Campers hit mats at St. Ignatius HS

ST. IGNATIUS — Promoting a winter sport in mid-July is harder than you may think, according to St. Ignatius-Charlo wrestling coach Lyle Cronk.

Despite these challenges, Cronk’s annual wrestling camp, which ran from Monday to Wednesday of this week, hosted 35 participants.

“We try and expand it a little bit every year,” Cronk said. “It takes a lot of work just because it doesn’t happen over night.”

The camp hosted kids from all over Lake County, Cronk said, all the way from Polson to Arlee.

“It’s not a competition thing [between area schools],” he said. “We always try to help each other’s kids out. We like to see kids from the area do well.”

The key to bringing more kids in is getting families involved.

“It’s a tough sport and it requires a lot of commitment,” Cronk said. “I think the key is to get parents involved and build that community so that the kids and the parents will have more fun.”

Camp attendees ranged from high school age to as young as six years old. Cronk and the six other coaches stressed the basics on the mat.

“The camp gets mat time for everybody,” said Jamie Mullins, a camp attendee and high school wrestler for Mission. “It gets everybody back into the basics. Everyone needs a little tune up because it’s been awhile since the season. We’re working on the small things that can make a big difference during the season.”

One of the things Mullins appreciates about the camp is the opportunity to learn from local athletes who have gone on to compete in the college level.

“It’s great [for them] to come back,” Mullins said. “Those guys know a lot. A lot of them have gone on and gotten college experience. When they bring it back to a community like this, it makes a big difference.”

11-year-old camper Isaac Dumontier also appreciated the variety of coaches at the camp.

“It’s really cool because they all have their own style,” Dumontier said. “You get to mix them all together.”

Cronk hopes that the camp will inspire younger kids like Dumontier to stick with wrestling through high school. The 16 members of his combined Mission-Charlo team finished fifth in Class B at the Montana state tournament last winter in Cronk’s sixth year at the helm of that program.

For contrast, the wrestling program for younger kids has about 90 team members. Those wrestlers compete in events around the region, from Missoula to Kalispell and beyond if they are successful.

“We compete fairly well with [the bigger schools] in our little guy program,” Cronk said.

The Washington native and former MSU-Northern wrestler hopes that the enthusiasm generated this week will stick with his kids when winter rolls around and they are deciding what sport to pursue.

“That’s what this camp is about, just trying to get more kids, more alumni involved. It’s a good thing for the kids in the valley.”