Columbia Falls goes 2-3 at Butte Mining City duals

The Columbia Falls wrestling team had a reality check last week at the Mining City Duals in Butte.

The MatCats lost three duals in the Dec. 7 opener, losing to Havre 69-13, Bozeman 66-18 and Great Falls CMR 51-30.

“We came out a little timid against Bozeman and Havre,” coach Jessie Schaeffer said. “That was a little frustrating.”

The next day, the Wildcats bounced back and dropped Ronan 42-31 and Huntley Project 51-33.

On Dec. 6, in a triangular meet with Dillon and Sidney, the boys did much better, winning 11 of 15 against Dillon and six matches against Sidney.

Sidney is one of the top teams in the state, as is Havre. The two battled it out in the championship at Butte, with Sidney winning by just two points, 42-40.

Going up against the best teams in the state was a good experience for the team.

“It definitely gives us a goal to reach and lets us know where we need to be,” Schaeffer said.

The MatCats still have one undefeated wrestler — Shonn Roberts has yet to lose a match.

The team travels to Polson on Thursday, Frenchtown on Friday and then the Buzz Lucey tournament in Eureka on Saturday.

Individual results for the Butte duals were unavailable at press time.