Bulldogs scratch out wins on mat

The Whitefish wrestling team had some success on the mats at the Rocky Mountain Classic in Missoula on Jan. 15-16.

Senior Dalton Rice, 130 pounds, scored two wins in the championship bracket. Rice pinned No. 8 seeded Mitch Haugen of Libby in 3:32, then won a 7-6 decision over Kohl Thompson of Columbia Falls. Rice later lost to No. 1 seeded Cameron Neiss of Ronan in the third round. Neiss was the eventual champion.

Tanner Benedict, 160 pounds, scored a win in the third-place bracket with a 4:43 pin against Zach Bolton of Butte, and got a 9-0 decision over Joe Gross of Columbia Falls. He later lost an 11-0 decision to Cole McArthur of Ronan.

Geoff Streeter, 171 pounds, scored a win in the third-place bracket with a 7-6 decision over Zach Heigel of Bonners Ferry.

In other Bulldog wrestling news, Rice was ranked No. 5 among 130-pound wrestlers in a Jan. 8 Class A coaches poll. Senior Nick O'Dell was ranked No. 6 among 145-pounders in the same poll.