Wrestling season starts this weekend in Polson

The Columbia Falls wrestling season kicks off this weekend down in Polson at the Owen Invitational.

The girls squad has a host of enthusiastic members, most of them sophomores and juniors, noted coach Ben Schaeffer.

“I’m really excited about what has come into the room this year,” coach Ben Schaeffer said. “We have quite a few juniors who have never wrestled before.”

He said wrestler Lily Matson did a ton of recruiting in the off season and got a lot of new faces in the wrestling room.

For example, expect good things from Kia Karberg, who also plays rugby, to make her mark on a team that currently has no seniors.

All told, the girls squad has 16 wrestlers and the goal is to bring home some hardware at the divisional tourney.

Ronan and Polson are the teams to beat in conference.

Schaeffer is assisted by Sal Baccaro, Ryan Timlick, Carl Sorensen, Anj LaChance and Sam Larsen. LaChance was fourth at state last year at 134 pounds.  Larsen was sixth at 145 pounds.

The girls are close to home at the Flathead Invitation in Kalispell Dec. 12-13. 

The boys are close to home in Bigfork Dec. 9. Both squads will wrestle at the Ballers and Brawler event Jan. 6 at home against Ronan. The event alternates between wrestling and basketball games the entire night and is a fun time in the gym.

The boys took eighth at state last year and lost quite a bit of talent to graduation, including senior state champion Dylan DeLorme. They’re led by veteran coach Jessie Schaeffer, who does a great job of getting the most out of young talent year after year.