Benedict battles back for fourth

Bulldog senior wrestler Tanner Benedict nearly found the podium at the Class A state tournament Feb. 12-13 in Billings by winning four matches in a row after a first-round loss pushed him into the consolation bracket.

"Tanner had a tough first-round loss and nearly battled all the way back," Bulldog coach Ryan Hoffman said. "He took the hard road and won some tough matches along the way."

Kameron Pribyl, of Havre, took down the 160-pound grappler in the first round with a 3-2 decision before Benedict went on his tear.

Benedict pinned Parker Richard, of Hamilton, in 19 seconds and scored a 7-1 decision over Ryan Gosselin, of Laurel, to get into the consolation quarterfinal match. There, he tallied a 5-0 decision over Joe Gross, of Columbia Falls, to move into the semifinals where he beat Cole Perigo, of Laurel, with a close 3-1 decision. In the third-place match, Benedict lost a 5-0 decision to nemesis Cole McArthur, of Ronan.

The fourth-place finish closed out the senior's wrestling career on an up note — improving on his sixth-place finish in Billings last year. He plans to play football at the University of Montana Western in Dillon after graduation.

Senior Nick O'Dell had some success in Billings, too, wrestling at 152 pounds. O'Dell opened the first round with a pin over Trevor Tracy, of Sidney, to get into the winner's bracket. In the quarterfinals, he was pinned by eventual champion Eli Hinebauch, of Havre, which pushed him into the consolation field. In the second-round consolation match, O'Dell pinned Keith Carmen in 1:41 before he fell to Tyler Kelly, of Dillon, in the quarterfinals.

"Nick wrestled well and made it to the second day," Hoffman said. "His final loss came against a tough kid from Dillon."

Overall, the Whitefish squad finished with 20 points, ahead of Livingston, Billings Central, Butte Central and Browning. Havre won the tournament with 215 points, followed by Belgrade with 196 1/2 and Frenchtown-Alberton with 152.

"We did all right," Hoffman said. "Look at all the kids we went down there with. They were third-year, second-year and first-year wrestlers. We were hoping the other two seniors would fare better, but Wolf Zinke will be coming back next year, and hopefully we can get some eighth-graders to help us out, too."

Tanner Benedict

First round, Kameron Pribyl, HAV def. Tanner Benedict, WFH, dec., 3-2; First-round consolation, Tanner Benedict, WFH def. Parker Richards, HAM, pin, :19; Second-round consolation,Tanner Benedict, WFH def. Ryan Gosselin, LAU, dec., 7-1; Consolation quarterfinals,Tanner Benedict, WFH def. Joe Gross, CFS, dec. 5-0; Consolation semifinals, Tanner Benedict, WFH def. Cole Perigo, LAU, dec. 3-1; Third place match, Cole McArthur, RON def. Tanner Benedict, WFH, dec. 5-0.

Nick O'Dell

First round, Nick O'Dell, WFH def. Trevor Tracy, SID, pin, 3:19; Quarterfinals, Eli Hinebauch, HAV def. Nick O'Dell, WFH, pin, 3:59; Second-round consolation, Nick O'Dell, WFH def. Keith Carmen, FTN, pin, 1:41; Consolation quarterfinals, Tyler Kelly, DIL def. Nick O'Dell, WFH, pin, 4:51

Dalton Rice

First round, Kelby Dorn, HAR def. Dalton Rice, WFH, pin, 1:36; First-round consolation, Devan Williams, COR def. Dalton Rice, WFH, dec., 7-2

Geoff Streeter

First-round consolation, Randy Green, SID def. Geoff Streeter, WFH, dec., 9-6

Wolf Zinke

First round, Mitchell Schnittgen, HAV def. Wolf Zinke, WFH, pin, :53; First-round consolation, Charlie Schmitz, CEN def. Wolf Zinke, WFH, pin, 2:41