Hungry Horse News

Battling injuries and a young lineup, Columbia Falls had a tough time with Polson at home Tuesday.

Polson (8-3) wrestlers bolted to an early 18-0 lead after three matches and cruised to a 49-28 victory against the Mat Cats (5-4).

The Pirates took advantage of a young Columbia Falls lineup. The Wildcats had six freshman wrestling.

Which isn't to say they didn't make it exciting.

Freshman Jesse Woodard gave Wildcat fans a jolt in the 189-pound match. He pinned A.J. Angelo in the third period.

"That is a kid that just keeps coming," Columbia Falls coach Wes Knutson said.

The Pirates also used four freshman, which equaled the number of seniors in their lineup.

Both teams had wrestlers out with injuries, leaving spots open for younger teammates. The less experienced wrestlers created exciting matches.

"It's fun for the crowd but not so fun for the coach sometimes," Polson coach Bob Owen said.

Early in the dual it was the Polson freshmen who shined.

Polson freshman Shane Ludwick started off the dual by pinning Clayton Patterson at 98 pounds. Then freshman Logan Torgison easily beat Wildcat freshman Micah Jam, winning by pin in the second period. Colin Benson followed with another pin for Polson against Tyson Nelson at 112.

Columbia Falls countered with Aric Tarr's decision against Stephen Feistner and Bo Hader's pin against Beau Nordberg. Columbia Falls trailed 18-9.

Each team had a couple wins in the next four matches. Polson's Kaine Zetterburg and Pat Dellwo got victories. And Dalvin Averill and Ryan Buck won for Columbia Falls.

Then the Pirates put the dual out of reach.

Polson's Ryley Duford pinned Brighton Hollis at 152 and Logan Kugler won by major decision against Derek Wolf.

"We wrestled a little bit better at a few weights than I expected," Owen said.

The Pirates added a forfeit victory at 170 to take a 43-16 lead.

Aaron Jones got a pin for Polson at 215 and Columbia Falls senior Tommy Church closed the match with a pin against Jeff Smith.

Knutson said he was pleased with the way the Wildcats wrestled despite the loss.

"The kids that we had to put in the lineup wrestled well," he said.