RONAN WRESTLING ROUNDUP: Going the distance

GREAT FALLS - Ronan has already turned some heads in the early

wrestling season, earning a No. 4 ranking in the latest coaching

poll for Class B schools and stood toe-to-toe against the No. 1

Class C school in the state last Thursday in mixer action on the

road.

GREAT FALLS - Ronan has already turned some heads in the early wrestling season, earning a No. 4 ranking in the latest coaching poll for Class B schools and stood toe-to-toe against the No. 1 Class C school in the state last Thursday in mixer action on the road.

"They wrestled pretty well and we're proud of how they went out and wrestled a whole match," Ronan head coach Dustyn Azure said.

The Chiefs' coaching staff had worked on instilling wrestling constantly throughout an entire bout and that has begun to pay off this season. Against Cascade/Simms and Class A Anaconda, the Chiefs posted a 10-7 record in matches. Against Class A Anaconda, Ronan went 6-3, and against Cascade/Simms the team went 4-4.

"That's the hardest part is making sure the kids are competing from whistle to whistle," Azure said. "We want our kids to have no quit and a lot of them turned that corner this weekend."

Ronan then traveled to Great Falls for the CMR Holiday Classic and placed 25th at the tournament with a multitude of strong performances. The tournament had nearly 50 teams from across Montana in all classes. Senior Andrew Teigan placed fifth in the 130-pound division. He pinned Fort Benton High's Quinn Trindle 2:42 into the match for the placing.

"He had a great tournament," Azure said. "He knocked out a lot of wrestlers that some people thought he couldn't compete against. He's been really fun to watch."

Teigan went 5-2 on the weekend and his fellow wrestlers also did impressive work. Shelby Grant, who wrestled well at the Cascade mixer on Thursday, went 4-2 in the 152-pound division. Dustin Goldsby went 4-2 at 160 points. Quentin Denton, who wrestled up a class went 3-2 at 171.

"We were impressed with him," Azure said of Denton. "It was a challenge to wrestle kids 10 pounds heavier and it didn't seem to bug him."

Denton knocked off the No. 1 Class A kid in the 171-pound weight class, Havre's Grant Pattison, and the No. 4 kid in the Class B poll, Chinook's Robbie Klingaman.

Colby Roberts went 2-2 in the 189-pound weight class.

Before Christmas break, Ronan will host a quad dual on Thursday against Superior, Deer Lodge and Plains. They will spend the off time during the holidays doing double day practices to continue to improve.

"These kids are really putting in a lot of work in their sports," Azure said. "For the kids that come in over the break it should help them a lot."