Aurand first at Western Boys Invitational; Bennetts, Dorvall place in girls invite

Whitefish’s Landree Aurand won the 132-pound bracket at the Western Montana Boys Invitational in Ronan on Saturday, Jan. 6. 

Aurand notched a pin over Ronan’s Skyler Sias in 1:58 for a first-round win. In the quarterfinals, Aurand dropped Corvallis’ Conner Jessop in 5:33. He followed that up with a semifinal pin in just 29 seconds over Hamilton’s Brandon Saltzman. 

In the first-place match, Aurand pinned an athlete from Three Forks/Ennis in 2:52 for the win.

At 170 pounds, Henry Bennetts placed fourth, notching several wins along the way. Bennetts won his first-round matchup via pin in 44 seconds over Townsend’s Timothy Flesch. After a setback in the quarterfinals, Bennetts scored his second pin in the consolation bracket over Corvallis’ Cayde Olsen in 1:42. He then pinned Stevensville’s Elliott Darnall in 2:25 to reach the consolation semifinals. 

In those semifinals, Bennetts picked up his fourth pin of the day, taking down Aidan Toniazzo in 3:56. 

For the Whitefish girls wrestling, Samantha Bennetts and Taylor Dorvall both found their way to the podium at the Western Montana Girls Invitational in Ronan on Saturday, Jan. 6. 

Samantha Bennetts placed second at 120 pounds, scoring pins over Corvallis’ Penelope Foster in 1:31, Deer Lodge’s Danica Dixon in 39 seconds and notching a 9-7 decision over Glacier High School’s Temree Payne-Taylor. 

Dorvall was third at 126 pounds, coming back from a first-round loss to notch a 6-0 decision over Ronan’s Aaliyah Dorvall, pin Polson’s Skyla Nielsen in 2:03 and then scoring another pin over Glacier High School’s Mikaela Julius in 3:33. 

In the third-place match, Dorvall pinned Bonners Ferry’s Aubree Graves in 1:07. 

Whitefish hosts mixer with Libby, Hamilton

The Bulldogs hosted a mixer on Thursday, Jan. 4, with Hamilton and Libby/Troy, with the Bulldogs battling Hamilton to a close 30-26 setback. 

Whitefish registered two falls, two major decisions, and 10 takedowns in total. The stats show that the Bulldogs wrestled better, but the four forfeits hurt them in the team scoring.

Landree Aurand (132) picked up a 10-2 major decision over Hamilton’s Brandon Saltzman, and teammate Carter Olson notched a pin in 1:09 over Adam Loveless at 138 pounds. 

Henry Bennetts picked up a 14-6 major decision over Hamilton’s Aidan Toniazzo at 170 pounds. Whitefish’s Sam Akey also pinned Everett Stumpf in 40 seconds. 

Whitefish was hurt by six forfeits in a 54-18 loss to Libby/Troy. Whitefish’s Aurand (132), Henry Bennetts (170), and Sam Akey (285) all picked up pins for the Bulldogs in their respective weight classes. 

Aurand pinned Libby/Troy’s Darrin Denton in 2:22 and Bennetts took down Libby/Troy’s Ian Thom in 1:36, while Akey fell Libby/Troy’s Hunter Nelson in 40 seconds. 

Whitefish had five takedowns in total in their matchup, and both teams registered three pins each.

    Whitefish's Henry Bennetts looks up at the ref while wrestling a Libby athlete during a triangular meet against Libby and Hamilton on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024 in Whitefish. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    Whitefish heavyweight wrestler Sam Akey pins his opponent during a match against Libby on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024 in Whitefish. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)