Ronan wrestlers claim division title

Polson's Torgison a 4-time champ

RONAN - The Ronan Chiefs are Northwestern A divisional champions.

Ronan put seven wrestlers into the finals Saturday night at Ronan Event Center - and won six of those matches.

When all was said and done, the Chiefs slipped past second place Polson, 206 points to 186.5.

Libby was a distant third with 142.5 points. Columbia Falls was fourth with 134 and Whitefish scored 81 points.

Columbia Falls had five individual champions, including three-time divisional champ Michael Hader at 152. Polson finished with three champions and Libby had one.

The Chiefs were confident going into the championship round.

Their advantage was slim - four points - and Polson had nine wrestlers in the finals.

They faced one another in five matches - 105, 112, 125, 130 and 171. Head-to-head, the Chiefs were better.

"A lot of our guys matched up with Polson guys. We knew it would be a tough fight, but we thought we'd pull it out," said Ronan 171-pounder Josh Krantz.

"Looking at the matchups going into the finals, I was pretty certain we could pull it off," agreed Ronan head coach Ryan Fisher.

"But a lot of things can happen, beginning to end.

"It was a tough go. Credit goes to Polson. They were in it the whole time and they led for most of the tournament. They're a tough team," Fisher said.

"But of our seven, we won six. That was key. We had a lot of matchups against (Polson) and they were close," he added.

"I feel good. I feel really good. We had 15 kids entered and all 15 are going to the state tournament. I'm satisfied with this. They did a good job. We had some disappointments, but I think we can recover."

As for Pirate head coach Bob Owen, he couldn't have been much happier.

"We had a really good day of wrestling. We've got to turn a couple of those around, the final ones," he said.

"We were hoping for a couple breaks … we didn't get them … but we wrestled hard.

"Give them credit, though. They won those matches we needed to," he said.

"I'm proud of our team, I really am. Coming from where we were at the beginning of the year to where we are, and how young we are, we've made a ton of progress - and it ain't over yet," he smiled.

Junior 130-pounder Micky Cheff started things off right away for Ronan with a 6-4 decision over Polson's Trae Fouty.

"It was a little bit closer than I would have liked it to be," Cheff said.

"He's a tough wrestler. I figured if I came out on fire, I'd be able to keep a lead. I wanted to get on my offense right away, shoot on whatever leg he was leaving me open with. I took him down in the first period and rode him out," he said.

Cheff led 4-0 in the second period. But Fouty came back with a takedown, then followed up with an escape. When Cheff was penalized a point for stalling, the match was tied with 17 seconds to go.

But Cheff scored his own takedown as time ran out.

"Their styles clash a little bit," Fisher said. (Fouty) is a tough wrestler. He just has a style that doesn't work well for us. It's a scrap every time they step on the mat with each other," he said.

Cole McArthur widened the Ronan lead with a decision at 135.

But Polson made up ground with wins at 145 and 160.

Logan Torgison became a four-time divisional champ with a tech fall over Whitefish's Cody Morris and Brock Picard picked up a major decision over Libby's Steve Gary.

"He's been a pleasure to coach," Owen said of Torgison.

"We're going to miss him. He gives 100 percent every time he gets on the mat. Hopefully, he can be a two-timer (state champ). He's put in the work. He earns it."

Those wins brought Polson within 2 1/2 points.

But that was as close as it would get.

Krantz claimed his moment in the sun by pinning Polson's Ryley Duford at 171.

He'd beaten Duford twice this year, but both matches were close.

"I didn't even know the team score," Krantz said.

"I just went out and wrestled tough and just did what I do. I just went out there and stayed on my shots. Eventually, I caught him and put him on his back," he said.

"It's nice to be able to win, especially as a senior. This gives us a lot of momentum going to state," he added.

"That (pin) was a plus for us," Fisher said.

"The extra two points for a pin, they make a big difference," he said.

That gave Ronan an 8 1/2 point advantage. From there, they tacked on wins at 105, 112 and 125 to ice the victory.

