Grapplers open season

Last week went as expected for the

Whitefish wrestling team. The few experienced team members

performed well, even scoring a few pins, while the new faces on the

team got their first matches under their belts. After wrestling

Ronan and Columbia Falls on Friday, then at the Polson invitation

Saturday, the team has a foundation to build upon.

“They’re all working at it, and I could

tell they were gaining from the first dual on Friday to the last

match in Polson,” Whitefish coach Ryan Boyle said. “There was some

definite growth.”

Wolf Zinke earned the team’s first pin

of the season against Ronan on Friday, taking down Aaron Yazzie in

1:52. At Polson, Zinke got into a blood-fest with Thompson Falls’

heavyweight and prevailed with a pin.

“They were going at it pretty good,”

Boyle said. “Wolf is so much more aggressive than last year, and

that will pay off.”

Kaleb Mohn, 98 pounds, was the only

Bulldog to place in Polson after finishing in fourth.

At 171 pounds, Marcelo Theodoro scored

two pins on the weekend. Theodoro took down Columbia Falls’ Marquis

Isley in 3:46 on Friday.

Boyle says it’s Theodoro’s first season

wrestling, but his experience in the Brazilian martial art of jui

jitsu has helped him on the mat. Jui jitsu focuses on ground

fighting and grappling with choke holds and joint locks. Theodoro

is an exchange student from Brazil.

Whitefish’s only other win in the Ronan

/ Columbia Falls duals came from 152-pounder Andrew Timmons. He

scored a 12-6 decision over Columbia Falls’ Jason Williams.

Robby Neff didn’t score a pin this

weekend, but his effort against Ronan’s Toby Cheff was notable.

Neff is wrestling in the 189-pound class despite weighing in at

170.

“Robby is one of the bright spots,”

Boyle said. “He was in a weight class way to heavy for him and gave

up 20 pounds. He is moving extremely well and didn’t back down

against Cheff. By the end of year he should be down to a better

weight class.”