As physically demanding and emotionally taxing as the sport can be for the competitors, it's tough on mom and dad, too.
“There's something about the intensity of wrestling that's hard to describe as a parent Š,” said Frenchtown's Ray Anderson, who came into Missoula on Saturday to support his son David at the Little Guy Wrestling Western Montana Championships. “It's your little boy and he's out there all by himself. At the end of the match, you hope they hold his hand up.”
David battled to a spirited
5-3 decision over Polson's Nate Brooks on Saturday to capture the 120-pound middle division title.
The event, the culmination of the youth wrestling program's six-week season in this area, drew about 500 aspiring grapplers to Missoula Sentinel's gym for a morning of title tournaments in three different age group divisions - novice (9-10), middle (11-12) and junior (13-14).
With mats covering the length of the floor, as many as 10 matches running simultaneously and the stands packed to the ceiling with spectators, the Spartans' home court was briefly transformed into a kind of mini-MetraPark, the Billings arena that annually hosts Montana's all-class high school state meet.
The Little Guy program, which attracts around 1,500 kids in the region each year, is the jumping-off point for many of the eventual state champions who will find glory at the high school level.
“This program is critical to keeping high school wrestling viable,” said Little Guy director Bob Hermes. “Most of the coaches know that, most of the high school coaches are here today and they all support the program.”
For David Anderson and Brooks, their championship match capped a season where they split a pair of matches leading up to the final day of competition.
Anderson got the better of Brooks in a 5-2 decision at the district tournament a few weeks back, while Brooks beat Anderson 5-3 at divisionals.
“They've seen each other before,” Ray Anderson said. “Brooks is a great wrestler and a good kid, so it's exciting.”
On Saturday, Brooks, 13, advanced to the final after a hard fought 9-1 win over Troy Scott of Dillon in the semifinals. Though he managed a good margin of victory, he said it was not an easy match.
“It was pretty tough,” Brooks said. “He gave me some trouble Š but I just kept going with it, kept fighting and I ended up getting behind him and scoring some points.”
Jennifer Burdette of Corvallis came to the championships to cheer on her 11-year-old son Samuel, who had to battle through the wrestle-backs at 85 pounds.
Burdette said she was excited to support her son at the tournament and that she thought the Little Guy program was good for instilling some important qualities in young athletes.
“I think it teaches them a lot about self control as well as learning how to win and lose both,” Burdette said. “It teaches them to be a real individual, but also a team player.”
Trent Vaughn of Eureka agreed.
“It's a good sport,” said Vaughn, 12, who won his first match of the day at 100 pounds with a pin in the first period. “It builds character.”
Whitefish's Taylor Campbell won his first match in the same weight class with an 11-7 decision. He said his favorite part of wrestling was the rush of competing.
“I like the adrenaline,” he said. “When I get out there I feel good, I feel psyched.”
About 27 teams were represented at the championship tournament, most of them flying the colors of local clubs or high school teams.
The Arlee wrestling club was clad in red and yellow tie-died T-shirts. The Iron Dog club of St. Ignatius and Charlo wore blue and black snow cammo.
Some took a simpler route, like the Eureka team that wore black, long-sleeved Ts that said across the back: Endure pain, accept pain, never complain.
The Bigfork Little Guy program is in just its second year of operation, but brought eight wrestlers to the championship tournament. The club garnered about 50 wrestlers during its rookie season and is now up to almost 60, according to coach Mark Tudahl.
“This is really big for them,” he said. “They're really excited. We explained how big of an accomplishment it is to get to the championships and now everybody's wrestling really tough.”
He said getting the club off the ground was a community effort and that it is building toward the ultimate goal of reincarnating the now defunct Viking wrestling program at Bigfork High School.
“Once we got (the club) going, so many people came forward to help out that nobody had to do a lot of hard work, if that makes sense,” Tudahl said. “There were just so many people willing to come and help out, it was cool.”
