. The rivalry is a good one and the Pirates know how to wrestle.

“With Polson, I can always expect a hard fought battle with tough matches across the board,” Fisher said.

The match was close. Ronan gained the advantage with five pins early but faced a full Polson squad. Due to forfeits and pins at the hands of Polson wrestlers J. Alfiero, Keio Salmonson ad Trae Fouty, Ronan entered the final match with only a five-point lead - Ronan could lose the dual by a point with a Polson pin.

It all rested on the shoulders of Ronan freshman Dilan Starkel and Polson’s XXXXXX Jacob Browne at the 130-pound weight class.

Starkel pinned and Ronan remained undefeated. They were headed to the finals.

Fisher said Polson is sure to being more excitement later in the season if missing wrestlers Cole McArthur and Trae Fouty re-enter the lineup.

“Both kids back in the lineup will make for an even more interesting time; It should be fun,” Fisher said.

Schiele said his teammates had met a tough challenge with Polson and was proud of 105-pound freshman Riley Dennis for his pin.

“In the Polson round everyone that pinned did their job. It was really nice to see Riley go out there and win,” Schiele said. “He hasn’t had the best of luck this year and it’s nice to see him go out there and kick some butt.”

Ronan advanced to the championship against Glacier with one thing in mind, Schiele said.

“We needed to wrestle better than we wrestled Polson, Schiele said, “Even though we wrestled Polson good.”

If the match against Polson was tight, the battle against Glacier was skintight.

The dual began at 135 pounds, and worked up from there. This was to Glacier’s advantage since the Wolfpack’s heavier wrestlers are the most dangerous, Fisher said.

Glacier’s big men met expectations, winning four of the first six matches, taking one win by forfeit, another by pin and the rest by decision.

“We trailed by over 20 points at one time, and it wasn’t looking very promising,” Fisher said.

Someone had to turn things around on the mat and Schiele was the young man for the job. Before he squared off, Schiele said Fisher called his 189-pound bout a “key match.” When all was said and done, Fisher called Schiele’s pin for Ronan the “turning point” in the championship.

Down going into the second period, Schiele took advantage when his opponent’s arm got stuck.

“I threw him on his back and went to role out,” Schiele said. “I switched to a head and arm and sucked his head and arm up tight and got the pin.”

The momentum shifted back to Ronan, but things weren’t settled yet.

“Then after giving up 215 and heavyweight to forfeits, we needed another boost. Riley Dennis’ win at 98 actually made it possible to win the dual,” Fisher said.

It then came down to the last three wrestlers.

Starkel, junior Cameron Neiss and senior Tyson Noyes all had to win and two had to do it by pin. It was a tall order, no doubt.

Starkel won by decision. Neiss made his pin. Noyes could have tied it up with a win by decision, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Instead, Noyes pinned as well and the Chiefs had done it - they had won the championship.

They proved even short-handed, they are still capable of winning championships and still state contenders.

“Nobody really overlooks us now I don’t think,” Schiele said.

Ronan hosts a dual against Libby at 6 p.m. tonight and then travels to the Rocky Mountain Classic on Friday and Saturday in Missoula.