Grapplers do well at divisional tourney, headed to state

The Columbia Falls boys’ and girls’ wrestling teams both earned fifth place finishes out of 13 competing schools at the Class A Divisional tournament in Dillon over the weekend. Their impressive performances included several standout individual achievements and notable matches, with multiple athletes advancing to the upcoming state tournament in Billings this week.

Eleven of the 18 boys on the team qualified for State this upcoming weekend.  The qualifiers are Brander Christianson (103 pounds), Riott Crump (110 pounds), Angel Lorenzana and Trenton York (126 pounds), Bradley Beck and Kolbe Cronk (132 pounds), Fisher Whitaker (144 pounds), Kale Schaeffer (150 pounds), Blaise Cronk and Rebel Crump (165 pounds), and Kolton McCoy (285 pounds).

B. Cronk once again powered his way through the competition, going 3-0 and capping off his weekend with a championship win over Kayne Burke from Browning in just 1:34, a testament to his dominance throughout the tournament. Schaeffer found himself on the podium with a 2nd place finish, and his narrow 10-7 loss to Cooper Hardy out of Frenchtown highlighted his impressive resilience against a tough opponent.  Meanwhile, Christianson and K. Kronk each battled their way to third-place finishes.  K. Kronk faced a challenging bout, losing by a major decision of 16-5 to Travis Nygard out of Frenchtown, while Christianson showed determination by defeating Paxton Elm from Whitefish with an 8-4 decision to secure his spot on the podium.

“Overall, we as a coaching staff are pleased with our performances.  Out of the 18 athletes that represented our divisional team 10 of them were freshman and four were sophomores.  We are young, but found success,” coach Jessie Schaeffer said.   “Unfortunately, we had a handful of matches that went the other way we were winning but found ways to lose them with only seconds left on the clock.  It was hard to watch but also shows our lack of experience in pressure situations that the divisional tournament brings.    

“Kale Schaeffer had his first experience in a high school finals match.  He had a great semi match that he just stayed solid and maintained great position from start to finish. Blaise was our only divisional champion and in route to his victory this week he managed to break the school near fall record which, in itself, is a great feat,” Schaeffer added.   

Four girls will also be heading to state after strong showings.  Hailey Littlefield, competing at 235 pounds, was the highest-ranking qualifier for the Cats with a second-place finish.  Littlefield lost to Judasha Ellsworth from Ronan by a major decision of 10-2 in the final.  Ella Timlick, at 145 pounds, secured a third-place finish, while Alayah Stevens and Emerence Beck, both wrestling at 140 pounds, earned fourth and fifth place finishes, respectively. 

“Beck had her best showing of the year with a big first round fall against the No. 4 girl in the tournament and again finding a pin in the blood rounds to advance to the state tournament.  Timlick and Stevens continue to be consistent and finding wins when they need to.  Littlefield has improved in the neutral position.  She has been really coachable late in the season, coach Ben Schaeffer noted.

“Credit to my coaching staff and the work they have done this season in getting the ladies ready.  Hard to put into words what this team has accomplished this season.  The girls really bought into the system and outperformed our expectations and goals for this year.  We are excited to get to the Metra with this group and take in the experience.  This is just step one for this team as the goal still continues to be using this season as a steppingstone to next year as we will return all members to next year’s team,” coach Ben Schaeffer said.

The Cats will head to Billings this week for the State Class A tournament which will be held at the Metra on Feb. 19-21.