Forfeits hurt 'Dogs at Mining City Duals

Boys also travel to Polson to battle the Pirates, again lose with missing weights

By DAVID ERICKSON

Whitefish Pilot

The Whitefish wrestling squad headed to Butte on Saturday for the Mining City Duals Invitational All-Class wrestling meet.

The Bulldogs again were hurt in the points category by forfeits due to lack of wrestlers. In their first match-up, Sidney defeated Whitefish, 53-18.

Head coach Ryan Hoffman said he is seeing positive things week to week from his boys.

"We definitely improved," he said. "We wrestled with more confidence."

Matt Starr (140 pounds) pinned Richard Heckler in 2:52, and Cody Morris (145 pounds) pinned James Collins in 2:53.

Sidney 53, Whitefish 18

98 - Brennan Gorder, S, won by ff. 105 - Scott Sturgis, S, won by ff. 112 - Levi Johnson, S, won by ff. 119 - double forfeit. 125 - Dalton Rice, W, won by ff. 130 - Jayme Kelly, S, p. Phillip Murphy 3:25. 135 - Lance Kuylen, S, p. Erik Hanson :41. 140 - Matt Starr, G, p. Richard Heckler 2:52. 145 - Cody Morris, G, p. James Collins 2:53. 152 - Chad Dunn, S, md. Tanner Benedict 17-2. 160 - Jordan Reidman, S, d. Kaleb Prestegaard 4-0. 171 - Mac Collins, S, won by ff. 189 - Beau Melby, S, p. Derek Crittenden :45. 215 - Bryce Vigoren, S, d. Jake Scheel 7-4. 285 - double forfeit.

In the Bulldog's second dual of the day, Anaconda got the best of Whitefish, 60-18. Phillip Murphy, a 130-pound Bulldog grappler, pinned Devon Tonkin in 1:48.

Matt Starr continued his winning ways, pinning Chad Galle in 3:49. Cody Morris lost a hard-fought battle with Derek Cook, getting pinned by the Anaconda strongman in 5:20.

Jake Scheel of Whitefish pinned Taylor Scholler in a fast 25 seconds.

Anaconda 60, Whitefish 18

98 - Kevin Spiewak, A, won by ff. 105 - double forfeit. 112 - double forfeit. 119 - Dalton Ueland, A, won by ff. 125 - Nick Lovell, A, p. Dalton Rice 2:45. 130 - Phillip Murphy, W, p. Devon Tonkin 1:48. 135 - Cody Tocher, A, p. Erik Hanson :33. 140 - Matt Starr, W, p. Chad Galle 3:49. 145 - Derek Cook, A, p. Cody Morris 5:20. 152 - Marcus Lussy, A, p. Kaleb Prestegaard 1:30. 160 - Clark Hensley, A, p. Tanner Benedict 1:33. 171 - Colten James, A, won by ff. 189 - Colten Scholler, A, p. Derek Crittenden. 215 - Jake Scheel, W, p. Taylor Scholler :25. 285 - David Paull, A, p. Kevin McDowell.

Thursday vs. Polson

The Whitefish wrestling squad lost five of Thursday's wrestling matches by forfeit on their way to a 16-51 defeat to the Pirates in Polson.

Matt Starr won by major decision, Kaleb Prestegaard won by decision, as did Jake Scheel and heavyweight Kevin McDowell.

Starr's decision over Tyler Fouty was a great match, said head coach Ryan Hoffman.

"That was a pretty good dual. Our guys wrestled very aggressive," he said.

First-year grappler Derek Crittenden also picked up a win by decision.

"We're still making missteps," Hoffman said. "But we're definitely getting better. Last week to this week, I've seen a big change. The young guys are wrestling with more confidence."

Keio Salmonson had a pin for Polson at 130 pounds, and Trae Fouty had a pin for the Pirates at 135 pounds. Other than that, all other matches were won by decision, an indicator of the competitiveness of the matches.

Hoffman said Polson had some very strong kids, and he believes even without forfeits, his squad would have had a tough time against the Pirates.

The Bulldogs head to Ronan on Thursday for a rematch.

Polson 51, Whitefish 16

Matt Starr (W) maj dec. Ty Fouty, 18-7; Kaleb Prestegaard (W) dec. Sheldon Fisher, 10-6; Derek Crittenden (W) dec. Josh Rostad, 7-1. Jake Scheel (W) dec. Skylar Knutson, 7-0; Kevin McDowell (W) dec. Anthony Golden, 12-5.