Class A Wrestling, Ronan and Polson: Grudge Match

It was a dramatic enough evening between Polson and Ronan last

Thursday night as both wrestling teams are vying for Northwestern A

supremacy, but a number of forfeits dampened the impact of a

thrilling 39-37 victory for the Pirates at the Ronan Event

Center

It was a dramatic enough evening between Polson and Ronan last Thursday night as both wrestling teams are vying for Northwestern A supremacy, but a number of forfeits dampened the impact of a thrilling 39-37 victory for the Pirates at the Ronan Event Center.

"I don't think it told us a lot," Polson head coach Bob Owen said. "I think the next time we meet it should be a lot more exciting for fans."

Polson won four weight classes by forfeit while Ronan won three by the same manner, meaning that there were a lot of matches not decided by competition.

However, that didn't stop things from coming down to just two points.

"We knew we had to go out and get pins and not get pinned,"

Ronan head coach Dustyn Azure said. The teams split on pins, 2-2, as Polson seniors Jesse Alfiero and Jacob Young both recorded pins in their 130 and 140 weight classes respectively, and for Ronan, sophomore Andrew Teigan and senior Cole McArthur recorded pins at 119 and 160.

Those winning by decision were Drew Fouty of Polson at 125, Shelby Grant of Ronan at 145, DustinGoldsby of Ronan at 152. Both coaches said that they are shuffling some kids around and should be able to fill more weight classes as the season progresses.

Polson 39, Ronan 37

98 - double forfeit. 105- Carlos Quinones, Polson, won by forfeit.

112 - Dylan Moll, Polson, won by forfeit.

119 - Andrew Teigan, Ronan, p. Craig Feister 5:33.

125 - Drew Fouty, Polson, d. Brandon Dumont 5-2.

130 - Jesse Alfiero, Polson, p. Jake Stenstrom 1:55.

140 - Jake Young, Polson, p. Austin Hakes 1:53.

145 - Shelby Grant, Ronan, md. Colton Lenz 19-6.

152 - Dustin Goldsby, Ronan d. Mike Devlin 9-4.

160 - Cole McArthur, Ronan p. Nick Grogan 1:45.

171 - Quinton Denton, Ronan, wins by forfeit.

189 - Toby Cheff, Ronan, wins by forfeit.

215 - Colby Roberts, Ronan, wins by forfeit.

HWT - Josiah Clairmont, Polson, wins by forfeit.

MINING CITY DUALS

Both Polson and Ronan won two match-ups during the Mining City Duals down in Butte on Friday and Saturday.

"It was a good learning experience," Azure said. "You've got to wrestle the best to become the best. It gets them out there with competition that they know they have to step their game up to."

Polson and Ronan were A schools among a collection of A and AA schools at the tournament. The Chiefs lost their first three duals, but won two on Sunday, 37-36 over Dillon and 53-18 over Huntley Project.

"On the first day I was disappointed at the way we were wrestling," Azure said. "They didn't wrestle to their capabilities. I was really proud of how they bounced back after the first few defeats."

McArthur and Toby Cheff went undefeated during the Mining Duals, despite having to take their ACTs.

"We hustled them back and got them for the first dual

on Saturday," Azure said. "They're off to a great start and doing a good job being leaders out there and pushing the pace for the younger kids."

Sophomore Shelby Grant went 4-1 in the 140-pound class.

Ronan will go to the Holiday Classic in Great Falls this weekend and then host a five-team round robin next Tuesday.

"I feel we'll be fine once we get to the end of the season," Azure, who thinks his team is more geared for performance in tournaments than duals, said. "I feel good. We got some tough individuals and I feel we're going to place high."

Polson won two matches as well, but fell in four duals.

"There's no question the top teams in the state were at the tournament," Owen said. "They had the crème of the AAs."

Senior Jake Young had three pins at the 140-pound class over the weekend despite missing some time because of the

ACTs.

"We're really pleased with him," Owen said. "He's hitting on all cylinders."

The real monster for Polson was junior Josiah Clairmont who had six pins in six matches and defeated the No. 2 kid in the state power rankings for his weight class. Clairmont was previously ranked No. 3 and looks to move up.

Sophomore Craig Feistner had four pins during the tournament as well.

Owen will take his best wrestlers to the Tri-State Tournament in Couer d'Alene next weekend with teams from Oregon, Montana, Idaho and Washington competing.

"That thing is nails tough," Owen said. "I'm sure it's the

toughest tournament in the Northwest."

Mining City Duals

Great Falls 57, Ronan 16

Sidney 51, Ronan 24

Helena 57, Ronan 30

Ronan 37, Dillon 36

Ronan 53- Huntley Project 18

Polson 43, CMR 42

Polson 60, Hardin 30

Skyview 64, Polson 18

Corvallis 51, Polson 36

Havre 66, Polson 18

Senior 54, Polson 2