Mat Cats go 2-4 at Duals

by Joe SOVA<br
| January 14, 2009 10:00 PM

Mat time. And lots of it. That’s what’s most important for a high school wrestling team at this point in the season.

Columbia Falls wrestlers were on the mats for six duals during the Western Montana Duals last weekend in Ronan, opening with a 52-27 victory over Mission/St. Ignatius/Charlo. Later in the tournament, the Mat Cats posted a 57-24 win over Florence. CFHS was outscored by the

Flathead junior varsity 51-29, Glacier 51-24, Corvallis 37-34 and Frenchtown 45-40.

Junior 189-pounder Kelly Houle kept his season record unblemished, going 6-0 in his matches.

He is 23-0 this season. Joe Gross (152) had a 5-1 mark at Ronan, and Kohl Thompson (145) was 5-2. Justin Whitman (112 pounds) earned four wins at the duals, as did Travis Pete (125) and

Russell Plevel (140). Sal Baccaro (98), Shawn Whitman (135), John Woody (160), Doug Woodworth (215) and Kodie Kenfield (285) each picked up three wins.

“We had a really good weekend. Over half our kids had a winning record there,” Mat Cats coach Jessie Schaeffer said. “We had close to 30 falls. There were a lot of bonuses.

“It was a step for the team, but we still have a lot of room to grow,” he added.

With Cody Bartos out for the season with a knee injury, Kenfield moved up to heavyweight and was very competitive, according to Schaeffer. That moved Woodworth into the 215-pound slot, and he wrestled well.

Up from the junior varsity, Thompson and Woody had a good tournament at Ronan.

The Mat Cats had two or three open weights in most of their duals.

“We’re thinking of making some adjustments,” Schaeffer said of the upper weights.

Houle faced some of his best competition of the year at Ronan, winning his first three matches by one-point decisions — against Mission/St. Ignatius/Charlo, Flathead JV and Florence. In the dual against Glacier, Houle won a 6-2 decision over Boyce Ballard. He finished with pins against Corvallis and Frenchtown foes.

Another highlight came from Kenfield, who earned a 6-1 decision over John Frandsen of Glacier. Frandsen was fifth at state last season.