Warriors battle in Ronan

Arlee finished 2-4 in duals and 11th overall this past weekend at the Western Montana Duals tourney.

Despite finishing in the bottom half of the pack, Arlee head coach Ken Hill felt his team wrestled well and the event served his team well in the process.

“It was a good weekend. In the fact we got to wrestle four class-A schools and one AA JV which was nice. We usually don’t get to do that,” Hill said.

Different wrestlers from different divisions are always comparing each other, but don’t often get to hit the mat to see where they really stand.

“It’s nice for them to get to wrestle,” he said. “And let the kids decide.”

What the Warriors found out is that they can compete - sophomore Cole Rice, senior Jordan Lefler and senior Jake Trujillo all finished the two-day tournament without a single loss.

Arlee’s first dual match was against Polson. The Pirates, a formidable team as well, pulled out a decisive 60-22 win over Arlee, but the Warriors still managed to get their pins in. Trujillo, Lefler and sophomore Curt Seidel each pinned their opponents and Rice won by a 12-2 decision.

The Warriors made quick work of Darby, slamming the Tigers 56-11.

Frenchtown was next. This one came down to the wire, with Frenchtown pulling out a slight 46-42 win. Against the strong program, Arlee saw an impressive performance from senior Tucker Lytle, who pinned his opponent at 145-pounds to give Arlee a shot at the win. Freshman Brady Potts and Lefler also pinned. In Lefler’s match, the ref counted out his opponent in just 40 seconds.

On Saturday, the Warriors fired themselves up for their first match against Ronan.

Against Ronan, Arlee took seven wins, three due to forfeit.

Again Lefler pinned his opponent at the 135-pound weight class. Lytle, Rice and Trujillo each one by decision.

Facing Libby next, Arlee suffered a narrow loss, this time by a score of 42-31. The usual suspects — Lytle, Lefler and Rice— all pinned. The other Warrior winners were Potts and Trujillo, who each won by decision.

Arlee’s final was against the Glacier JV squad, a AA program.

Lefler and Potts both pinned in the 36-30 win and Lytle and Rice each won as well.

Lefler pinned across the board and Rice beat Ronan’s Cameron Neiss in an exhibition match.

The Warriors likely made an impression on the Lake County wrestling community.

Hill said the key to wrestling to more tournament and dual wins will be capitalizing on opportunities to pin.

“We had opponents on their backs and we couldn’t pin, and we need to do that when we can,” he said.

He said making the right moves in those crucial moments is a matter of technique and experience. He also noted his team was usually just one win by pin away from turning around the dual meets to be in the Warrior’s favor.

Arlee hosted Drummond, Mission and Eureka on Tuesday and wrestles next at the Choteau tourney on Friday and Saturday. Wrestling starts at 9 a.m.