Polson Pirates wrestling has final tuneups for Billings
THE POLSON Pirates wrestling team had four placers including Mateo Quinones, who placed 7th at 113, Bridger Wenzel, who placed second at 132, Parker Adler, placed second at 152, and Hunter Fritsch, placed fourth at 170, all pose together at the Rocky Mountain Classic in Missoula. The Pirates finished ninth as a team, which was third among Class C teams that participated. (Photo by Grace Quinones)
Polson High School wrestling coach Bob Owen isn’t into a lot of bulletin board material or rhetoric, but he knows when his team makes a declarative statement on the mat.
His Pirates wrestlers made a statement this week at the Rocky Mountain Classic, one of the most prestigious events that includes all classifications, with their top 10 finish at the Classic.
Owen said he felt his team’s ninth place overall finish helps solidify his team as potential state contenders as they continue to refine their games three weeks prior to the Class A state wrestling tournament on Feb. 9-10 at Billings.
“To finish in the top 10 is really good in that tournament,” Owen said. “We also didn’t have two of our better kids in the lineup and that spells bigger things for us in the future. I think it really helps solidify us as the team to beat in the west headed into Divisionals. We were third among the Class A teams in that tournament because Lewistown snuck by us. They had a couple of finalists and we didn’t have (Cameron) Brown or (RJ) Pierre in the lineup.”
All season Owen has been adamant that the top-tier team to beat in Class A is Havre. Havre, which finished second in the Rocky Mountain Classic, is the “team to beat” in Class A, Owen said.
“Havre, as far as the Class A team goes in the tournament, is a great measuring stick where we are statewide and I think our team is going to be right there in the trophy hunt,” Owen said.
Owen attributes Havre’s success to their tradition and top-tier coaching.
“With the team tradition of Havre, you go into a match thinking that you are supposed to win,” Owen said. “That is a huge psychological advantage with kids because sometimes you have to convince guys and help build their confidence so they don’t revert back to something that is going to get you beat. It is important when you are on the wrestling mat to have that air of confidence. The air of confidence they have is amazing and they are very well coached. They are just hard because they are solid and they have honestly one of the best coaches. His program is just sizzling and nothing really replaces that tradition.”
Parker Adler (152) is one of the Pirates’ wrestlers that has developed that air of confidence this season. Adler moved up in weight class from 138 pounds to 152 pounds to improve on his second place finish at last year’s Class A state wrestling title match.
Adler’s only loss in a match this season came at the hands of a Double A opponent.
Wrestlers that excelled for the Pirates this week included Bridger Wenzel (138), who like Adler finished second, and Hunter Fritsch (170-182) finished third in the tournament.
Owen praised Fritsch for having his best tournament of the year.
Another Pirate contributor Owen said he felt had a breakthrough is Mason Cobb. According to Owen, Cobb had one of his best tournaments.
“I think Cobb had a good breakthrough during his second day at the Rocky Mountain Classic,” Owen said. “He wrestled at 103 pounds and during one match in the tournament, he had a real breakthrough.”
The Pirates, who are within three weeks of getting ready for state competition, will now begin to amplify the intensity of their practices and shorten them as they get closer and closer to the conclusion of their season.
“I won’t be letting off the pedal and we just try to make practices shorter and more intense,” Owen said. “There isn’t quite as much time grinding but we really go hard for a short time in practice. At this point, you should have the majority of your teaching done by this frame. We spend the majority of this portion of the season on new technique and refining basic things that we get to do in practice and in competition.”
The Pirates will now travel to participate in the Class A Duals on Jan. 19-20 in Lewistown. This dual will feature every team in Class A and Owen said is a good “measuring stick” for how his team will perform in the state tournament.
This just isn’t a regular tournament. This tournament will help determine seeding in the state tournament brackets.
“Right now, we are really dependent on our core group to score well,” Owen said. “There are the top two or three contestants that place for us and when we get ready for state, it’ll be tight and every point will count. When you finish first, you get a really nice seeding.”