Chiefs wrestlers battle hard en route to strong season finish
BILLINGS — Ronan High School boys wrestling coach and his Chiefs team experienced the turbulent nature of competing at the Class A State wrestling tournament Friday and Saturday afternoon at the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark in Billings.
The Chiefs not only had a successful transition into Class A, they proved they could position themselves into Class A State title contention nearly almost placing four wrestlers in State championship matches on Saturday.
Trapper McAllister (103), Spencer Stagg (120), Hunter Peterson (138), and Justin Mays (182) all lost in semifinal matches in their respective classifications.
“That is one thing about the State tournament that is really unexpected on how you are going to perform,” Kramer said. “Our kids performed well this year and I am proud as heck of all of them. Trapper basically came into the 103-pound bracket and finished in the top 6 against kids that have all beat each other at some point of the year. He got third out of that bracket, which is awesome. Justin Mays taking fifth with two overtime wins and you could just see the improvement week-to-week for him as a wrestler. He really became a man in that tournament and he is such a leader on our team. We will be happy to have him back next year.”
Kramer, who is coaching his first season at state wrestling, said he felt there is really nothing that can match the bright lights on one of the Montana High School Activities Association’s biggest stages.
His team initially struggled adjusting to the bright lights of competition and made the modifications as they got used to the bigger stage at Rimrock Arena in MetraPark.
“I am not exactly sure what happened in that first round,” Kramer explained. “I don’t know if it was the big lights and the big city deal, but we didn’t come out and wrestle that first round well. It really caught up with us in the second and third rounds. We lost all four semifinals matches and ten matches in a row. That can kind of take the wind out of your sails.”
Kramer said he felt his team made the necessary adjustments in the consolation rounds to finish the season strong.
“We had high expectations to be in the finals and it didn’t work out that way,” Kramer said. “Our seniors stayed motivated for the next two rounds and they could have easily thrown in the towel because you wrestle with pride during your next two matches. Even though our results were unexpected, that doesn’t change how proud I am of how hard and dedicated our team was all season.”
The Chiefs will now begin to work towards next season with their collective on returning to MHSA’s biggest stage.
“We know it is a good thing four of our players qualified for the state finals but we want to develop the expectation that getting to the State finals is not good enough,” Kramer said. “We want those guys to have the expectations of being in the State final.”
Kramer, who is working on building on the storied tradition of Ronan wrestling, said there is nothing like he and his kids being on one of Montana’s biggest stages.
“State is quite a spectacle that Billings and the MHSA is able to put on, and it is awesome and great for the sport of wrestling,” Kramer said. “It gets kids dreaming big and that is where it starts with the little kids dreaming big at the State tournament.”
The Ronan Chiefs will continue to build on there team’s storied wrestling tradition as they prepare to enter the 2018-2019 season with their collective eye on making it back to Billings.
All-Class State Wrestling Tournament
Metra Park, Billings
Friday-Saturday
February 9-10, 2018
Class A
TEAM SCORES – Sidney-Fairview (SidFa) 250, Havre (Havr) 188, Fergus Co. Lewistown (FCLew) 185, Polson (Pol) 134, Frenchtown (Fren) 130, Dawson Co. Glendive (DCG) 117.5, Hardin (Hard) 110, Columbia Falls (CF) 108, Ronan (Ron) 70, Hamilton-Darby (HamDa) 66, Libby-Troy (LiTr) 53.5, Dillon-Twin Bridges-Sheridan (DTBS) 42.5, Custer Co. Miles City (CCMC) 39.5, Belgrade (Belg) 38, Browning (Brn) 30.5, Laurel (Lau) 29, Billings Central (BiC) 23, Stevensville-Victor (StVi) 20, Corvallis 17, Park Co. Livingston (PCLiv) 16, Butte Central (BuC) 15, Whitefish (Wf) 10.
Individual wrestlers (abridged to Mission Valley area)
A103 – 3, Trapper McAllister
Maysn Cowell, Polson (2-2) – Cowell 1:02 p. Levi Nunberg (Lau); [qtr] McAllister 1:22 p. Cowell; Cowell 2:04 p. Ashton Flamand (Brn); Landen Stewart (Fren) 6-4 d. Cowell.
