Pirates win final wrestling dual over Chiefs 45-31
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POLSON — The Polson Pirates finished off their dual wrestling schedule with a pair of conference wins last week, beating Columbia Falls 54-27 on Tuesday in Polson and winning an exciting dual in Ronan Friday night 45-31.
Polson won four matches by pin over the Wildcats on Tuesday. Brock Picard, the top-ranked 171-pounder in the state, pinned Josh Folsom in 1:02. Jake Young also won his 135-pound match by a quick pin in 54 seconds.
Nick Howell, who has returned from injury, won his match at 125 by pinning Adam Richardson in 2:12. Pat Sumner also won at 105 with a pin of Seth McCall in 3:33.
"Pat Sumner had a good match, pinning a kid who had pinned him before," Polson head coach Bob Owen noted.
Ty Fouty won an 8-4 decision at 152 but the match of the night was freshman Nate Brook's 3-1 decision over Cole Thompson at 130 pounds.
"That match went right to the wire and Nate got a takedown in the third period to win that match," Owen said.
The Pirates and Chiefs battled it out in front of a packed house in Ronan on Friday night.
Sumner (105), Howell (125), Randy Kelley (140) and Josiah Clairmont (215) won their matches by pin to boost Polson's points. The Pirates also won three matches by forfeit.
But the feature match was the battle at 189 pounds. Picard, the top-ranked 171-pounder in Class A, moved up to take on Ronan's Toby Cheff, who is the top-ranked 189-pounder in the state.
Picard broke a 2-2 tie with an escape early in the third period, followed by a clinching takedown with 35 seconds remaining in the match to earn a 5-4 victory.
Polson dropped two other thrilling matches, including a Brook's 8-6 overtime loss to Ronan's Shelby Grant at 130 and Ty Fouty's 6-5 loss to Micky Cheff at 152.
"That Fouty and Cheff match was a dandy. Ty really closed the distance (in scoring) from their previous match. I was really proud of how he wrestled," coach Owen said. "The fans got their money's worth on those matches."
Owen said he's glad to see Howell wrestling well.
"I'm real happy with Nick's progress, too. It's good to get him back in the lineup. Randy Kelley, too," Owen said.
He's hoping his team is peaking at the right time as Polson hosts the Northwestern A Divisional wrestling tournament this Saturday. Wrestling starts at 11 a.m. in Linderman Gym.
Polson has a number of ranked wrestlers who hope to use a high finish at divisionals to earn them a good seed in the state tournament the following weekend.
Picard is ranked first at 171 and Craig Feistner is the top-ranked wrestler in Class A at 98 pounds. Also ranked are: Sumner, fourth at 105; Jesse Alfiero, sixth at 119; Young, fifth at 135; Fouty, fourth at 152; Clairmont, fourth at 215; and Kaden Thomas, fourth at heavyweight.
Polson is ranked fifth in the state as a team, behind third-ranked Ronan. But the Pirates have big expectations at divisionals.
"We're hoping to win divisionals. We're going to do our level best," coach Owen said. "Hosting it will be fun. If we get some fans in there it will sure make a difference for us."
Summary
Polson 54, Columbia Falls 27
98 - Craig Feistner, P, won by forfeit;
105 - Pat Sumner, P, pinned Seth McCall, 3:33;
112 - Sal Baccaro, CF, pinned Razz Walhood, 1:53;
119 - Justin Whitman, CF, dec. Jesse Alfiero, 9-3;
125 - Nick Howell, P, pinned Adam Richardson, 2:12;
130 - Nate Brooks, P, dec. Cole Thompson, 3-1;
135 - Jacob Young, P, pinned Brendon Moseman, :54;
140 - Randy Kelley, P, won by forfeit;
145 - Brock Bleazard, P, won by forfeit;
152 - Ty Fouty, P, dec. Billy Gross, 8-4;
160 - Joe Gross, CF, pinned Jake Skelton, 1:56;
171 - Brock Picard, P, pinned Josh Folsom, 1:02;
189 - Jacob Babcock, CF, pinned Devin Kamarainen, 3:06;
215 - Kelly Houle, CF, pinned Josiah Clairmont, 3:17;
Hwt - Kaden Thomas, P, won by forfeit.
Polson 45, Ronan 31
98 - Craig Feistner, P, won by forfeit;
105 - Pat Sumner, P, pinned Lukas Conklin, 2:20;
112 - Andrew Teigan, R, pinned Razz Walhood, 2:44;
119 - Jesse Alfiero, P, won by forfeit;
125 - Nick Howell, P, pinned Kyle Lawson, :34;
130 - Shelby Grant, R, dec. Nate Brooks, 8-6 OT;
135 - Cameron Neiss, R, maj. dec. Jacob Young, 17-5;
140 - Randy Kelley, P, pinned Alex Greenfield, 3:43;
145 - Dustin Goldsby, R, dec. Brock Bleazard, 14-7;
152 - Micky Cheff, R, dec. Ty Fouty, 6-5;
160 - Cole McArthur, R, pinned Jake Skelton, 2:46;
171 - Tyler Wheeler, R, pinned Devin Kamarainen, 3:02;
189 - Brock Picard, P, dec. Toby Cheff, 5-4;
215 - Josiah Clairmont, P, pinned Colby Roberts, :27;
Hwt - Kaden Thomas, P, won by forfeit.
