Polson hosts successful Little Guy wrestling tournament

Polson Little Guy wrestling coach Ethan Bucarey and the Little Guy Wrestling programs hosted a successful Unit-2 qualifier for the middle and novice wrestlers that will move onto the inner valley qualifying round Saturday at Eureka High School.

“I think most of the brackets were small from this week and the majority of the kids will be moving on,” Bucarey said. “I thought it was a good weekend for everyone in the valley.”

The inner-valley, equivalent to a high school wrestling Divisional, will take the top eight kids from the Unit-2 qualifier. The wrestlers that advance will go on to the Western Montana state championship the following weekend at Glacier High School.

“It is kind of like your Divisional for high school,” Bucarey said. “The top 8 in the Inner Valley will move onto the state.”

Bucarey said he felt the kids in the Valley were well represented this week at the Unit-2 qualifier.

“I thought we did well and I think our kids enjoyed the experience,” Bucarey said. “The Polson kids were pretty successful and Little Guy has been crazy this season. Even though the season is kind of winding down, we are seeing a lot of improvement with all of the Valley wrestlers.”

Bucarey, whose program has boasted as high as 41 participants at the junior high level, said this season had a particularly high turnout.

“I think, in general our, kids did pretty well and it’s good to see all the participation,” Bucarey said. “This is the fourth week and we’ve seen almost the same number as we did at the start of the season. That is a testament to the kids enjoying what they are doing. The unit was pretty quick. Our kids came in, spent a couple of hours of wrestling and went home. It was great the kids had an opportunity in a short period of time to help tune them up for next week.”

Because of the intense nature of the Unit-2 qualifier, several of the Valley coaches didn’t get to offer a lot of one-on-one instruction and inadvertently the kids were left on their own, simulating the atmosphere of a bigger tournament.

“It depends on how big or little the bracket is and I think this tournament helps get kids prepared for a tournament atmosphere because we devote a lot less time to go over and they get to display what they’ve learned,” Bucarey said. “As coaches, we get a good sense of where they are at. There is so much improvement from week to week. Even if it didn’t pan out like a kid wanted, they can go back and learn something from their experience, adjust and next week become a totally stronger wrestler. “That is what is great about Little Guy Wrestling. The turnaround time on improvement for wrestling is pretty quick.”

Bucarey said he is “super excited” about the potential and the ability his team has displayed this week.

“I like the building aspect and I am glad the kids are enjoying it,” Bucarey said. “It compliments what we are doing as individuals and as a team. The team is looking good and that is always reassuring. It is awesome and I am glad it is attracting kids to come out and participate in this sport because it is a life-changing enterprise. We hope more kids come out and are hopefully enjoying the sport.”