Trapper McAllister, Ronan (4-1) – McAllister 1:51 p. Colton Picco (FCLe); [qtr] McAllister 1:22 p. Cowell; [semi] Kaiden Cline (Sid) 17-2 tf. 5:00 McAllister; McAllister 3:30 p. Mick Chagnon (Havr); [3rd pl] McAllister 3:23 p. Eli Warner (Fren).
Trevor Bartel, Ronan (0-2) – Kaiden Cline (SidFa) 3:03 p. Bartel; Matt Foley (Belg) 2:10 p. Bartel.
A113 – 3, Mateo Quinones; 5, R.J. Pierre
Mateo Quinones, Polson (5-1) – Quinones 0:28 p. Dylan Young (Havr); [qtr] Cameron Pleninger (Havr) 3:37 p. Quinones; Quinones 3:00 p. Dean Kellogg (Wf); Quinones 10-0 md. Kellen Robbins (StVi); Quinones 9-8 d. Walker Dyer (Fren); [3rd pl] Quinones 6-2 d. Pleninger.
Rene Pierre, Polson (4-2) – Pierre 3:42 p. Keith Pretty Weasel (Hard); Cooper Birdwell (FCLew) 5:02 p. Pierre; Pierre 1:54 p. Braxton Scheeler (CCMC); Pierre 2:24 p. Jordan Darby (SidFa); Pleninger 2:13 p. Pierre; [5th pl] Pierre 2:33 p. Dyer.
A120 – 5, Spencer Stagg
Spencer Stagg, Ronan (3-2) – Stagg 1:11 p. Aden Rogge (PCLiv); [qtr] Stagg 3:08 p. Dillon Yeadon (LiTr); [semi] Damian Leidholt (CCMC) 6-4 d. Stagg; Kade Graves (SidFa) 7-5 d. Stagg; [5th pl] Stagg 8-3 d. Reno.
Kedrick Baker, Polson (2-2) – Ryan Stewart (Havr) 1:51 p. Baker; Baker f. Austin Nelson (CF); Baker 8-4 d. Yeadon; Reno 1-0 d. Baker.
Zane Walchuk, Reno (1-2) – Quin Reno (Havr) 11-2 md. Walchuk; Walchuk 4:21 p. James Wissenbach (Cor); Zack Morrison (LiTr) 7-3 d. Walchuk.
A126
Owen Brown, Ronan (1-2) – Marc Ramirez (Havr) 1:20 p. O.Brown; O.Brown 8-2 d. Xander Spady (LiTr); Clay Fisher (BuC) 11-3 md. O.Brown.
A132 – 2, Bridger Wenzel
Bridger Wenzel, Polson (3-1) – Wenzel 0:54 p. Jestin Molnar (Lau); [qtr] Wenzel 3:27 p. Ayden Role (CF); Wenzel 5:47 p. Iane Paulson (Havr); [1st pl] John Mears (Belg) 9-2 d. Wenzel.
A138 – 4, Hunter Peterson
Hunter Peterson, Ronan (3-2) – Peterson 1:48 p. Ronald Anderson (Hard); [qtr] Peterson 4-0 d. Keaten Potter (FCLew); [semi] Jace Winter (Sid) 5:28 p. Peterson; Peterson 8-3 d. Trevyn Nave (FCLew); [3rd pl] Bridger Williams (HamDa) 1:50 p. Peterson.
Jarod Farrier, Polson (0-2) – Jacob Morgan (BiC) 4-1 d. Farrier; Colten Reidel (DCG) 4:32 p. Farrier.
A145 – 3, Cameron Brown
Cameron Brown, Polson (4-1) – C.Brown f. Uriel May (BiC); [qtr] C.Brown 1:38 p. Victor Howieson (PCLiv); [semi] Ben Stortz (DCG) 1:08 p. C.Brown; C.Brown 11-5 d. Nathan Hader (CF); [3rd pl] C.Brown 2:31 p. Jace Johnson (SidFa).
Kaleb Unger, Polson (0-2) – Martin Wilkie (Havr) 1:14 p. Unger; Jack Eisenbarth (Wf) 4:47 p. Unger.
