Mission-Charlo has several placers at Divisionals

The Mission-Charlo wrestling team made a strong showing at the Western B/C Divisional Wrestling Tournament in Butte, with several athletes securing top finishes over the weekend.

Leading the charge for Mission-Charlo was Joseph Cronk, who battled his way to a fourth-place finish in the 118-pound division. Cronk opened the tournament with a dominant fall over Kaden Isakson of Choteau in 2:56 but faced a setback in the quarterfinals when he was pinned by Weston Block of Thompson Falls/Noxon in just under a minute.

However, Cronk bounced back in the consolation rounds, securing three consecutive victories, including a forfeit win over Choteau’s Blake Hodgskiss. In the third-place match, he fell to Ashyr Tweet of Fairfield/Power by a major decision (14-0).

Kai O’Brien also impressed in the 126-pound weight class, finishing fourth overall. After receiving a bye in the first round, O’Brien recorded a quick fall over Darrius Hockhalter of Thompson Falls/Noxon in just 1:06. He followed that up with a hard-fought 8-6 decision win over Roddy Wyant of Anaconda in the quarterfinals.

O’Brien’s run was halted in the semifinals by Eureka’s Timothy Schmidt, who won by fall at 3:18. In the consolation semifinals, O’Brien rebounded with a 10-7 decision victory over Arlee’s Dominick Haynes but was forced to default due to injury in his rematch with Wyant for third place.

Dakota Zeiler battled through the 144-pound bracket to claim a seventh-place finish. Zeiler started strong with a fall over Braden Carter of Florence-Carlton in 2:37 before suffering a technical fall loss to Jesse Gebhardt of Choteau. He recovered with a commanding technical fall victory over Kemper Murphy of Manhattan in just one minute.

After a close decision loss to Zach Blodnick of Anaconda in the consolation rounds, Zeiler pinned Florence-Carlton’s Isaac Nicoson in 2:12 to secure seventh place.

At the heavyweight level, Ryan Sharbono made his presence felt in the 285-pound class, finishing sixth. After a first-round bye, Sharbono pinned Noah Calerich of Cut Bank in just 57 seconds. His momentum was briefly halted by Ethan Wock of Whitehall/Harrison, who won by major decision (14-6).

Sharbono responded with two back-to-back pins in the consolation bracket, but his run ended with a narrow 3-2 decision loss to Townsend’s Gavin Schmele of Broadwater. He ultimately fell to Shannon Stuart of Darby in the fifth-place match.

Warriors post several placers at Divisionals

Arlee had a busy Western B/C Divisional Wrestling Tournament in Butte over the weekend, with multiple wrestlers placing to advance to state.

Dominick Haynes fought his way to a sixth-place finish in the 126-pound division. After receiving a bye in the first round, he edged out John Owen Jermyn of Plains/Hot Springs in a tight 12-11 decision.

Though he fell in the quarterfinals to Blaine VanDyke of Conrad, Haynes rebounded with an impressive 12-2 major decision over Landon Serevaag of Florence-Carlton. He continued his strong showing with a 3-1 decision over Plains/Hot Springs’ Isiah Schulze but fell in the consolation semifinals to Mission/Charlo’s Kai O’Brien.

In the fifth-place match, Cascade’s Elijah Kennerson bested Haynes with a 14-4 major decision, sealing his sixth-place finish.

Brody Smith powered through the 138-pound bracket to claim fifth place. After an early-round bye, Smith made quick work of Broadwater/Townsend’s Colter Schaible, winning by fall in just 56 seconds.

 Though he was stopped in the quarterfinals by Cascade’s Trevor Standley, he bounced back with dominant pins over Whitehall/Harrison’s Trevin Stratton and Fairfield/Power’s Jeffery Burton. In the consolation semifinals, he dropped a close decision to Florence-Carlton’s Max Rosenthal but finished strong with a 6-1 decision victory over Plans/HotSpring’s Cody West to claim fifth place.

Jeryn Belcourt fought through the 175-pound bracket to claim a sixth-place finish. After a first-round bye, he faced a tough opponent in Cascade’s Cache Carroll, losing by major decision.

Determined to bounce back, Belcourt pinned Shelby’s Reece Shandorf in just 46 seconds, followed by a pin over Broadwater/Townsend’s Nick Humphreys in 2:19. However, he was halted in the consolation semifinals by Whitehall Harrison’s Jack Raty before falling to Carroll again in the fifth-place match.

Bridger Smith also placed sixth in the 190-pound bracket. He opened the tournament with a pin over Fairfield/Power’s Isaiah Talton and followed up with another fall against teammate Isadore Mitchell. Unfortunately, an injury default in the semifinals forced Smith to the consolation bracket, where he was unable to compete further due to medical forfeit.

Teammate Isadore Mitchell claimed eighth place in the same weight class. He began his tournament with a first-round pin over Anaconda’s Jason Appling before facing off against Smith in the quarterfinals. Mitchell bounced back with a decision win over Choteau Kayd Mckay but lost to Cascade’s Rial McGregor. In the seventh-place match, he was disqualified against Cascade’s Kooper Coates.