Little Guy wrestling kicks off season with pair of tourneys

Bigfork’s Little Guy Wrestling team had their first official meet last weekend and had eight of their 21 boys place in the top four at the tournament in Libby, which brought in 627 bracketed wrestlers from Northwest Montana and Northern Idaho.

Boyd Rieke took first place in the 110 pound weight class in the middle division, which is for 11 and 12 year olds. Wyatt Mischke placed first in the 70 pound weight class in the beginner division for seven and eight year olds.

Second place winners were Vinny Quirk in the 110 pound weight class in the middle division, Garrett Rieke in the 65 pound weight class in the beginner division, and Bo Meyer in the 55 pound weight class in the beginner division.

Colton Woll placed third in the 65 pound weight class in the middle division and Damian Weilacher was third in the 95 pound weight class in the beginner division.

Tucker Nadeau took fourth in the 85 pound weight class in the novice division for nine and 10 year olds.

Another 323 wrestlers ages six and under, including nine from Bigfork, participated in a Red and Blue Tournament prior to the older kids’ tournament. The less competitive format gave the kids the opportunity to wrestle at least three times and then everyone is awarded either a red or blue ribbon depending on the number of wins they had.

Bigfork had a Red and Blue Tournament of its own last Tuesday, in which the Bigfork wrestlers competed amongst each other to prepare for their upcoming matches. The team also participated in the Take Down Tournament in Whitefish last month.

Bigfork’s Little Guy Wrestling Team is in its third year and has 53 kids on it ranging from age five to 13.

The Bigfork wrestlers will travel to Eureka on Saturday, March 14, to compete at the first tournament in which the boys are able to qualify for state.