By contrast, the program in Kalispell is entrusted with sowing the seeds of continued excellence for its high school programs. The Kalispell Flathead Braves have won four Class AA state championships in five years and that tradition, coupled with the opening of new Glacier High School, has younger wrestlers fired up to take part.
“I think it gets kids excited to see the success we've had,” said coach Dallas Stuker. “And with a brand new wrestling program starting up (at Glacier) it gives kids more opportunity. I think it gets kids going.”
Stuker said there are around 60 wrestlers in the Kalispell Little Guy program and 50 more in the junior high ranks.
“It's big time (important),” Stuker said. “We've got guys that started wrestling when they're 5 years old, so by the time they get to high school it makes it easier because they've been hitting the moves that we want them to hit when we get them in the wrestling room. It makes a big difference.”
With the Andersons - like a lot of wrestling folks - the sport is a family affair. That had Ray Anderson rushing into the halls after David's victory at 120 pounds to make a few cell phone calls. A lot of bigger guys were interested in how the Little Guy tournament played out.
“He's got an older brother that got him involved in wrestling about seven years ago,” Ray Anderson said. “He couldn't make it here today unfortunately, but he's been calling every five minutes to get an update.”
Little Guy Wrestling Western Montana Championships
Team results
Large school teams - 1, Corvallis, 79; 2, Kalispell, 77; 3, Columbia Falls, 58.
Medium school teams - 1, Evergreen, 45; 2, St. Ignatius, 41; 3, Eureka, 40.
Small school teams - 1, Lolo, 25; 2, Arlee, 22; 3, Superior, 20.
Individual results
Junior high division
80 - 1, Craig Feistner, Polson; 2, Christian Knopp, Kalispell; 3, Zach Giard, Dillon; 4, Casey Graff, Libby.
85 - 1, Derek Sisneros, Hamilton; 2, Grant Tafoya, Eagle Wrestling Club; 3, Mercy Armstrong, Kalispell; 4, Roy Schutler, Frenchtown.
90- - 1, Matt Campbell, Superior; 2, Lucas Mantell, Kalispell; 3, James Corbett, Eagle Wrestling Club; 4, Marcus Malone, Corvallis.
95 - 1, Kaleb Mitchell, Kalispell; 2, Raymond Jessop, Corvallis; 3, Zach Barber, Eagle Wrestling Club; 4, Beau Doerr, Eagle Wrestling Club.
100 A - 1, Cody Ishler, Frenchtown; 2, Kenny Thomas, Corvallis; 3, Justin Whitman, Kalispell; 4, Brandon Edwards, Missoula.
100 B - 1, Tra Lunderman, M/C; 2, Nick Cropp, Hamilton; 3, Brian Dubose, Corvallis; 4, Lake Davenport, Missoula.
105 - 1, James Dubose, Corvallis; 2, Mitch Haugen, Libby; 3, Kody Davidson, Florence; 4, Andrew Fouty, Polson.
112 A - 1, Zach Newbary, Florence; 2, Devin Williams, Corvallis; 3, Logan Lefler, Arlee; 4, Carter Clinkenbeard, Arlee.
112 B - 1, Levi Lee, Lolo; 2, Casey Hitschke, MC; 3, Garrett Pierce, Dillon; 4, Kevin Fogel, Corvallis.
119 A - 1, Kyle Lier, Libby; 2, Michael Delin, Polson; 3, Cooper Sipe, Kalispell; 4, Caleb Caicedo, Darby.
119 B - 1, Jesse Nelson, Dillon; 2, Dallas Jore, Ronan; 3, Adam Richardson, Columbia Falls; 4, Tucker Truett, Frenchtown.
125 A - 1, Dilan Starkel, Ronan; 2, Chris Cote, Polson; 3, Dawson Day, Eagle Wrestling Club; 4, Tate Wilson, Libby.
125 B - 1, Neacho Smith, Darby; 2, Justin DuBose, Corvallis; 3, Joey HIatt, Missoula; 4, Zach Carver, Arlee.
130 A - 1, Brock Bleazard, Polson; 2, Dylan Corbett, Columbia Falls; 3, Scotty Morgan, Eagle Wrestling Club; 4, Tyler Berner, Corvallis.
