POLSON WR RECAP: Still battling

RONAN - Some things never go away, and that was true with the

Polson-Ronan wrestling rivalry which stayed strong last Friday

night. The Pirates pulled off a close 43-36 victory after an

impressive display from both sides.

RONAN - Some things never go away, and that was true with the Polson-Ronan wrestling rivalry which stayed strong last Friday night. The Pirates pulled off a close 43-36 victory after an impressive display from both sides.

"I have always respected their program and I still wish they would have stayed in Class A," Polson head coach Bob Owen said. "It's been awfully good competition. It doesn't matter what level you're on as long as you have a good program."

Both Polson and Ronan had five wins in the dual. Craig Feistner, Alex Nystrom and Alex Helegsen picked up pins for the Pirates while Carlos Quinones and Tel Motichka won on decisions.

"Tel had three wins over the weekend," Owen said. "He just wrestles really hard; he's got a huge heart. Every match of his is a donnybrook and I really enjoy that about him."

On Saturday, Polson pulled double-duty with Whitefish and Columbia Falls on the same day. They started the day with a 68-0 victory over a young Whitefish team. The Pirates had eight pins in the match including a 23-second pin by Dylan Moll and a 48-second pin by Josiah Clairmont.

"It's a good thing that we do these two duals in one day because we'll have to wrestle a lot next week at divisionals in one day," Owen said.

For their second dual of the day on Saturday, Polson had a familiar foe. The Pirates had tangled in close matches with Columbia Falls and this one was no different. While the Pirates lost 43-36, it was still a good battle.

"Our matchup is always tough with them," Owen said. "We're open at 160 and 171 so our matchups are really tough but our kids wrestled hard in that dual."

Polson picked up four pins including another quick fall by Clairmont, who defeated his opponent in 41 seconds. Feistner pinned his opponent after a five-minute battle, Nystrom pinned his opponent 1:25 into their match and Cody Hadden was called up from the JV squad and got business done.

"He wrestled in the wrestling mixer we had earlier in the day and his opponent, Jordan Hughes had pinned him," Owen said. "So that was neat for him, he got his revenge."

Polson also got a decision win by Motichka.

"Drew Fouty wrestled one of his better matches," Owen said. "Even though he lost 5-2, it was encouraging to see that."

The dual wrapped up the regular season for the Pirates, who now turn their attention to the divisional tournament next Saturday in Columbia Falls. Polson has won the division title two years running and defending that title is something that Owen and his team would like to do.

"We're defending champs and we've been telling them to go defend it but it won't be easy because we're open in some weights," Owen said. "Although we can enter multiple kids in the same weight class."

That kind of depth helped Polson win the title last year, with several grapplers doing well at the same weight class. Veterans Craig "Captain America" Feistner, Alex Nystrom and Josiah "Diesel" Clairmont should all do very well in their weight classes and look to win divisional titles.

"We have potential for several others to make the finals," Owen said.

Carlos Quinones and Moll also look to be very strong in their weight classes. With the top four in every division going to the state tournament, it should be an interesting divisional since it's really all up in the open.

"There's more parity than we have had in a long, long time," Owen said.

Polson 68, Whitefish 0

105 - Alex Helgsen, P, pinned Garrett Rice, 2:30; 112 - Carlos Quinones, P, pinned Matt Barton, 3:17; 119 - Dylan Moll, P, pinned Trysten Armstrong, :23; 125 - Craig Feistner, P, tech fall Wyatt Price, 15-0; 130 - Drew Fouty, P, pinned Judah Prestegaard, 1:19; 135 - Skylar Anderson, P, pinned Matt Sampson-Keck, 1:26; 145 - Tel Motichka, P, dec. Madison McWhirter, 4-3; 152 - Jared Young, P, pinned Kyle Bowerman, 2:51; 189 - Marlin Burke, P, pinned Jacob Forrest, 1:20; Hwt - Josiah Clarimont, P, pinned Wolf Zinke, :48. Polson won 140, and 215 by forfeit. 98, 160, and 171 were double forfeits.

C-Falls 43, Polson 36

98: Shonn Roberts, CF, p. Alex Helgesen, 1:18; 105: Cody Hadeen, P, p. Jordan Hughes, 1:53; 112: Double forfeit; 119: Double forfeit; 125: Craig Feistner, P, p. Cody Hader, 5:18; 130: Josiah Osborne, CF, dec. Drew Fouty, 5-2; 135: Adam Richardson, CF, p. Skylar Anderson, 3:33; 140: Alex Nystrom, P, p. Chase Ramberg, 1:25; 145: Tel Motichka, P, dec. Travis Province, 10-7; 152: Kohl Thompson, CF, maj. dec. Jared Young, 11-2; 160: Jacob Burgess, CF, won by forfeit; 171: Josh Folsom, CF, won by forfeit; 189: Marcus Ross, CF, p. Marlin Burke, 5:00; 215: Jacob Babcock, CF, p. Kaleb Auld, :59; 285: Josiah Clairmont, P, p. Spencer Ross, :41.