Young MatCats squad ready to open wrestling season this weekend

Wildcat head wrestling coach Jessie Schaeffer says he is excited about the upcoming season, despite his team’s youth and inexperience. In fact, it is that youth and inexperience that has him excited.

“This year is almost like going back to my first year of coaching,” he said. “Right now, this team is coachable. They want to learn. They are eager to learn. They are very good about taking direction and not questioning.”

The Cats are coming off a season that saw Columbia Falls finish fifth at the state meet with 10 wrestlers in action. Taylor Gladeau was the winner of the 285-pound division while Colten McPhee battled a separated rib to finish second in the 182-pound weight class and Jakob Freeman was third in the 205-pound division. Allec Knapton was sixth in the 170-pound class and Thomas Peters was sixth in the 132-pound weight class.

McPhee also graduated with the single season pin record for the Wildcats as he pinned 36 to outpace Ben Windauer’s record set in the 2017-18 season.

The Cats will be returning six that wrestled at the state tournament last season, including Knapton, Orion Barta, Isaac Balla, D.J. Laycock, Lucas Thacker and Tommy Phelps.

This year’s MatCats will be looking to its pair of seniors for leadership as Laycock and Easton Sempf hope to lead the team to another strong showing at state in February.

“They have a lot of other good qualities beyond just their skills on the mat,” Schaeffer said about his two seniors.

Along with the returning wrestlers, Schaeffer says this year’s squad will include a number of talented freshmen, including Ben Windauer’s younger brother, Justin.

“We have a lot of kids with talent, we just need to instill a work ethic and some techniques that will help them be successful,” Schaeffer said. “Our goal is to improve every week. We will start the season with measurable goals and keep the energy level high. As coaches, we are going to push them hard and see where we are.”

The Cats open the season at Polson this weekend.

The December schedule for the MatCats includes:

@ Polson Dec. 6-7

@ Dillon Dec. 12

@ Mining City Duals (Butte) Dec. 13-14

@ Browning (vs Whitefish and Browning) Dec. 19

@ Great Falls Holiday Invite Dec. 20-21