130 B - 1, Jake Tudahl, Bigfork; 2, Thomas Osborn, Libby; 3, Gabe Reinhart, Hamilton; 4, Albert Plant, Arlee.
135 - 1, Riley Nagel, Corvallis; 2, Aaron Mitchell, Eagle Wrestling Club; 3, Zach Carrey, Florence; 4, Dylan Bergat, Libby.
140 - 1, Josh Erickson, Eagle Wrestling Club; 2, Lane Armstrong, Kalispell; 3, Clayton Trimble, Arlee; 4, Kyle Cox, Dillon.
145 - 1, Angel Courture, Polson; 2, Ron Loudermilk, Bigfork; 3, Robin Keyes, Libby; 4, Chad Anderson, MC.
152 - 1, Sawyer DePee, Florence; 2, Eric Milner, Thomspon Falls; 3, Josh Folsom, Columbia Falls; 4, Ty Butler, Arlee.
160 - 1, Joe Coker, Libby; 2, Colton Andrew, MC; 3, TJ Porter, Eagle Wrestling Club; 4, Gavin Fox, Polson.
171 - 1, Brady Potts, Arlee; 2, Richard Chavez, Eureka; 3, Connor Hagel, Kalispell; 4, Jimmy Henderson, Corvallis.
189 - 1, Zeke Kolosky, Dillon; 2, Alex masters, Darby; 3, Karson McCollum, Libby; 4, Austin Atkins, Corvallis.
215 - 1, Brian Gren, Hamilton; 2, Tanner Thiel, Kalispell; 3, Mack Sutherland, Kalispell; 4, Matt Roberts, Florence.
240 - 1, R.J. Webber, Columbia Falls; 2, Phillip Perez, Libby.
285 - 1, Nick Widdicombe, Eagle Wrestling Club; 2, Chris Harrison, Kalispell; 3, Jacob Moderie, Missoula.
Middle school division
65 - 1, Garrett White, Eureka; 2, Coltin Cox, Hamilton; 3, Anthony Parkin, Superior; 4, Garrett Rice, Whitefish.
70 - 1, Tyler Olsen, Corvallis; 2, Jake Marr, Lolo; 3, Zachary Durban, Eureka; 4, Taylor Martin, Polson.
75 - 1, Dakota Venema, Corvallis; 2, Cody Decker, Eagle Wrestling Club; 3, Blake Doerr, Ealge Wrestling Club; 4, Wade Gascon, Thompson Falls.
80 - 1, Justin Conklin, Eagle Wrestling Club; 2, Dylan Schulte, Lolo; 3, Bobby Dominguiz, Dillon; 4, Zach Grace, Libby.
85 - 1, Cody Lemons, Frenchtown; 2, Jordan Hegel, Missoula; 3, Jayce Fagerland, Columbia Falls; 4, Kyle Clinkenbeard, Arlee.
90 - 1, Chase Malone, Corvallis; 2, Wyatt Jessop, Corvallis; 3, M.J. Simkins, Dillon; 4, Dylan Meyers, Florence.
95 - 1, Jacob Egley, Kalispell; 2, Wyatt Clay, Thompson Falls; 3, Joe Ciacedo, Darby; 4, Mick Pauffauson, Dillon.
100 - 1, Trent Vaughn, Eureka; 2, Taylor Kampbell, Whitefish; 3, Billy Smith, Superior; 4, Gus English, Arlee.
105 - 1, Jacen Peterson, MC; 2, Josia Osborne, Columbia Falls; 3, Jackson Barberm Eagle Wrestling Club; 4, Brandon Piazzola, Noxon.
110 - 1, John Koslosky, Dillon; 2, Nick Lavicoli, Evergreen; 3, Lucas Leigh, Evergreen; 4, Kaleb Beech, PHS.
