MatCats wrestling finishes fourth in Polson
Columbia Falls wrestler Nathan Hader competes Saturday at the Owen Invitational in Polson. Hader won his first match but fell in his second. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Ben Windauer finished second in the 170-pound weight class at the Owen Invitational in Polson this weekend. (Bob Windauer photo)
Columbia Falls wrester Nathan Hader competes Saturday at the Owen Invitational in Polson. Hader won his first match but fell in his second. (Jeremy Weber photo)
The Columbia Falls MatCats opened the wrestling season with a fourth place team finish at the Owen Invitational in Polson over the weekend as wrestlers took home one first, three second and a pair of third place individual titles.
“We feel good about how we performed. Most of our kids only have in 10 practices so far, and we still have a long way to go, but we have our base and we are going to continue to build off that,” head coach Jessie Schaeffer said.
MatCat teammates Taylor Gladeau and Kyler Koski faced each other for the heavyweight title Saturday, with Gladeau coming away with a narrow 4-3 decision.
In the 170-pound weight class, Ben Windauer pinned both of his early round opponents before losing an 8-6 decision to Jase Sorenson of Thompson Falls in Saturday’s final.
Colton McPhee also pinned both of his early round opponents in the 182-pound division, including an 18-second pin of Browning’s Emmit Augare in the second round, before being pinned by Gus Bosley of Mission/Charlo in the final.
Austin Nelson pinned both of his opening round opponents before pinning Libby’s Dylan Yeadon in the third-place match in three minutes.
Jakob Freeman pinned his first round opponent in the 205-pound division before picking up a 5-4 decision over Frenchtown’s Levi Downard in the second round. Freeman finished third with a 1-0 decision over Polson’s Noah Humphrey Saturday afternoon.
For Schaeffer and the MatCats, it was a good chance to get an early-season look at opponents they will see again later.
“It was nice for us to see some of the opponents that are going to be in our conference and our division. It’s good to see where those kids our at, what techniques they are working on and where we can start helping our kids improve against them,” he said. “We never know what to expect. There is a lot of talent out there right now. With Sentinel and Frenchtown and Polson, and there are always good kids at some of those BC schools, you never know what competition is going to show up.”
The MatCats will be back in action Thursday as they wrestle at the Dillon Mixer before traveling to Butte for the Mining City Duals Friday and Saturday. The junior varsity will be at Hamilton Saturday.
Owen Invitational
Polson
Day 1 Results
First round
120 – Austin Nelson, C. Falls, pinned Devin Sorrell, Lake City, 4:18; Dylan Yeadon, Libby, pinned Thomas Peters, C. Falls, 3:10. 132 – Ayden Role, CF, dec. Cody Crace, 5-1. 138 – Bridger Wenzel, Pol, dec. Brandon Thomas, CF, 9-4. 145 – Nathan Hader, CF, dec. Kaleb Unger, Pol, 10-5. 152 – Laine Young, Lib, pinned Christian Nelson, CF, 5:06. 160 – Braydon Stone, CF, pinned Sam Ostwald, TF, 4:55. 170 – Ben Windauer, CF, pinned Aaron Hanson, Pol, 1:37. 182 – Colten McPhee, CF, pinned Stuart Butler, Hel, 1:10. 205 – Fisher Billsbrough, CF, pinned Lucas Wholtmann, M/C, :58; Jakob Freeman, CF, pinned Allen Dallapiazza, Hel, :14. Hwt – Kyler Koski, CF, pinned Tyler Woods, Stevi, :49; Taylor Gladeau, CF, pinned Cade Jessop, Cor, :12.
Second round
113 – Rene Pierre, Polson, pinned Garhet Salminen, C. Falls, 1:13. 120 – Nelson, CF, pinned Parkin, Sup, 3:03; Weible, M/C, def. Jaxon Heinz, CF. 132 – Davis, Cor, pinned Role, CF, 5:54. 145 – Hegel, Sent, pinned Hader, CF, 2:56. 152 – Fehr, Eur, pinned Stone, CF, 5:31. 170 – Windauer, CF, pinned Kipp, Brwn, 2:17. 182 – McPhee, CF, pinned Augare, Brwn, :18. 205 – Newbary, Sent, pinned Billsbrough, CF, 2:11; Freeman, CF, dec. Downard, Ftwn, 5-4. Hwt – Koski, CF, dec. Mecham, Ftwn, 5-1; Gladeau, CF, pinned Johnson.
Day 2 Results
Finals
170 – Jase Sorenson, TF, dec. Ben Windauer, CF, 8-6. 182 – Gus Bosley, M/C, p. Colten McPhee, CF, :43. Hwt – Taylor Gladeau, CF, dec. Kyler Koski, CF, 4-3.
Third place
120 – Austin Nelson, CF, p. Dylan Yeadon, Lib, 3:00. 205 – Jakob Freeman, CF, dec. Noah Humphrey, Pol, 1-0.
Team Results
Missoula Sentinel 193, Frenchtown 161, Polson 140.5, Columbia Falls 119, Thompson Falls 87.5, Libby 82, Mission/Charlo 72.5, Hamilton 71, Corvallis 70.5, Lake City, Idaho 60, Eureka 58, Florence 49, Missoula Hellgate 37, Browning 36, Whitefish 35, Stevensville 31.5, Ronan 29, Superior 7.
Note: Last week’s story did not mention senior Brandon Thomas, who should play an important role on the team this season.