Kaltschmidt and Starr place at Divisionals

By CHRIS TUCKER - Whitefish Pilot

The Whitefish Bulldog grapplers finished in sixth place with 57 points at Saturday's Divisionals in Columbia Falls.

Still, there were some highlights for the Bulldog squad, as senior Kevin Kaltschmidt placed first at 119 pounds, defeating Ronan's Seth Clary by decision, 7-1.

Fellow Bulldog Matt Starr placed third at 140 pounds after defeating Ronan's Ricky Luchau by decision, 5-1.

"Coming off our dual against Libby, I told the kids they would have to wrestle better to earn their place in the state tournament the next week, and they did," coach Tim Neff said.

Neff said Kaltschmidt beat a two-time state-place winner in the finals and is going to be one of the contenders for the state championship in a very tough weight class. Starr will also face some tough challengers at state, he said.

"Starr has been through the battles before," Neff said. "There are a lot of kids, probably 10 kids in that weight, that are about the same level of wrestler as Matt is. He draws a ranked wrestler right out of the chutes. They're the fifth- and the sixth-rated wrestlers in the state."

Four Bulldogs earned fourth-place positions at divisionals — Dexter Orr at 98 pounds, Cody Morris, 135, Kaleb Prestegaard, 145, and Jake Scheel, 189.

Neff said that although wrestlers such as Kaltschmidt and Starr have been to state contests before, it'll be a first-time trip for many of the team members.

But the team has been "tournament tested" this season, Neff said, and is ready for action.

"We've been to the Cut Bank tournament with 27 schools, we've been to the Rocky Mountain Classic with 24 schools," he said. "So we've been through the big tournaments, and hopefully that experience is going to pay off, and we'll be able to see some kids have some success down there in Billings."