Wrestlers compete at Cut Bank

Whitefish grapplers competed with 28 teams at the Cut Bank Invitational over the weekend.

The Bulldogs finished 12th overall, with Havre, Eureka and Lewistown grabbing the top three places.

Senior leader Travis Catina finished fourth at 205, going 4-2 for a team-high 22 team points. Anwar Miraza (103), Dakota Flannery (132) and Malika Heydon (160) all went 3-2 for the Dogs. Mirza placed fifth, defeating teammate Jackson Carson in an earlier match, and Flannery fourth. Heydon’s place was not listed.

“We wrestled a lot better than we have,” head coach Ryan Boyle said. “We’re pretty excited about the whole team effort. We had eight kids in the second day, and if we have a couple things go our way we have more placers.”

Whitefish has a full plate this week, with duals on Thursday, Friday and Saturday against Frenchtown, Belgrade and Lake City, Idaho, as part of the Quadrangular invitational in Frenchtown.

“This week we’re really just trying to focus on ourselves. We don’t have a dual team, we miss a ton of weights. So the matches we’re in we’re going to have to wrestle as well as we can,” Boyle said.

Getting through the midpoint of the season isn’t easy, he said, and right now the priority is keeping his wrestlers motivated as they move toward the divisional and state tournaments early next month.

“We’re trying to focus on positive stuff,” he said. “This time of the season is really tough — it’s a grind. You can start focusing on how tired you are, but we’ve been really pushing on working hard and the results that come if you focus on the positives.”

Cut Bank Tournament

Team Totals

1, Havre 239; 2, Eureka 221; 3, Lewistown 166; 4, Great Falls CMR 148; 5, Libby 116.5; 6, Fairfield 111.5; 7, Choteau 105; 8, Malta 104.5; 9, Conrad 102; 10, Circle 76; 11, Cut Bank 72; 12, Whitefish 68.5; 13, Shelby 62.5; 14, Boulder 56; 15, Shepherd 53; 16, Wolf Point 51.5; 17, Valier 50; 18, Browning 43.5; t-19, Great Falls JV 39; t-19, Cascade 39; 21, Harlem 37; t-22, Poplar 35; t-22, Fort Benton 35; 24, Chinook 27; 25, Belt 20; 26, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 8; 27, Highwood 4; t-28, Frazer 0; 28, Hays-Lodgepole 0.

Matches

103 pounds

Fifth place -- Anwar Mirza, Whi, maj. dec. Mason Henry, Shep, 22-9.

132 pounds

Third place -- Wyatt Brusven, She, dec. Dakota Flannery, WF, 6-1.

205 pounds

Third place -- Joe Fehr, Eur, pin Travis Catina, WF, 1:32.