Missing slots hurt Bulldog grapplers

By DAVID ERICKSON - Whitefish Pilot

The Whitefish Bulldogs wrestling squad dropped their home opener Friday night 15-57 to Ronan. Whitefish lost 36 points on six forfeits because they lack wrestlers for those classes.

"The kids wrestled hard," head coach Ryan Hoffman said. "It's early, everyone's making mistakes, but if we can fix those mistakes, we'll be looking pretty good. It's the kids that learn who are going to be there at the end."

The Bulldogs won four matches, while Ronan won five, but Ronan wrestlers pinned the Bulldogs on four of their five wins, leading to a higher point total. A pin is worth six points, while a decision win is worth only three points.

Matt Starr was the only Bulldog to get a pin on the night. Starr pinned Micky Cheff in four minutes and 19 seconds, the longest battle of the night.

"Matt had a good night," Hoffman said. "The kid came out and got after him, but Matt finally pinned him."

Starr (140 pounds), Cody Morris (152), Jake Scheel (215) and Kevin McDowell (285) all won matches for the Bulldogs.

Ronan results: 98 - Jesse Robinson, R, won by forfeit;, 105 - Open; 112 - Zach Robinson, R, won by forfeit; Cameron Neiss, R, won by forfeit; 125 - Ryan Hardy, R, won by forfeit; 130 - Nate Templer, R, pinned Dalton Rice, 3:31, 135 - Tyson Noyes, R, pinned Phillip Murphy, 2:49; 14 - Matt Starr, W, pinned Micky Cheff, 4:19. 145, Toby Cheff, R, dec. Caleb Prestegaard, 10-7; 152 - Cody Morris, W, dec. Westyn Kiehn, 14-9; 160 - Rick Luchau, R, pinned Tanner Benedict, 1:55; 171 - Brett Burns, R, won by forfeit; 189 - Josh Krantz, R, pinned Derek Crittenden, 2:42, 215 - Jake Scheel, W, dec. Frank Swan, 5-4, 285 - Kevin McDowell, W, dec. Tommy Parker, 5-2.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs traveled to the south end of Whitefish Lake for the Polson Invitational Wrestling Tournament, which featured Class AA powerhouses like Flathead and Missoula Sentinel.

Whitefish ended up with 68 points in the tournament, an eighth-place finish out of 13 teams. Flathead claimed first place easily with a 306.5. Columbia Falls finished behind Whitefish with 54.

Scheel, a senior, finished second in the 215-pound class, beating a Flathead wrestler on his way.

"Jake wrestled very well at the tournament," Hoffman said. "Derek Crittenden, a first-year wrestler, also got his first win down there."

Starr finished third in the 140-pound class of all wrestlers. Kaleb Prestegaard finished third in the 145-pound class.

Polson Invitational results: Team scores - Flathead 306.5, Sentinel 139, Frenchtown 125.5, Corvallis 120.5, Polson 114.5, Eureka 88, Hamilton 77, Whitefish 68, Columbia Falls 54, Glacier 47, Thompson Falls 40, St. Ignatius 25, Superior 2.