120 - 1, David Anderson, Frenchtown; 2, Nathan Brooks, Polson; 3, Liam Mulhausen, Missoula; 4, Troy Scott, Dillon.
130 - 1, Derek Main, Ronan; 2, Shelton Todd, Eagle Wrestling Club; 3, Rand Pritzkoa, Frenchtown; 4, Earl Robinson, Ronan.
147 - 1, Zach Dennehy, Kalispell; 2, Eric Thrift, Libby; 3, Stone Garfield, Ronan; 4, Justin Harbinson, Lolo.
166 - 1, Jayden Wilson, Eagle Wrestling Club; 2, Travis Branscome, Eureka; 3, Zach Brown, Hamilton; 4, John Walters, PHS.
187 - 1, Joseph Hawking, MC; 2, Joe Bowden, Thompson Falls; 3, Oliver Grupanhoff, Noxon; 4, Marlin Burke, Polson.
224 - 1, Donvan Hacke, Dillon; 2, Dusty Jessop, Corvallis; 3, Wayde Motichka, Columbia Falls; 4, Dominic Sargent, Whitefish.
Novice division
55 - 1, Rodger Williams, Kalispell; 2, Kaden Bakkila, Eureka; 3, Devon Day, Corvallis; 4, Colton Belcourt, Florence.
60 - 1, Jon Conklin, Eagle Wrestling Club; 2, Wyatt Green, Columbia Falls; 3, Shilo Venema, Corvallis; 4, Joshua Schmidt, Eureka.
65 - 1, Jarron Forney, Missoula; 2, Ryan Ramos, Lolo; 3, Cameron Linstead, Columbia Falls; 4, Dante McDougal, MC.
70 - 1, Shonn Roberts, Columbia Falls; 2, Johhny Davidson, Libby; 3, Dylan Puffalo, Lolo; 4, Shawn Olson, Missoula.
75 - 1, Chase Conner, Darby; 2, Colton Gove, Columbia Falls; 3, Jamie Mullins, MC; 4, Tristen Steinwand, Columbia Falls.
80 - 1, Logan Wilson, Kalispell; 2, Cameron Mantel, Kalispell; 3, Walker Kay, Lolo; 4, Justin Horvath, Darby.
85 - 1, Luke Entzel, Eagle Wrestling Club; 2, Kody Keenan, Missoula; 3, Steven Bravo, M/C; 4, Asa Coker, Libby.
90 - 1, Garret Joubert, Columbia Falls; 2, Garrett Chapel, Libby; 3, Logan McGreevey, Missoula; 4, Bridger Coffman, MC.
95 - 1, Alex Draper, Corvallis; 2, Matt Rensvold, Polson; 3, Will Griswald, Kalispell; 4, Chaffin Ross, Whitefish.
100 - 1, Jack Riekena, Missoula; 2, Dillon Weidow, Hamilton; 3, Tele Seeman, Polson; 4, Shonko Christy, M/C.
110 - 1, Quincy Courville, M/C; 2, Jade Smith, M/C; 3, Chance Johnson, Eagle Wrestling Club; 4, Moses Todd, Kalispell.
124 - 1, Luke Channer, Corvallis; 2, Michael Curtiss, Libby; 3, Aaron Vick, Whitefish; 4, Shelby Gifford, Corvallis.
140 - 1, Kyle Yadon, Superior; 2, Cole Schmidt, Corvallis; 3, Jordan Dieziger, Missoula; 4, David Knerr, Trout Creek.
158 - 1, Gerald Branson, Eureka; 2, Calvin Hendron, Arlee; 3, Ian Fiorino, Lolo; 4, Daniel Hutchens, Columbia Falls.
190 - 1, William Webber, Columbia Falls; 2, Sam Arnold, Trout Creek; 3, Joseph McIntyer, Columbia Falls.
200 - 1, Darin Cadman, Polson.
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