Petersen, Edwards grab divisional championships, Bulldogs take 3rd
Issue Date: 2/11/2010
Last Updated: 3/19/2015 3:51:11 PM |
By
Aaric Bryan
DEER LODGE — The wrestling pedigree of the two Mission-Charlo Western B-C Divisional Champions couldn’t be more different.
Jame Petersen, holder of the school’s single-season pin record, entered the divisional tournament in Deer Lodge undefeated in conference matches and a 29-2 overall record, and with his toughest opponent, Deer Lodge’s Bobby Ray, nursing a separated shoulder, his fourth divisional championship was just about a foregone conclusion.
Petersen did breeze to his fourth divisional championship, pinning both his opponents in the first period and then winning by default in the championship and now has only one thing left to accomplish in his high school career – a state championship.
To say that Dillon Edwards, a 98-pound Charlo junior, came out of nowhere to win the divisional championship would be an understatement. In his first year of wrestling, Edwards, who only joined the team to stop being pestered by Mission-Charlo assistant coach Jim Petersen, entered Saturday with a 5-28 record, not including forfeits, and was unseedable because he didn’t have a conference win.
Fueled by the knowledge that he couldn’t even be seeded at the tournament, a solid week of practice behind him and new-found confidence in the cradle hold, Edwards won the divisional championship with two first-period pins - both coming by the cradle hold - over opponents he was previously 0-6 against to help the Bulldogs capture third place, just seven points behind the 2010 Western B-C Divisional Champions Thompson Falls.
“He had it in his mind that he was going to win this thing today, and he did it in convincing fashion; two first-period pins,” Mission-Charlo coach Lyle Cronk said.
“I came in feeling like I should win, but I think it took the first match to make me believe,” said Edwards, who had to fight off his back in the opening round before pinning Superior’s River Sides, who had beaten him five times this year.
Edwards, who had never wrestled before this year, only started to wrestle this year to stop Petersen from constantly bugging him to join the team.
“I decided to try it my junior year, to see if I like it,” Edwards said. “I’m definitely doing it my senior year.”
Edwards will be joined in Billings this weekend by three other Bulldogs who will be making the trip to the state tournament for the first time.
Also newcomers to the team this year Nick Dinnell and Joel Lewis, both punched their tickets to the tournament Saturday. Dinnell, a Mission senior, finished second in the tournament, losing a 3-1 decision to Noxon’s Cody Martens in the heavyweight finals.
Lewis, a 189-pound Charlo junior, picked a good time to place in his first tournament. He finished in fourth after losing an 11-3 decision to Eureka’s Michael Wilson in the consolation match, but it was his win in the wrestlebacks that made his tournament.
At the end of each Bulldog practice in the week prior to the tournament, while they were running sprints, Cronk would ask them who they were going to beat at the divisional tournament and every time Lewis would answer "Curt Siedel," an Arlee wrestler who had beat him all three times they met this season, including a 6-5 decision in Darby the week before. Lewis got his chance in the wrestlebacks and came through with a 12-7 decision.
Chad Anderson also beat an opponent he had never beaten before, winning a 10-7 decision over Florence’s Tanner Cobbs to finish in third place in the 160-pound class. Like Edwards, Anderson knows about struggling, winning only one match last season.
“It’s a testament to the work he’s been putting into practice. He’s one of those wrestlers that works hard. Even if he didn’t have a lot of success he worked hard. He worked hard all last year and he continues to go out and wrestles every match,” Cronk said, adding that while Anderson has eliminated some mistakes, it’s his work ethic that got him to Billings.
Senior 152-pounder Travis Dumont will return to the state tournament as the division’s third seed. After losing a tough overtime match in the semifinals, Dumont recovered by pinning Warden Martin Reap in less than a minute in the consolation match.
Dumont sent his semifinal match into overtime tied at seven, after scoring a reversal in the final seconds against Florence’s Kolter Beneitone, somebody Dumont hasn’t been able to beat this year. Dumont’s upset bid was ended when Beneitone took him down to win 9-7 and help Florence finish in second place with 140 points, compared to the Bulldogs’ 137.
“I don’t know what it is about him,” Dumont said about Beneitone, “I’m going to beat him at state.”
It’s point swings in close matches like Dumont’s that keeps Cronk thinking what if.
“It’s nice going home with a trophy. We could sit here all year and think of the seven points between us and Thompson Falls. What it really boils down to is we had some kids with some great individual efforts, but we needed a whole team effort to win,” Cronk said. “I’m very proud taking home a trophy,” he added.
Both Scotty Gilleard and Russell Schultz will be back at the state tournament trying to improve on their sixth-place finishes last year. Schultz (112) finished in fourth place, losing to Drummond’s Jake Adler in the semifinals and then to Thompson Falls’ John Gunderson in the consolation match. Gilleard, who entered the tournament as the third seed in 125-pound class, was up 4-2 in the second period of the semifinals, when he was pinned by Arlee’s Logan Lefler. Gilleard rebounded by defeating Austin Kinser 8-2 in the consolation match.
Petersen also finished in sixth last year, but has his sight on only the championship this season. The disappointing finish last year has driven the Charlo senior this year and he will enter this week’s tournament in good form, after sitting out the last two weeks of the season as a cautionary move.
“Jame looked great in his two matches today. I think the time off the mat made him look even more hungry. It was great to see him come out and dominate,” Cronk said.
