MatCats do well at Western Montana Duals, take third

The Columbia Falls wrestling team took third at the Western Montana Duals meet in Ronan on Jan. 11-12.

On Friday, the MatCats won four duals, dropping the Flathead High School junior varsity 76-0, Florence 69-18, Plains 46-19 and St. Ignatius 76-12.

On Saturday, the MatCats dropped Glacier High School’s junior varsity 57-12 but lost to Corvallis, 43-37. The MatCats battled back and beat Ronan in the final round, 54-31.

MatCat Shonn Roberts went undefeated in the tourney in the 112-pound weight class, as did Josiah Osborne at 130 pounds. Osborne had five pins in his six wins. Also going undefeated were Cameron Linstead (105), Chase Ramberg (140) and heavyweight Spencer Ross.

Roberts is undefeated for the season, wrestling at either 112 or 119. Roberts had a major decision against Corvallis’ Chase Conner 15-1. Conner was the top-ranked Class A wrestler in the state at that weight class. Not anymore.

Overall, coach Jessie Schaeffer was pleased with the performances, but he thought the MatCats should have done better against Corvallis.

“We went out a little timid,” he said. “We had trouble staying off our backs. That was a winnable dual.”

Schaeffer noted Columbia Falls’ junior varsity team also had a good tourney, taking eighth overall and wrestling well against varsity opponents.

The MatCats will travel to Polson on Thursday and then to the Rocky Mountain Classic in Missoula on Friday and Saturday. In many ways, the classic is tougher than the state tournament because it’s an open tourney with no class distinction. It also draws teams from Idaho and Washington.

“I’d like to have four or five kids on the podium,” Schaeffer said.