Whitefish wrestling has action-packed week, placers in Missoula

The Whitefish Bulldog wrestlers saw steady individual progress last week despite dropping a pair of duals to Ronan and Polson, then rebounded with multiple placers at the John Fisher Invitational in Missoula.
Whitefish faced Ronan Chiefs on Thursday, Jan. 15, falling 18–6 in the team score. Carter Olson provided the Bulldogs’ lone victory of the dual, pinning Ronan’s Austin Schall in 1:27 at 157 pounds.
In the second dual of the night, Whitefish fell 66–12 to Polson Pirates. Olson again delivered for the Bulldogs, recording a pin over Daniel O’Roake in 3:30 at 157 pounds. Paxton Elm also earned a win for Whitefish, pinning Polson’s Deziel Rose in 2:51 at 103 pounds.
Whitefish showed strong improvement over the weekend at the John Fisher Invitational, placing multiple wrestlers after not placing at the Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Invite.
Olson highlighted the Bulldogs’ effort with a runner-up finish at 157 pounds. He advanced to the championship match with back-to-back pins before dropping a narrow 2–1 decision to Kas Whiteman of Browning in the finals.
Sam Akey captured a championship at 215 pounds, earning a sudden-victory win in the semifinals before advancing through the bracket to take first place. Elm placed fifth at 103 pounds, closing his tournament with a major decision victory over Flathead’s Liam Iverson.
In junior varsity action, Ace Lee placed fourth at 138 pounds, while Jaxson Flint finished seventh at 165 after battling back through the consolation rounds.