Best in the West: Columbia Falls wrestling wins divisional crown

The Columbia Falls boys wrestling team put 11 wrestlers in the top four spots at the Western A divisional tournament Saturday in Whitefish as they won their fourth straight title, beating Polson 275.5-225.

The MatCats had one champion in 145-pound Mason Fetters, who pinned Parker Adler of Polson in a little over a minute.

It was a big win for Fetters, who has shown the physical ability this year, but struggled at times in matches.

“He felt something and went for it,” coach Jessie Schaeffer said.  “It was the first real aggressive offense we’ve seen from this year.”

But the most dramatic match of the evening was between Storm Kemppainen at 170 and Stevensville’s Ben Crews. Crews built an early lead but Kemappainen battled back, tying the match at 6 apiece in the final seconds of the third round on a dramatic takedown that threw Crews out of the ring.

In overtime, Kemappainen went for a takedown and appeared to have it, when Crews shifted his weight, countered on Kemppainen in the last instant and took him down and then added two more for a 10-6 victory.

The crowd went wild.

Schaeffer said the loss could prove beneficial, as Kemppainen won’t have to face the top seed in his bracket. It’s a wrestler from Browning who will now end up in Crew’s bracket, because the Browning kid was upset in the East divisonal.

Overall Schaeffer was pleased with the team’s performance, as they’ll look to place in the top three at state. Havre is the favorite to win it all.

The MatCats also had second place performances from Winfield West (113), Hunter Peterson (132) and Kaleb Gravelin (138). Austin Nelson (103) and Ben Windauer each took third place. Windauer was one point away from making the finals. 

Any one of those wrestlers will be contenders for a state title this week in Billings. Wrestling starts Friday and runs into Saturday. The team leaves on Thursday.

“It’s going to be a brawl,” Schaeffer said.

Team Scores—Columbia Falls 275.5, Polson 226, Hamilton 208.5, Stevensville 146.5, Dillon 144.5, Corvallis 143.5, Frenchtown 126, Whitefish 100, Butte Central 24.

Championship

103— Mateo Quinones, Pol, dec. Rene Pierre, Pol, 6-2.

113— Michael Golden, Ham, dec. Winfield West, CF, 4-2 (SV-1).

120— Bridger Wenzel, Pol, p. Owen Indreland, Ftown, 3:00.

126— Koltin Starkel, Dill, p. Thunder Morales, Pol, 3:54.

132— Cameron Brown, Pol, dec. Hunter Peterson, CF, 7-1.

138— Brent Tezak, Dill, dec. Kaleb Gravelin, CF, 5-2.

145— Mason Fetters, CF, p. Parker Adler, Pol, 1:04.

152— Jon Blanchard, Ftown, dec. Steven Scheffer, Ham, 5-3.

160— Patrick Griffin, Dill, dec. Manny Rivera, Ham, 7-1.

170— Ben Crews, Stevi, dec. Storm Kemppainen, CF, 10-6 (SV-1).

182— Jerry Cassidy, Stevi, dec. Mason Griffin, Stevi, 6-4 (SV-1).

205— Justin Hinson, Ham, dec. Mike Corrigan, Pol, 6-4.

285— Steven Quimby, WF, dec. Luke Channer, Corv, 10-7.

Third Place

103— Austin Nelson, CF, p. Carter Brown, Corv, 0:39.

113— Dante Venema, Corv, p. Elliot Vanosdell, Stevi, 4:18.

120— Adrian Garcia, Ham, m.dec. Aden Role, CF, 9-0.

126— Ben Windauer, CF, p. Clay Fisher, BtC, 0:44.

132— Kwin Stoddard, Dill, m.dec. Brandon Thomas, CF, 13-3.

138— Cody Warner, Ftown, dec. James Buckley, WF, 9-3.

145— Bridger Nelson, Dill, dec. Bryce Williams, Ftown, 3-2.

152— Kye McCollaum, Corv, dec. Colton Cote, Pol, 10-7.

160— Koby Garcia, Pol, dec. Colten McPhee, CF, 10-6.

170— Konrad Zinke, WF, p. Cole Jones, Ftown, 1:39.

182— Kyle Anderson, Ham, p. Miguel Garate, CF, 2:28.

205— Shawn Cassidy, Stevi, p. Travis Catina, WF, 5:00.

285— Garret Hunt, Corv, p. Nick Marquardt, Pol, 1:39.

Fifth Place

103— Benji Opat, Corv, p. Luke Huffaker, Dill, 4:14.

113— Taisuke Matsuo, WF, p. Kelson Bauman, Ftown, 4:49.

120— Jesse Welling, Ftown, p. Joe Kidd, Dill, 0:37.

126— Dillon Thorsteinson, WF, p. Caden Brown, Ham, 1:27.

132— Steven Banks, Ham, p. Will Wissenbach, Corv, 2:04.

138— Jaben Wenzel, Pol, p. Drew Schmitt, Corv, 4:01.

145— Kris Anderson, Ham, m.dec. Dustin Copeland, Ham, 17-5.

152— Colton Sweeney, CF, p. Braden Loveless, Stevi, 3:49.

160— Troy Meyer, CF, dec. Caleb Edens, Stevi, 4-2.

170— Aaron Swafford, Ham, dec. Colter Stillwagon, BtC, 12-5.

182— Hunter Barron, Corv, p. Dale Meyer, CF, 0:28.

205— Jakob Freeman, CF, p. Behner Kordale, Stevi, 0:20.

285— Kyler Koski, CF, p. Justin Murray, Ham, 4:40.

Seventh Place

103— Roy Russell, BtC, dec. Zach Blanchard, Ftown, 9-2.

120— Eli Taylor, WF, p. Sidney Cooke, WF, 4:17.

126— Aaron Christensen, Corv, p. Jesse Shaske, Ftown, 2:37.

132— Sam Peterson, Dill, m.dec. Robert Bertelsen, WF, 16-8.

138— Nathan Hader, CF, p. James Bess, Ham, 2:46.

145— Jackson Stephens, Corv, m.dec. Daylon Moore, Corv, 14-5.

152— Hyme Anderson, Ham, p. Hunter Allen, Ftown, 2:17.

160— Christian Ellis, Ham, p. Malik Heydon, WF, 4:07.

170— Chase Krone, Stevi, dec. Michael Edwards, Ftown, 5-2.

182— Levi Downard, Ftown, p. Noah Humphrey, Pol, 1:26.

205— Matt Stafford, Dill, p. Harley Wise, Corv, 0:12.