Roberts wins second state title
<p>Shonn Roberts of Columbia Falls wrestles Zach Wall of Billings Central in the Class A 112-pound championship on Saturday in Billings. (Photo by Paul Ruhter, Billings Gazette)</p>
He did it again and in dominating fashion. Columbia Falls grappler Shonn Roberts won his second straight state Class A title Feb. 9 at Metra Park in Billings. He pinned Billings Central’s Zach Wall in 3:08 to take the 112-pound title.
Roberts won the state Class A championship at 98 pounds as a freshman. This year, he took the Quick Pin Award as he pinned every opponent he faced.
Coach Jessie Schaeffer said Roberts did an admirable job. Wall came out wanting to fight, and Roberts fought right back.
“He ran after me and it was weird,” Roberts said. “I just had to change my style.”
No one is school history has won more than two titles, so if Roberts can win again, it would be a legacy in the making. Aric Tarr was the last Wildcat to win two titles, Schaeffer said.
Roberts pinned Sean Galloway of Corvallis in 38 seconds and Layne Schafer of Sidney in 47 seconds. Then on Saturday, he pinned Dylan Stewart of Havre in 3:14.
Roberts hopes he can win more state titles. Next year he said he’ll wrestle in the 120- or 126-pound weight class. Winning the title as a freshman was quite a bit harder, he noted.
Roberts will join three wrestlers from Glacier High School at the fifth annual Tournament of Champions All-Star Wrestling Event in Great Falls on Saturday.
As a team, the MatCats had a solid tourney, taking sixth overall. Freshman Cameron Linstead pinned Logan Pleninger of Havre for third place in 4:01 in the 105 pound weight class. Haze Bell took fifth at 119, Seth McCall was fourth at 125, and Bryan Shaffer took sixth at 145.
All in all, Schaeffer was pleased with the team’s performance.
“Hardin surprised us,” he said. “We thought we’d get into the top five.”
But the future for the Columbia Falls program bodes well. They graduate just one senior who placed — McCall —and everyone else returns, including wrestlers who were a move or two from being on the podium.
Schaeffer said 10 wrestlers were in the weight room bright and early Monday morning.
“That speaks for itself,” he said.