Bulldog wrestlers take second in Superior
The Whitefish wrestling team notched a second-place finish at the Bob Kinney Invitational last weekend.
Nathan Sproul at 103 and Dakota Flannery at 138 captured individual finals at the tournament, while Dean Kellogg took second at 120.
Jackson Carson placed fourth at 113, Camren Ross took third at 160, and Ashton Akey at 205 and Brian Sweeney at 285 both took fourth.
Flannery won Outstanding Wrestler for the tournament as well.
Head coach Ryan Boyle said the entire tournament was a team effort.
“They wrestled really well. They’re making some mistakes, but they’re wrestling hard enough to overcome some of those and it worked out really well for us,” he said. “The team had 16 pins, which was amazing as far as bonus points that we got out of everything. From 103 to heavyweight, everyone contributed. It was about everybody’s effort and everybody’s work inside the room and on the mat that contributed to that success as a team, and it was just pretty cool to see.”
Earlier in the week the Dogs hosted Bigfork and Browning. Jackson Carson (113) and Noah Cooke (132) both won by pin for Whitefish.
Browning got the win in the dual, but Boyle said it was a good chance to get his younger guys some experience.
“It was a really close duel. Right now there’s four freshmen on our varsity lineup, so that was their very first dual. When it comes down to experience, we just don’t have a lot of experience with them. So if we just keep on working, we’re going to be OK,” he said.
This week Whitefish will head down to Great Falls for the CMR Invitational.
Boyle said it’s going to be a big test for his wrestlers, but he’s just looking for more intensity and effort on the mat.
“CMR is the biggest tournament that this team will be at all year,” he said. “It’s a 64-man bracket, it’s two days. We’re not putting anything special in as far as technique or anything like that. We’re still not doing some of the things correctly 100 percent of the time, and that’s what we’re looking for. As long as we can keep on working on what we’ve been doing and just get a little better at it, that’s kind of what we’re going for this year.”
Browning 42, Whitefish 36
103: Nathan Sproul (WHIT) won by forfeit; 113: Jackson Carson (WHIT) pinned JC Larson, 3:32; 120: Dean Kellogg (WHIT) won by forfeit; 126: Jeffrey Mad Man (BROW) pinned Leroy Orel, 1:17; 132: Noah Cooke (WHIT) pinned Bruce Owens, 1:20; 138: Dakota Flannery (WHIT) won by forfeit; 145: Chance Kittson (BROW) pinned Carlitos Bertelsen, 3:17; 152: Lawrence Bird Rattler (BROW) won by forfeit; 160: Robert Bertelsen (WHIT) won by forfeit; 170: Ryan Kipp (BROW) pinned Camren Ross, 4:15; 182: Charlie Bullcalf (BROW) won by forfeit; 205: Ryan Running Crane (BROW) pinned Ashton Akey, 1:19) 285: Wacey Zuback (BROW) pinned Brian Sweeney, :27.
Whitefish vs. Bigfork
126: Jack Akey (WHIT) pinned Vaughn Pendlay, 3:00; 138: Dakota Flannery (WHIT) pinned Eli Tidwell, 1:39;145: Carlitos Bertelsen (WHIT) pinned Sheldon Woll, 1:52; 152: 160: Camren Ross (WHIT) pinned Colton Wroble, :39.
Bob Kinney Invitational
Team Totals
Cut Bank 132, Whitefish 117, St. Ignatius/Charlo 110 ½
Individual
103 - 1st Place - Nathan Sproul (Whitefish) 7-1, So. over Oliver Post (Florence) 5-3, So. (Fall 5:04)
113 - 3rd Place Match - Jacob Prescott (Florence) 2-1, Fr. over Jackson Carson (Whitefish) 3-4, Jr. (Dec 7-0)
120 - 1st Place Match - Walker Murphy (Saint Ignatius/Charlo) 3-0, Jr. over Dean Kellogg (Whitefish) 3-1, Sr. (Fall 3:55)
138 - 1st Place - Dakota Flannery (Whitefish) 10-1, Jr. over Josiah Vanderwall (Plains/Hot Springs) 3-1, Sr. (Fall 3:42)
160 - 3rd Place - Camren Ross (Whitefish) 7-4, So. over Dane Chojnacky (Thompson Falls) 5-4, So. (Dec 4-0)
205 - 3rd Place Match - Sebastian Driver (Stevensville) 1-3, Jr. over Ashton Akey (Whitefish) 0-2, Fr. (Fall 0:21)
285 - 3rd Place Match - Dylan Sullivan (Cut Bank) 3-1, over Brian Sweeney (Whitefish) 2-2, Fr. (Fall 0:57)