A152 – 2, Parker Adler
Parker Adler, Polson (3-1) – Adler 0:38 p. Junior Cady (FCLew); [qtr] Adler 1:18 p. Brandon Held (DCG); [semi] Adler 7-4 d. Connor Harris (Havr); [1st pl] Bryce Roan (Hard) 5:24 p. Adler.
Seth Cheff, Ronan (1-2) – Chase Farrar (FCLew) 5:06 p. S.Cheff; S.Cheff 2:36 p. Christian Wyant (Fren); Held 2:09 p. S.Cheff.
A160
Dan Cheff III, Ronan (1-2) – Landon Farrar (FCLew) 3:17 p. D.Cheff; D.Cheff 9-1 md. Sam Despain (Belg); Avery Gurney (SidFa) 3:49 p. D.Cheff.
Daniel Collins-Bishop, Ronan (0-2) – Jeff Jones (SidFa) 1:45 p. Collins-B; Tim Carvey (LiTr) 1:36 p. Collins-Bishop.
A170 – 3, Hunter Fritsch
Hunter Fritsch, Polson (5-1) – Fritsch 3:41 p. Kevin Aiken (Belg); [qtr] Brenden Roan (Hard) 11-4 d. Fritsch; Fritsch 2:32 p. Jazz Schroeder (Havr); Fritsch 6-0 d. Cade Dockter (DCG); Fritsch 5-1 d. Mason Dione (Havr); [3rd pl] Fritsch 4-2 d. Trevor Dean (SidFa).
A182 – 5, Justin Mays
Justin Mays, Ronan (3-2) – Mays 4:49 p. Thomas Cooper (BiC); [qtr] Mays 3-1 sv. Ryan Wyman (Sid); [semi] Justin Zier (Hard) 11-0 md. Mays; Nelson Crisafulli (DCG) 2:08 p. Mays; [5th pl] Mays 4-4 ot. Gibson.
Noah Humphrey, Polson (1-2) – Shane Gibson (PCLiv) 8-2 d. Humphrey; Humphrey 0:52 p. Hunter Probst (DTBS); Colton McPhee (CF) 1:26 p. Humphrey.
A205
Jasper Drake, Polson (0-2) – Sawyor Toreros (SidFa) 1:23 p. Drake; Levi Downard (Fren) 1:52 p. Drake.
Wesley Pablo, Ronan (1-2) – BJ Hatcher (Lau) 1:22 p. Pablo; Pablo 2:21 p. Jacob Woods (StVi); Kyle Anderson (HamDa) 1:53 p. Pablo.
A285
Sam Mocabee, Ronan (1-2) – Matt Fulton (DCG) 2:33 p. Mocabee; Mocabee 0:36 p. Tucker Ewalt (Cor); Taylor Gladeau (CF) 2:09 p. Mocabee.
Class B-C
Team scores: Colstrip (Cols) 196, Eureka 127.5, Glasgow (Glas)120.5, Huntley Project (HP) 101.5, Forsyth 89, Thompson Falls 88.5, Malta-Whitewater (MalWh) 88, Circle 80, Florence-Carleton (FloCar) 80, Jefferson Co. Boulder (JCBou) 75, Broadwater Co. Townsend (BCTow) 65.5, Shepherd (Shep) 63, Mission-Charlo (MC) 60, Plains-Hot Springs (PHS) 56.5, Whitehall (Whall) 54, Chinook 43, Valier 36, Wolf Point (WP) 32.5, Bake (Bakr) 26, Columbus-Absarokee 24, Choteau (Chot) 23.5, Fairfield (Fair) 23, Harlem (Harl) 23, Poplar 22, Cascade (Casc) 20, Superior-Alberton (SupAlb)15, Cut Bank 14, Arlee 13, Fort Benton-Big Sandy 12, Great Falls Central 12, Shelby 11, Simms 6, Broadus 5, Highwood (High) 3, Anaconda 1, Belt 0, Manhattan 0, Deer Lodge 0, Three Forks 0.
Individual Wrestlers (Mission Valley)
BC103
Jace Samsel, Arlee (1-2) – bye; Clayton Donally (HP) 0:55 p. Samsel; Samsel 0:42 p. Dominick Damis (JCBou); Dawson Poweres (Whall) 1:00 p. Samsel.
