Blaise Cronk takes second at Rocky Mountain Classic

It was a whirlwind week of competition for both Columbia Falls wrestling teams. On Thursday, teams competed at the Polson Duals. The teams then traveled to Missoula where the boys would compete in the Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic, and the girls team took part in the Hellgate Girls Wrestling Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

The boys capped off the night in Polson with a strong performance, winning nine out of 12 matchups. Among those securing victories on the mat were Brander Christianson, Riott Crump, and Angel Lorenzana. Additionally, Bradley Beck, Kolbe Cronk, Forrest Whitaker, Kale Schaeffer, Bryan Lafex-Toavs, Blaise Cronk, and Kolton McCoy all delivered dominant performances.

“Thursday night was a positive night of wrestling.  All our kids got at least one match which is always a benefit when bringing a team to a dual format.  Team looked good against Polson and Browning with a lot of energy and team support,” said coach Jessie Schaeffer.

Blaise Cronk (165 lbs.) would continue to make an impression over the course of the weekend at the Rocky Mountain Classic with a second place finish.  Cronk went 4-1 in his matchups and lost by a slim 4-3 decision against Tyson Rice out of Williston.  Also having a great showing at the Invitational were Whitaker (144 lbs.) and Kolbe Cronk (138 lbs.) each finishing in 6th place.  Whitaker would end his weekend going 5-3 overall.

“Rocky Mountain Classic always showcases some of the best athletes our state and surrounding states produce, which makes it such a tournament.   It's hard not to recognize the three individuals who stood on the podium at the end of the weekend.  K. Cronk is our back up JV wrestler at 132 lbs., went in and competed at the 138 lb. division and placed eighth.  He had a great showing not only is he just a sophomore, but he also was giving up a substantial amount of weight wrestling up at a higher weight class. 

“Whitaker finished 6th overall as a sophomore and had a great week of competition.  He is wrestling well, developing some good offense from his feet and has learned to wrestle in the top position which I believe to be another reason he is seeing more success than years past.   It is exciting to watch a young athlete build confidence and find success in his hard work.

“Blaise Cronk, who was our lone finalist, lost a heartbreaker with 30 seconds left in the match to what most would say a controversial call.  He dominated the match for five and half minutes and to be that close is always a tough one for a coach or a kid for that matter to swallow.  Blaise redeemed his early loss in the season in the semis and put himself in a great position to win it.  Blaise had another great weekend but unfortunately came up just a little short,” coach  Jessie Schaeffer said.     

The girls also had a solid week.

“Lillie Matson (135 lbs.) and Kate Lewellen (130 lbs.) each won by falls, while the team would also collect two wins by forfeit at the Polson Duals for the girls.

“We found some success in different parts of our lineup.  With it being a dual format, we were able to move some girls around to get better match ups.  Ella Timlick stepped up as a leader and wrestled up to allow for other athletes in our line up to get matches.  We still lost the dual but competed better as a unit,” said coach Ben Schaeffer.

At the Hellgate Girls Invitational, heavyweight Hailey Littlefield battled her way to a 6th place finish, ultimately falling to Allie Ballensky of Butte.

“Hailey was our lone placer finishing 6th but very excited about how she is starting to put full matches together and her match knowledge is improving,” said Schaeffer. 

The girls that did not qualify for the championship round on Friday were given the opportunity to compete in the Hard Luck Tournament on Saturday.  

“It is a great opportunity for our younger ladies to find some success competing against other girls that were also beaten out of the tournament on Friday.  Teigan LaTray moved over from basketball and is starting to put some quality matches together and finding some wins for herself,” added Schaeffer.

The teams will be in Whitefish for another round of duals this upcoming Friday starting at 3 pm.  The girls’ team will also be heading down to Hamilton on Jan. 27 for the Hamilton girls mixer.