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Shorthanded Bulldogs dethrone Bluehawks

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Three of the seven Bulldog wrestlers at the Superior Invitational made it to the final round, but none were able to walk away with the top prize. 

Scotty Gilleard (135), Jacen Petersen (152) and Barret Sargent (171) all finished with silver medals at the 13-team invite. 

Gilleard started the invite with two first-period pins before beating Plains’ Cole Goodwin in overtime to earn a chance against Frenchtown’s Zach Westre, who defeated Gilleard in Polson last week. The second time wasn’t a charm for Gilleard and he had to settle for silver, but his mindset in the semifinals impressed his coach Lyle Cronk.

“He showed a lot of guts coming from behind and winning in overtime,” Cronk said.

Petersen also started the invite with two pins. He pinned Superior’s Tyler Wharry in the first period and Libby’s Robin Kyes in the third period to set up a championship match with Frenchtown’s Brad Nordahl, who had beaten Jacen’s older brother Jame in the past two Superior championships. This year was no different, and Nordahl won an 11-0 decision. But the championship loss couldn’t diminish what the freshman has accomplished so far this season.

“I’ve been pleased with his aggressiveness and pace. He’s been beating kids on just that alone. I’m real pleased with his work ethic and intensity,” Cronk said.

Sargent also advanced to the finals with two pins. He pinned Austin Bailey and Glacier’s Lucas Leigh before being pinned by last year’s state runner up Taylor Vaughn. 

“Barret is wrestling really strong. He’s shown great improvement since last year. He’s improved in every aspect. He’s improved his motivation, maturity, strength and technique,” Cronk said.

The Bulldogs wrestlers at Superior were trying to cap an exciting week, where they defeated Eureka in a dual Tuesday and came from behind to defeat the Bluehawks in Thompson Falls Thursday.

Despite giving up 18 points to the divisional champs Thursday because of forfeits, the Bulldogs came from behind for a 48-36 victory.

The victory was fueled by three come-from-behind pins in the third period. Bulldog 119-pounder Casey Nitschke pinned John Gunderson in the third period. Nitschke also was trailing Eureka’s Trent Vaughn, before pinning him in the third. Sargent pinned Eric Milner in the third and Joel Lewis (189) pinned last year’s divisional champion Eric Hilety in the third. On Tuesday, Lewis avenged his loss in the Polson championship, by beating Eureka’s Michael Wilson with a takedown in the final seconds.

The Bulldogs will be in Corvallis Saturday.

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