Bulldog grapplers finish ninth

RONAN — The Mission/Charlo wrestling team entered the Ronan dual tournament ranked out of the top 10 teams, but wrestled its way to finish ninth.

The Bulldogs opened the weekend with a tournament-low 15 points in their first match, a 69-15 loss to Corvallis, which went on to win the tournament.

“After that opening match, I felt kind of glum,” head coach Lyle Cronk said. “In the end, we showed that we can wrestle with these bigger schools.”

Seniors Jame Petersen and Ata Sahin each earned pins, while senior Travis Dumont won a 4-2 decision.

Up next, Mission/Charlo, faced familiar foe Superior and won 57-20.

Ten forfeits dominated the match, with the Bulldogs on the receiving side of eight.

Of the four weight classes featuring matches, Mission/Charlo won two. Junior Dakota Matt won with a pin in the 140-pound class and junior Joel Lewis won a 6-2 decision.

On the second day of competition, Mission/Charlo lost a close one to Flathead JV 39-31 after registering three pins in the first three matches.

Matt, Petersen and Dumont took down their opponents, while Lewis won an 11-9 decision and sophomore Russell Schultz won a 9-1 major decision.

Next, the Bulldogs saw another unfamiliar opponent in Columbia Falls. The Bulldogs opened and ended the match with a pin. Petersen opened with a 49-second pin while Matt ended the match with one. In the 171 match, sophomore Chad Anderson won a 9-4 decision, and went 3-1 on the day, before Lewis earned a pin in the 189 bout.

The Bulldogs squeaked out a 43-42 victory over Thompson Falls. The score was tied at 42 at the end, but the Bulldogs won by criteria because they won eight matches and Thompson Falls won seven.

Petersen’s pin in the last match tipped the scales in Mission/Charlo’s favor. His win tied the score and was the eighth match won by Mission/Charlo.

Dumont and Anderson started with back-to-back pins before Thompson Falls countered with three pins.

“Dumont wrestled outstanding for us,” Cronk said of Dumont’s 5-1 weekend record.

Dinnell put out the fire with a 57-second pin before each team forfeited a weight class for a tied 24-24 score.

Schultz won a 6-4 decision in the 112 class, Casey Nitschke pinned his opponent and sophomore Scotty Gilleard won 5-0 for a 37-24 Bulldog lead.

Mission/Charlo forfeited the 130 and 135 categories before Thompson Falls pinned Matt for a 42-37 lead.

“He did a nice job,” Cronk said of Matt’s performance.

The Bulldogs went on to beat familiar foe Arlee 43-36 in the last match of the tournament for both teams.

Dinnell registered a pin in 36 seconds while Nitschke got one in 54 seconds.

Cronk said the most exciting match featured Petersen against Arlee’s Cole Rice. Rice is ranked first in the 140 class while Petersen in third at 145. Rice moved up a weight class for the match. The match was 4-3, with Petersen leading, up until the end when he got a takedown to win 6-3.

“You could sense the excitement,” Cronk said. “Everyone kind of stopped what they were doing to watch those two.”

Petersen was the only Bulldog to go 6-0 during the tournament.

“He wrestled some tough competition,” Cronk said.

The Bulldogs hosted Arlee in a dual on Tuesday night but results were unavailable at press time.

Next, the Bulldogs travel to the Choteau tournament this weekend.

”We will see teams from the east, some of the toughest teams in the state,” Cronk said.