Grappler Blaise Cronk takes 2nd at CMR

Over Dec. 16-20, the Columbia Falls MatCats faced off a week of matches and came away with some notable performances.

On the boys side, the first event on the schedule would be the Hamilton Quad on Dec. 16. During the competition, Tucker Williams competed in the 110-pound weight class and secured a win in his division. Riott Crump, wrestling at 132 pounds, also achieved a victory. In the 138-pound category, Kolbe Kronk emerged as the winner. Both Kaden Kaber and Talon Bates, each competing in the 175-pound weight class, both finished their matches on top.  Additionally, Kolton McCoy powered through his match at 285 pounds, rounding out a strong set of performances.

“Hamilton was a good night of wrestling for all our kids.  They ended up doing a mixer format which allowed up to match up equally leveled abilities, which always makes for some fun exciting matches,”coach Jessie Schaeffer said.

Then Dec. 19-20, a select group of top wrestlers competed at the CMR Holiday Classic in Great Falls. This prestigious event brought together teams from across Montana, representing classes AA through C.  Blaise Cronk led the team with a second-place finish in the 165-pound division, narrowly falling 0-1 to Helena’s Connor Lamping in the finals. Bradley Beck also made an impressive run, earning sixth place in the 132-pound division. 

“CMR brings in an amazing group of talent from all over the state with many different wrestling styles, abilities and a great opportunity for our kids to see a lot of mat time.  We ended the weekend with two placers and two losing out in the blood round Saturday morning,” Schaeffer said. “Beck has a great weekend of wrestling and earned a 6th place finish for his efforts.  He wrestled a total of eight matches over the weekend not allowing him much down time or rest.  Cronk, once again, had a great weekend of wrestling ending in a second-place overall finish. En route to the championship, Cronk defeated two-time state champ Gamas from Glasgow with a 2-1 victory.  In the championship match, I would have liked to have seen him open up a little more as he seemed to wrestle more reserved then normal which allowed his opponent to wrestle his style of match.  Cronk had the match, but a bloody nose, the time on the clock, and waiting to long to create some offense just didn’t work in his favor this weekend,” said Schaeffer.

 On Dec. 20, the Cats sent a small team of grapplers to Corvallis for the Glyn Brawley Classic, where they made a positive impression.  Kayl Howell (285 lbs.), Adam Lolli (215 lbs.), Ikiarus Haugen (190 lbs.), Angel Lorenzana Enriquez (132 lbs.), and Trenton York (126 lbs.) each secured a second-place finish, while Tavin LaTray (132 lbs.) achieved a third-place position.

Girls wrestling also competed in Corvallis and delivered a strong performance, with several athletes placing across different divisions.  Hailey Littlefield (HWT), Emerence Beck (145 lbs.), and Aurelia LaChance (125 lbs.) secured the top three finishes. Kaya Carlburg (135 lbs.), Alayah Stevens (140 lbs.), and Ella Timlick (145 lbs.) placed second. Korah Yerian (135 lbs.) had another strong showing with a third-place finish, while LaTray (115 lbs.), Kloey Wager (120 lbs.) secured 4th place finishes and Lillie Matson (140 lbs.) with a fifth place.

Both teams will be off during the break and will be back in action for Ballers and Brawlers night on Jan. 6 in Columbia Falls.