THE BIG DIESEL

The best way to describe Polson lineman and wrestler Josiah Clairmont?

Brute strength.

The best way to describe Polson lineman and wrestler Josiah Clairmont?

Brute strength.

The 5’9” 250-pound athlete for the Pirates helped anchor a football team that had an undefeated regular season in the fall, and during the winter placed third in the heavyweight division at the Montana All-Class State tournament in Billings.

Now he’s taking the next step after signing to play college football for Montana State—Northern.

“I made a recent recruiting trip with Jake Skelton and we both decided to go there,” Clairmont said. “It’s the only school in the nation where I can study diesel mechanics and play football. I like making automotive repairs and there’s not too many diesel mechanics out there, but there’s a high demand for them.”

Much like a diesel truck’s towing power, Clairmont has shown himself to have plenty of torque. While weightlifting at Polson High School, he earned All American honors in all four lifts of the national Bigger, Stronger, Faster program. It’s something that assistant football coach and physical education teacher Don Toth has never seen.

The BSF program sets up certain numbers for high school students based on their age and body type. There are several levels of achievement with All-American being the highest.

“I have had guys have three lifts that were All-American but they don’t get the fourth because everyone has their different strengths,” Toth said. “I haven’t seen it in my 14 years of doing weight training. It’s pretty significant for Josiah.”

MSU-Northern might be looking to market its new football team as having “The Incredible Hulk.” Clairmont has maxed out at 620 pounds deadlifting, 350 pounds on the bench press, 500 pounds squatting and 335 pounds power cleaning.

“I’m in the top 5 percent in the nation so it’s a great achievement to earn,” Clairmont said.

It’s this kind of strength that makes Toth believe Clairmont can succeed at the college football level. The Polson lineman looks to be in the nose guard position for the Lights.

“Looking at him in football gear I would have never wanted to coach against him,” Toth said. “You get a kid built like that and it’s just extremely difficult to go against him on the field. I can see him excel as a nose guard in the Frontier Conference.”

Clairmont said that MSU-Northern head coach Mark Sampson knows the benefits of playing both his upper and lower class man and thinks the team will improve from it’s 5-5 record last season.

“They’ve had to balance out the team,” Clairmont said. “They said it doesn’t matter what year you are, if you can prove yourself you can get a starting position.”

Sampson and company will be getting some excellent athletes in Ronan’s Jake Skelton - the chainsaw that cut through opposing defenses all year for the Chiefs - and Clairmont - who was a physical force out on the football field for Polson that couldn’t be stopped.

“It was a really awesome experience playing with him considering how good he is,” teammate Marlin Burke said. “He’s been a good friend for years.”

The Pirates this season were nearly impossible to crack on defense and rolled down the field on offense. Clairmont was extremely complimentary of the coaching staff and how they prepared the team for the next matchup every week.

“The season was pretty fun,” Clairmont said. “A lot of our preparation was live so we had a good feel for everything. We knew what the other team was doing. If felt good dominating other teams and (assistant coach) David Rensvold knew how to push our line and work us the right way.”

Clairmont earned All-State honors as a guard, and would go on to compete at the state wrestling tournament. After a strong wrestling season where he usually pinned his opponents in less than a minute, Clairmont had to battle through adversity during the postseason.

The same week that the state tourney took place, Clairmont’s stepfather passed away in Alaska. After a semifinal match where Clairmont felt the referee was slow and missed the count, the Polson wrestler bounced back and took third place.

“A lot of the lifting showed up a bit in football and wrestling,” Clairmont said. “I just try to get out there and get the other guy on the ground.”

Now the Polson high school student is looking towards the next chapter in his life. He said he’s looking forward to striking it out on his own.

“College should be pretty fun with the knowledge you get and the degree you earn,” Clairmont said. “It’s also nice that you kind of get to choose what you want to study.”

Clairmont had lots of thanks to coach Toth for pushing him in the weightroom, his parents for pushing in the classroom, PHS staff members Kris Sampson and Nancy Hemphill for “keeping him sane,” and teacher Jan Toth for helping him in the classroom. He added that one of the things he likes to think about is the weightlifting records he’s left on the wall of the weightroom will remain even after he leaves.

“Polson will always be my hometown,” Clairmont said. “I lived in Alaska for a four years and when I came back I realized nothing is quite like home.”