Northwestern A

Divisional

Saturday

At Ronan

Team Totals

Ronan 211, Polson 188 1/2, Libby 142 1/2, Columbia Falls 134, Whitefish 81

Championships

98 - Jesse Alfiero, Polson, dec, 8-4, Sal Bacarro, Columbia Falls, 105 - Zach Robinson, Ronan, pinned, :27, Dakotah Jensen, Polson, 112 - Cameron Neiss, Ronan, pinned, 3:08, Shawn Medland, Polson, 119 - Clayton Patterson, Columbia Falls, dec, 4-0, Jacob Young, Polson, 125 - Tyson Noyes, Ronan, pinned, 1:44, Keio Salmonson, Polson,; 130 - Mick Cheff, Ronan, dec , 6:4, Trae Fouty, Polson,; 135 - Cole McArthur, Ronan, dec, 6:4, Kyle Sweedman, Libby,; 140 - Cody Kolodejchuk , Columbia Falls, dec, 10-8, Matt Starr, Whitefish,; 145 - Logan Torgison, Polson, TF, 5:45 19-4, Cody Morris, Whitefish,; 152 - Michael Hader, Columbia Falls, dec, 11-4, Seth Wright, Libby,; 160 - Brock Picard, Polson, maj dec, 11-3, Steve Gary, Libby,; 171 - Josh Krantz, Ronan, pinned, 3:38, Ryley Duford, Polson,; 189 - Kelly Houle , Columbia Falls, dec, 5-4, Justin Graham, Libby, 215 - Kodie Kenfield, Columbia Falls, dec, 7-4, Jake Scheel, Whitefish, Hwt - Brandon Mills, Libby, maj dec, 15-6, Tommy Parker, Ronan,

Third-fourth place

112 - Michael Roby pinned, 3:45, Ryan Hardy, Ronan, 119 - Randy Kelley, Polson, pinned, 2:46, Levi Edwards-Myslicki, Libby, 125 - Nate Templer, Ronan, dec, 6-2, Cody Elliott, Libby, 130 - Shawn Whitman, Columbia Falls, pinned, 2:05, Skilur Dilley, Libby,; 135 - Shane Ludwick, Polson, dec, 6-2, Shadow LeMay, Libby, 140 - Toby Cheff, Ronan, dec, 6-2, Ty Fouty, Polson, 145 - Tanner Bennedict, Whitefish, dec, 4-2 OT, Joe Gross, Columbia Falls, 152 - Sheldon Fisher, Polson, maj dec, 9-1, Levi Maughan, Ronan, 160 - Ricky Luchau, Ronan, pinned, 2:15, Josh Rostad, Polson, 171 - Derek Silva, Libby, dec, 8-5, Lucas Puckett, Libby, 189 - Marcus Schiele, Ronan, pinned, 2:47, Derek Crittenden, Whitefish, 215 - Pat Wood, Libby, pinned, 2:26, Frank Swan, Ronan, 285 - Kevin McDowell, Whitefish, pinned, :30, Cody Bartos, Columbia Falls.

Fifth and sixth place

112-Dakota Bassett, Libby, pinned, :34, Hunter Fishel, Columbia Falls, 125 - Phillip Murphy, Whitefish, pinned, 5:59, Dalton Rice, Whitefish, 135 - Nick Toavs, Columbia Falls, dec, 9-4, Russell Plevel, Columbia Falls, 140 - Ben Elliot, Libby, inj default Casey Stewart, Columbia Falls, 145 - Kody Berget, Libby, pinned, 2:53, Zax Martin, Polson, Hwt - Skylar Knutson, Polson, pinned, 1:49, Bryce Arneson, Columbia Falls.

Championship semifinals

112 - Ryan Hardy, Ronan, pinned, 2:18, Dakota Basset, Libby; Michael Roby, Libby, pinned, :44, Hunter Fishel; 125 - Cody Elliott, Libby, pinned, 4:29, Phillip Murphy, Whitefish; Nate Templer, Ronan, dec, 12-10, Dalton Rice, Whitefish, 135 - Shane Ludwick, Polson, dec, 6-1, Nick Toavs, Columbia Falls; Shadow LeMay, Libby, pinned, :44, Russell Plevel, Columbia Falls, 140 - Toby Cheff, Ronan, pinned, 2:17, Ben Elliott, Libby; Ty Fouty, Polson, pinned, 2:03, Casey Stewart, Columbia Falls, 145 - Joe Gross, Columbia Falls, dec, 6-4 OT, Zax Martin, Polson; Tanner Bennedict, Whitefish, dec, 7-4, Kody Berget, Libby, 160 - Ricky Luchau, Ronan, pinned, 2:01, Trevor Miller, Columbia Falls, 189 - Derek Crittenden, Whitefish, pinned, 2:23, Dylan Dryden, Whitefish; Hwt - Kevin McDowell, Whitefish, pinned, :23, Skylar Knutson; Cody Bartos, Columbia Falls, dec, 4-1, Bryce Arneson.

