Dorvall stands out at major girls wrestling invite

Whitefish wrestlers took on the field at the Flathead Girls Invitational on Friday and Saturday, and returned with one podium trip.

"It was definitely an eye-opening experience," Whitefish head coach Danny Neff said. "This could be considered a state tournament for the girls because you see east teams like Billings and other AA schools travel over here."

Whitefish's Taylor Dorvall is making the most of her first-year wrestling, placing third in the 126-pound bracket at the invite.

After a first-round bye, Dorvall ripped off two pins to reach the tournament's quarterfinals. After falling in a close decision, Dorvall bounced back with three straight pins to advance through the bracket. In the third-place match, Dorvall defeated Corvallis' Jocelyn Covington 7-2.

Her wins improved her overall record to 11-2.

Samantha Bennetts made the transition from the 126-weight class to 120 and was one win away from placing in the invite. The brackets for both girls were 32 wrestlers, meaning they saw plenty of challenging grapplers.

"The girls got some really good competition, which we needed," Neff said. "We're on a really positive path with those two girls. While not all schools are able to show up because the Flathead gym doesn't have the space to put on a huge tournament, the competition was solid, and it's a great indicator of where we're at."

The boys wrestling team traveled to the Bob Kinney Classic in Superior, where heavyweight Sam Akey notched two pins while advancing to the consolation semifinals. Carter Olson also picked up a pin in the 138-pound bracket.

"It's nice to see Sam accomplish that as a sophomore wrestling in his first year," Neff said. "He has made some great leaps and bounds and is finding his happy medium where he can compete."

Next, Whitefish will travel to Browning on Thursday for mixer action against Browning and Columbia Falls. Over the weekend, they will compete in the CMR Holiday Classic in Great Falls.

"This is the biggest all-class tournament for both boys and girls," Neff said. "The competition is so good. If you win this tournament, you're a stud, and most likely, you'll find yourself in the top three come your class's state tournament."

After that, Whitefish wrestling will get a two-week break for the holidays, which will be useful for the Bulldogs. Henry Bennetts, Logan Heyne and Landree Aurand are all impact wrestlers for the team and are currently injured. This break gives them more time to recoup so the Bulldog team can come back stronger than ever in January.

"It will be super helpful for the injuries; they'll need those extra two weeks," Neff said. "I've really been impressed with our junior and senior leadership. They may not be wrestling, but they're cheering on their team at these meets, and that does a lot for the younger kids. 

“Kids can relate with their classmates more than coaches sometimes and provide a different perspective, and it's really been helpful for us," he added.