POLSON — Last weekend was all about gaining experience for the Mission/Charlo wrestling team.

“At this point in the season it is all about getting matches under your belt, finding your weak areas and working on them,” head coach Lyle Cronk said.

The Bulldogs competed in the Polson Invite last weekend, finishing eighth out of 13 teams.  Cronk said the tournament was likely to be the toughest tournament on his team’s schedule.

Mission/Charlo’s inexperience showed against the high level of competition, he said, but overall he was pleased with the effort from all wrestlers.

It was several wrestlers’ first tournament of their careers.

“For these wrestlers, we try to focus on battling and learning from our mistakes,” he said.

Two of those wrestlers were freshman Barret Sargent and junior Dallin Torell.

“I was pleased to get some wins from Barrett Sargent and Dallin Torell as it was for, both of them, their first high school tournament,” Cronk said. “Both showed up to compete which is sometimes what counts most.”

Individually, two Bulldogs took home honors.

Senior Jame Petersen took first in the 145 weight class after defeating Glacier’s Stormy Day 6-1.  Previously in the tournament, he defeated Flathead’s Jeremiah Gaiser 9-4 and pinned Polson’s Chris Cote after 1:23.

“Jame did a great job of wrestling the whole match,” Cronk said. “He continued to  keep the pressure on his opponents by not letting up.”

Sophomore Scott Gilleard took fourth in the 125 class. He pinned his first two opponents in the first period before dropping a match. He pinned Polson’s Nick Howell in 46 seconds and lost to Sentinal’s Jeff Meirer 8-15 for fourth place.

“Scotty looked great in the matches where he came out and got on his offense,” Cronk said. “Scotty has improved a great deal in the past year,

and continues to gain confidence. Once he realizes how tough he is he

will be hard to beat.”

Also picking up wins were sophomore Russell Schultz, who went 1-2, Torell, with two wins, and Sargent, who went 1-2.

Cronk was also struck by his team’s attitude off the mat.

“I was also impressed at the way they rallied around each other all getting excited for each others matches,” he said.

To improve for the season, the Bulldogs will work on wrestling with more intensity and confidence.

“There were several matches where we lost scrambles simply because we stopped and our opponents kept going,” Cronk said.

The Bulldogs hosted a five-team duel featuring Florence, last year’s divisional champions. Results were unavailable at press time.

Cronk said he hopes to build on the experience from the Polson meet.

“I mostly am hoping to see our young wrestlers come out and battle with intensity and for our experienced wrestlers to do the same,” Cronk said.

Mission/Charlo will travel to the Superior duels tomorrow and will face Arlee, last year’s divisional runner-up, on Monday.

“At this point in the season it is all about getting matches under your belt, finding your weak areas and working on them,” Cronk said. “It is important to have tough competition and we will certainly be tested the next two weeks.”