Mission Valley sending mountain-full of wrestlers to State Tournament

RONAN AND POLSON GIRLS

The Ronan Maidens ran away with the inaugural Western A girls' divisional title on Saturday, outscoring runner-up Polson by more than 45 points. Ronan had 181 points to Polson's 143.5, and third-place Browning had 114.

"The boys and girls wrestled extremely well this weekend," Ronan Head Wrestling Coach Dylan Kramer said. "We just try to emphasize as a coaching staff that we want our kids to wrestle at a high level in the post-season so they can see how their hard work pays off."

The Maidens had five individual champions, while Polson had two.

In the 100-pound weight class, Saellah Nomee from Ronan took the top prize, defeating Kiera Davis from Corvallis with a final score of 15-9. Ciri Nice from Polson placed fourth in the same bracket.

The 114-pound weight class saw Landyn Hughes from Ronan claim first place, pinning Corrissa Baker from East Helena in just 2:48. Gracie Fullmer from Ronan placed fifth, pinning Aaliya Northey from Butte Central in 3:00. Maddilyn Huffine from Polson took seventh place, pinning Callie Wood from Browning in 0:32.

In the 120-pound weight class, Destiny Finley from Ronan placed second, while teammate Juliette Cheff was third, defeating Sam Bennetts from Whitefish with a score of 8-2.

The 126-pound weight class saw Katie Dolence from Ronan claim first place, pinning Faye Holland from Dillon/Sheridan/Twin Bridges in 3:37. Shyloh Huffine from Polson took seventh place, pinning Peyton Boggs from Hamilton in 1:39.

Brynn Courville from Ronan emerged victorious in the 132-pound weight class, pinning Jocelyn Covington from Corvallis in 1:43. Polson's Brylie Reum took eighth place.

The 138-pound weight class saw Nizhoni Haynes from Polson place fifth, pinning Brylee Rees from Frenchtown in 2:15.

In the 145-pound weight class, Polson's Harli Kinney was second.

Abigail Sorrell from Polson emerged victorious in the 152-pound weight class, pinning Leona Dodson Howe from Ronan in 3:28.

In the 165-pound weight class, Venessa Wheeler from Polson won the championship with a decisive win over Sadailyah Momberg from Browning with a pin in just 1 minute and 20 seconds.

In the 185-pound weight class, Pepper Featherstone from Polson won first after pinning Beatrice Kipp from Browning in 2 minutes and 43 seconds.

The 235-pound weight class saw Tirza TwoTeeth from Ronan claim first place.

Per MHSA rules, the top eight wrestlers in each weight class advance to the All-Class State Tournament, held at the Billings MetraPark from Feb. 10-11.

"Our expectations are always the same for our kids, try to improve during every match, wrestle hard and give their best effort, and to have fun," Kramer said. "If they do that this weekend good things will happen."

RONAN BOYS

At the A Western Divisional wrestling tournament in Polson, several athletes from Ronan had impressive performances en route to a third-place team finish on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 3-4.

"The team as a whole wrestled very well," Kramer said. "It was a great team effort, and they supported each other during every match this weekend."

August Courville took 3rd at 103 pounds, picking up four falls along the way. Ian Dillard placed 6th in the same weight bracket, notching a pin in the quarterfinals.

Luc Cheff placed 4th in the 113-pound weight class after a three-pin outing.

The standout performer of the competition was Ridge Cote, who won first place in the 120-pound weight class and recorded four pins.

Tyson Lake also competed in the 120-pound weight class, placing sixth thanks to a decision victory in the consolation bracket.

Jairyn Krause placed 8th in the 126-pound weight class with a fall and a tie-breaker victory.

James Kenelty was fourth in the 138-pound weight class. Kenelty notched a fall in the second round, fell in the quarterfinals, and then won by falls in the next two rounds. He would win by forfeit in the semifinals but fell in the third-place match.

Fortino Silva placed sixth at 138 pounds after picking up a fall in the second round.

Koda King took second place in the 145-pound weight class. King won by fall in the first round, by fall in the quarterfinals, and by decision in the semifinals. In the first-place match, King lost by decision.

In the same weight bracket, Will James Courville placed fourth, winning by fall in the first round and by major decision in the quarterfinals. After a loss, he won by decision in the consolation semifinals but lost by a decision in the third-place match.

Dominque McKay placed sixth in the 152-pound weight class. McKay received a bye in the first round, lost by fall in the quarterfinals, and won by forfeit and by fall in the second and third rounds. He would fall in the semifinals and fifth-place match.

Landon Bishop was second in the 160-pound weight class. Bishop won by fall in the first round and by decision in the quarterfinals and semifinals. In the first-place match, Bishop lost by a decision.

In the 170-pound weight class, Brady Hout had a strong showing, placing fifth. Hout received a bye in the first round and went on to win by fall in the second and third rounds. Hout ultimately fell in the consolation semifinals but managed to bounce back and secure a win in the fifth-place match.

In the 182-pound weight class, Cole Dalke placed seventh. Dalke received a bye in the first round and won two matches by fall. In the seventh-place match, Dalke secured a win by fall.

Finally, in the 285-pound weight class, Jackson Davis placed sixth, winning his first match by fall and winning the next two more matches in the same fashion. Despite falling to Austin Brush in the semifinals, Davis managed to secure a win in the consolation semifinals before ultimately falling to Adam Shirley in the battle for fifth place.

POLSON BOYS

Polson's wrestling team had several placers move on to state at the MHSA A Western Divisional tournament in their own gym. The top eight in each respective weight class advance to state.

Max Ramesar at 120 pounds had the best showing for Polson, placing 7th after he received a bye in the first round, lost in the quarterfinals but bounced back with two victories in the consolations. He recorded a pin in the 7th place match and advanced to state.

Polson's Daniel Peterson at 152 pounds placed 5th, after getting a bye in the first round, falling in the quarterfinals but then picking up two victories in the consolation bracket.

Kyrin Doty was eighth at 170 pounds and will advance to state.

Durai Mahkuk placed seventh at 205 points, with a pin in the first round, a loss in the quarterfinals, and a bounce back 15-7 major decision in the consolation bracket.

MISSION/CHARLO BOYS

The Western B/C Boys Divisional wrestling tournament saw Three Forks come out on top with 335 team points, followed by Eureka with 236, Whitehall with 230, and Boulder with 211. The Mission-Charlo wrestling team also made an appearance in the tournament, securing a respectable 52 points in the team scores.

Chance Bockman from Mission-Charlo had a strong showing in the 160-pound weight class, earning a major decision over Brady Schrenk from Plains with a score of 12-2, securing a 5th-place finish.

The third-place match at 170 pounds saw Canyon Sargent from Mission-Charlo defeat McCoy Banner from Fairfield with a convincing score of 12-5.

MISSION/CHARLO GIRLS

Mission/Charlo had a strong showing at the Western B/C Girls Divisional wrestling tournament, held at the Salish Kootenai College gym in Pablo on Saturday. The team scored 49 points, placing them among the top teams in the competition.

At 138 pounds, Aubrey Sharbono placed second for Mission/Charlo, reaching the championship match. Other individual standout performances included Lettie Umphrey, who took third place in the 114-pound weight class with a win over Dani Starkey of Eureka. In the 145-pound weight class, Natalie Helser secured a fifth-place finish with a win over Madisyn Price of Cut Bank.

Another noteworthy performance came from Alexis Lamere, who took third place in the 152-pound weight class with a win by forfeit over Harley Fetters of Cut Bank.