The Columbia Falls MatCats hosted duals with Corvallis, Hamilton, Bigfork and Libby on Thursday, Dec. 21. The boys team won 48-24 against Corvallis and 48-18 over Hamilton, the girls 42-6 over Corvallis and 36-12 against Bigfork. 

Girls coach Ben Schaeffer noted that duals scores can get a little lopsided due to forfeits, and Columbia Falls has a big team this season. The girls’ goal going in was to win more matches than they lost, and accomplished that by beating Bigfork in four out of six matches. Lucie Love (145) was able to win over Ella Tidwell and Samantha Larsen (152) over Angela Farrier, two opponents they had lost to earlier this season. 

Kinsey Ward (165) was able to move down a weight class and found success there, winning over Corvallis’s  Arden Weidow. Schaeffer expected to continue to see success in this weight class. New to the lineup is Emma McCallister (100) who won her extra match against Valkyrie Ava Larsen by fall in 29 seconds. 

“We’re starting to see those gains,” Schaeffer said. He explained that the girls, a lot of them new to wrestling, are quickly becoming more mat smart and practices have been starting to click. 

“It’s fun to finally have our community see these girls compete… right alongside the boys,” Schaeffer said. 

On the boys’ side, Schaeffer described the lineup as a sort of “skeleton crew,” with a lot of the regular lineup out sick and with injuries. There were a lot of younger wrestlers on the mat, and Schaeffer said they performed beyond their years. 

“Those kids shined, it was really neat to see those younger kids step up,” he said. 

Up next, the wrestlers will be in Ronan Jan. 5-6 starting at 11 a.m. each day. 

Bigfork vs. Columbia Falls Girls

100: Vanessa Nace (COFA) over Ava Larsen (BIGF) (Fall 1:10) 107: Jaelynn Nace (COFA) over   (BIGF) (For.) 120: Lex Johnson (BIGF) over Seirra Born (COFA) (Fall 1:28) 126: Ashlyn  Bothwell (BIGF) over Paris  Jerome (COFA) (Fall 0:56) 138: Ella Timlick (COFA) over  (BIGF) (For.) 145: Lucie Love (COFA) over Ella Tidwell (BIGF) (Fall 2:48) 152: Samantha Larsen (COFA) over Angela Farrier (BIGF) (Fall 2:46) 165: Kinsey Ward (COFA) over   (BIGF) (For.) 185:  235: 

Corvallis vs. Columbia Falls Boys

103: Chase  Davis (CORV) over (COFA) (For.) 120: Traic Fainter (COFA) over Quinn  Wissenbach (CORV) (Fall 1:54) 126: Octavious  Christianson  (COFA) over Boone Venema (CORV) (Fall 4:33) 132: Blake  Hoerner  (COFA) over Conner Jessop (CORV) (Fall 0:53) 138: Ben White (CORV) over Rebel  Crump (COFA) (Fall 0:31) 145: Kade Bowles (CORV) over   (COFA) (For.) 152: Billy Gustafson (COFA) over Austin Mangram (CORV) (Fall 0:27) 160: Aiden  Spencer (CORV) over Chase Hoerner  (COFA) (Fall 0:28) 170: Blaise Cronk (COFA) over Cayde Olsen (CORV) (Fall 1:43) 182: Rowdy Crump (COFA) over Colton Snyder (CORV) (Fall 1:25) 205: Tucker  Gonzales  (COFA) over Maurice  Craun (CORV) (Fall 0:38) 285: Gunnar Rathjen (COFA) over Blaine Wallace (CORV) (Fall 0:40)

Corvallis vs. Columbia Falls Girls

100: Jaelynn Nace (COFA) over (CORV) (For.) 107: Jaelynn Nace (COFA) over (CORV) (For.) 114:  120: Penelope  Foster (CORV) over Seirra Born (COFA) (Fall 4:50) 126: Paris  Jerome (COFA) over (CORV) (For.) 138: Ella Timlick (COFA) over (CORV) (For.) 145: Lucie Love (COFA) over (CORV) (For.) 152: Samantha Larsen (COFA) over   (CORV) (For.) 165: Kinsey Ward (COFA) over Arden Weidow (CORV) (Fall 2:49) 

Hamilton  vs. Columbia Falls Boys

113: Colt Yocum (Ham) over (COFA) (For.) 120: Traic Fainter (COFA) over (Ham) (For.) 126: Octavious  Christianson  (COFA) over Camron Beall (Ham) (Fall 2:51) 132: Blake  Hoerner  (COFA) over Brandon Saltzman (Ham) (Fall 0:42) 138: Adam Loveless (Ham) over Rebel  Crump (COFA) (Fall 1:42) 145: Quinn Yockey (Ham) over   (COFA) (For.) 152: Billy Gustafson (COFA) over (Ham) (For.) 160:  170: Blaise Cronk (COFA) over Aidan Toniazzo (Ham) (Fall 5:45) 182: Rowdy Crump (COFA) over Carter Morgan (Ham) (Fall 1:40) 205: Tucker  Gonzales  (COFA) over Noah Guisinger (Ham) (Fall 2:22) 285: Gunnar Rathjen (COFA) over Everett Stumpf (Ham) (Fall 0:34)