Little Guy Wrestling preps for Western Montana Tourney

The Little Guy Wrestling organization will be headed into its final week and wrestlers from all over the valley will compete at the Western Montana Championships Friday and Saturday at Columbia Falls High School.

The Junior High kids middles will begin competition Friday at 4 p.m. followed by the juniors at 6 p.m. at Columbia Falls High School and Saturday morning, the beginners and novices will compete at Columbia Falls High School. The novices will begin Saturday at 9 a.m. and the beginners will start at 1 p.m.

According to Little Guy Wrestling Coach Happy Cheff, for Ronan the number for Little Guy has been up this year.

“Our numbers are up and I would say that at most schools, when you get the quality of kids getting better, the intensity level of the competition rises,” Cheff said. “We’ve been really successful this year. he kids are working hard and all of their hard work is paying off.”

According to Cheff, the top four finishers in the western Montana Little Guy Championship will win medals at their level.

Mission-Charlo Coach Lyle Cronk said he felt the championship will be a “good opportunity” for several area wrestlers and families.

“It’s a good opportunity for our wrestlers and it’s exciting for our families,” Cronk said. “A lot of families travel up there to see wrestlers perform. It’s pretty exciting for the community. There are a lot of people involved and it’s really family oriented.”

Unlike the high school competitions, the teams will not be broken up by classifications.

“It is pretty exciting and of course we will be competing with all the Kalispell and Western Montana teams,” Cronk said. “It isn’t broken up by divisions like the high school. It’s pretty exciting, especially for the kids that make it to the top and can bring home a medal. It’s an exciting opportunity for us to be able to go up against some of the best competition in the region and bring home some medals.”

Cronk said at this level it isn’t just about medals. It is about introducing kids to a sport that encourages positivity.

“I think the biggest thing (at this level) is that kids get exposure to the sport of wrestling and hopefully they will have a positive experience,” Cronk said. “We are looking to do that. It’s a challenge to try to get kids to have a positive experience in the sport of wrestling. This will also teach them to compete, be competitive and have healthy attitudes towards competition and dealing with pressure.”

Cronk said he hopes the kids learn the fundamentals of wrestling.

“That is our goal is to teach the kids some fundamentals and help them learn to have a healthy attitude, positive attitude,” Cronk said. “We hope it transfers over into high school. It’s a different atmosphere and Little Guy Wrestling is a whole different level. The idea is to introduce them to wrestling now and maybe they take up the sport in high school.”

Cronk said he and several other valley-area coaches are ready for the challenge in Columbia Falls.

“We are looking forward to the competition and it’s a good opportunity for the kids,” Cronk said. “It’s a big event. There are a lot of good competitors and it should be really exciting.”