The Columbia Falls boys wrestling team is off to a slow but steady start after a slight delay to their first practice to accommodate wrestlers also playing in the state football championship. Coach Jessie Schaeffer hopes to have 11 starters back in the lineup, pending recovery from football injuries. 

“Out of those 11, six of them have been on the podium and we need to find a way to get three more on there… We’re hoping for big things for some of our seniors,” Schaeffer said. Cash Byrd, Traic Fainter, Billy Gustafson and Branden Torpen will be this year’s senior wrestlers, with between 25-30 total expected to go out this season.

In practice, Schaeffer and new assistant coaches Killian Cronk and Trey Buckallew are working on finding their starting lineup and giving the wrestlers a weight class they will be successful in. There are big shoes to fill following last season’s state championship title. 

“Last year’s last year and this is a different team, they can’t rest on last year’s performance because we’re missing some big horses as well,” Schaeffer said. “Hopefully these younger guys will step up and fill out those positions.”

The girls’ wrestling program is on its second season, with Schaeffer’s brother Ben Schaeffer splitting from their coaching team of 17 years to help it grow. With four returning wrestlers, including Columbia Falls’ first female All-State wrestler Jaelynn Nace, and nine new to the mat, it appears to be doing just that.  

Three freshman wrestlers were part of the inaugural junior high girls wrestling team last year, and with a relatively even spacing among grade levels, Ben was excited for the longterm growth of the program. He has found the women’s team to be a group of hard-working, eager to learn and fun-loving girls. 

“In our sport it gets intense really fast, and for me to take a step back and realize why we do it, it’s been really good for me,” he said of his new coaching position. 

Both the boys and girls teams will head to Polson for the Owen Invitational starting at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1 and 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 2.