BC113 – 6, Walker Murphy
Walker Murphy, Mission/Charlo (3-3) – Murphy 1:36 p. Gavin Horn (Harl); [qtr] Tanner Cook (Shep) 6-2 d. Murphy; Murphy 1:39 p. Steven Schultze (Simm); Murphy 2:12 p. Peter Cary (PHS); Dylan Riphenberg (Fair) 10-7 d. Murphy; [5th pl] Trisetan Kemp (WP) 2:30 p. Murphy.
BC126
Bailey Weible, Mission/Charlo (2-2) – Weible 0:19 p. Lucas Kinkaid (Simm); Oden Hallock (Glasg) 10-4 d. Weible; Weible 1:48 p. Mike Wilkinson (Whall); Josh Pepos (Casc) 10-2 d. Weible;
BC138 – 5, Darwin Adams
Darwin Adams, Mission/Charlo (4-2) – Adams 1:21 p. Dallen Hoover (Whall); [qtr] Trey Simonton (Malta) 4:37 p. Adams; Adams 9-5 d. John Cremer (Glasg); Adams 8-4 d. Isaiah Kovalsky (SupAlb); Avery Meinzen (FloCar) 0:39 p. Adams; [5th pl] Adams 4:56 p. Jacob Travis (JCBou).
BC152
Skyler Titsworth, Arlee (1-2) – Dave DeAngelis (Casc) 2:53 p. Titsworth; Titsworth 1:37 p. Calvin Maples (Chot); Kameron Rauser (BCTow) 0:55 p. Titsworth.
BC160
Isaiah Allik, Mission-Charlo (1-2) – Allik 3:21 p. Michael Ayers (High); Dalton Herbst (Bakr) 8-1 d. Allik; Luke Lile (PHS) 3-2 d. Allik.
BC170
Miles Anderson, Mission-Charlo (0-2) – Nakoda Siegel (Cols) 2:40 p. M.Anderson; Andres Lopez (MaWh) 0:34 p. M.Anderson.
BC182 – 5, Gus Bosley
Gus Bosley, Mission-Charlo (4-2) – Wyatt Selman (HP) 2:21 p. Bosley; Bosley 1:57 p. Drake Schake (JCBou); Bosley 15-2 md. Justin Denton (BCTow); Bosley 1:44 p. Shick; Selman 0:36 p. Bosley; [5th pl] Bosley 14-6 md. Travis Epperson (MalWh).
George Shick, Arlee (2-2) – Shick 1:24 p. Gustav Wenz (Shep); Travis Epperson (MalWh) 3:34 p. Shick; Shick 6-2 d. Tel Aune (Glas); Bosley 1:44 p. Shick.
BC205
Lucas Wholtmann, Mission-Charlo (0-2) – Trey Yates (Cols) 0:56 p. Wholtmann; Dakota Dorn (JCBou) 2:02 p. Wholtmann.
BC285
Chris Anderson, Mission-Charlo (1-2) – Lex Heberle (Fors) 1:59 p. C.Anderson; C.Anderson 2:49 p. Lane Hinderager (Simm); Curtis Humphreys (Harl) 0:20 p. C.Anderson.
Acronym Key: p. (pin), d. (decision), f. (forfeit), md. (major decision), tf. (technical fall), sv. (sudden victory), pl (place)
* * * * *
2018 finishes
113 – 3, Mateo Quinones
113 – 5, Rene Pierre
132 – 2, Bridger Wenzel
145 – 3, Cameron Brown
152 – 2, Parker Adler
170 – 3, Hunter Fritsch
2017 finishes
103 – 3, Kedrick Baker
113 – 5, Mateo Quinones
126 – 3, Bridger Wenzel
138 – 2, Parker Adler
145 – 4, Cameron Brown
160 – 2, Hunter Fritsch
2016 Finishes
103 – 3, Mateo Quinones; 4, RJ Pierre
120 – 3, Bridger Wenzel
132 – 3, Cameron Brown
145 – 4, Parker Adler
2015 Finishes
103 – 5, Mateo Quinones
113 – 5, Cameron Brown