Wrestlers come up short at state meet

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

A strong showing at the Northwest A divisional tournament didn't provide enough momentum to turn in the same performance at the state meet for the Bulldog wrestling team.

Whitefish finished with 11.5 points overall at the 2008 All Class wrestling tournament in Billings over the weekend, enough for second-to-last in Class A, above Butte Central with zero points.

Havre won the meet with 282.5 points, followed by Northwestern A Ronan 167.5.

"We just didn't wrestle well, obviously," head coach Ryan Hoffman said. "A couple kids might have put themselves under a little too much pressure since it was the state tournament."

Hoffman said his guys drew some tough wrestlers from around the state early on.

"Tanner Benedict drew some good kids," Hoffman said.

Benedict won his second match, pinning Ethan Albrecht of Laurel in 2:15. Benedict lost his third match.

Coddy Morris won a 9-8 decision over Kent Pattison of Havre in the opening round but lost his next two matches.

Jake Scheel made it the farthest into the tournament of any Bulldog, winning his first and third matches to make it to the consolation quarter-finals. Scheel lost to Frank Swann of Ronan.

"Swann was a guy we had beaten two times earlier in the year. I don't know why he lost," Hoffman said.

Matt Starr lost his first two matches, as did Derek Crittenden and Kevin McDowell.

Seniors McDowell, Morris, Starr, and Scheel all ended their high school careers on the mats in Billings, but coach Hoffman was philosophical about the less-than-stellar ending.

"We were disapointed, but wrestling's a tough sport," he said. "That's why not many people do it."

Results:

Team Score

1. Havre 282.50

2. Ronan 167.50

3. Sidney 164.00

4. Frenchtown 131.50

5. Corvallis 118.50

6. Belgrade 113.50

7. Miles City 107.00

8. Lewistown 97.50

9. Hamilton 92.50

10. Hardin 89.00

11. Libby 83.00

12. Col. Falls 82.50

13. Polson 80.00

14. Dillon 66.50

15. Laurel 58.00

16. Anaconda 57.00

17. Glendive 47.50

18. Browning 31.00

19. Billings C. 26.00

20. Livingston 19.00

21. Whitefish 11.50

22. Butte Ctrl. 0.00