Second round

98 - Sal Bacarro, Columbia Falls, dec, 9-5, Jesse Robertson, Ronan, 105 - Dakotah Jensen, Polson, pinned, :24, Cody Edstrom, Columbia Falls, 112 - Cameron Neiss, Ronan, pinned, 1:49, Michael Roby, Libby; Shawn Medland, Polson, dec, 5-4, Ryan Hardy, Ronan, 119 - Clayton Patterson, Columbia Falls, Levi Edwards-Myslicki, Libby; Jacob Young, Polson, dec, 7-3, Randy Kelley, Polson, 125 - Tyson Noyes, Ronan, pinned, :41, Nate Templer, Ronan; Keio Salmonson, Polson, pinned, 1:48, Phillip Murphy, Whitefish; Cody Elliot, Libby, dec, 11-7, Jarret Smith, Columbia Falls; Dalton Rice, Whitefish, pinned, :48, Jacob Hader, Columbia Falls. 130 - Micky Cheff, Ronan, pinned, :36, Skilur Dilley, Libby; Trae Fouty, Polson, dec, 7-0, Shawn Whitman, Columbia Falls. 135 - Cole McArthur, Ronan, pinned, 5:36, Shadow LeMay, Libby; Kyle Sweedman, Libby, pinned, 1:49, Shane Ludwick, Polson; Nick Toavs, Columbia Falls, pinned, 4:17, Devin Kamarainen, Polson; 140 - Matt Starr, Whitefish, dec, 7-0, Ty Fouty, Polson; Cody Kolodejchuk, Columbia Falls, dec, 15-8, Toby Cheff, Ronan, 145 - Logan Torgison, Polson, pinned, :35, Tanner Bennedict, Whitefish; Cody Morris, Whitefish, pinned, 1:32, Zax Martin, Polson; Kody Berget, Libby, pinned, 2:50, Dean Willey, Libby, 152 - Michael Hader, Columbia Falls, pinned, 1:27, Levi Maughan, Ronan; Seth Wright, Libby, TFALL, 6:00, Sheldon Fisher, Polson; 160 - Brock Picard, Polson, pinned, :38, Josh Rostad, Polson; Steve Gary, Libby, dec, 11-10, Ricky Luchau, Ronan, 171 - Josh Krantz, Ronan, pinned, 3:32, Derek Silva, Libby; Ryley Duford, Polson, pinned, 4:56, Lucas Puckett, Libby, 189 - Kelly Houle, Columbia Falls, pinned, 2:40, Derek Crittenden, Whitefish; Justin Graham, Libby, maj dec, 18-9, Marcus Schiele, Ronan. 215 - Kodie Kenfield, Columbia Falls, maj dec, 10-0, Pat Wood, Libby; Jake Scheel, Whitefish, dec, 8-6, Frank Swan, Ronan. Hwt - Tommy Parker, Ronan, pinned, 1:38, Bryce Arneson, Columbia Falls; Brandon Mills, Libby, pinned, 4:58, Kevin McDowell, Whitefish.

First round

112 - Cameron Neiss, Ronan, pinned, :56, Dakota Bassett, Libby; Shawn Medland, Polson, pinned , 2:36, Hunter Fishel , Columbia Falls, 125 - Tyson Noyes, Ronan, pinned, :56, Cody Elliott, Libby, Nate Templer, Ronan, pinned, 2:36, Jarret Smith, Columbia Falls; Phillip Murphy, Whitefish, pinned, 2:53, Jacob Hader, Columbia Falls; Keio Salmonson, Polson, pinned, 2:35, Dalton Rice, Whitefish, 135 - Cole McArthur, Ronan, pinned, 2:42, Devin Kamarainen, Polson; Shadow LeMay, Libby, pinned, :42, Nick Toavs, Columbia Falls; Kyle Sweedman, Libby, pinned, 2:58, Russell Plevel, Columbia Falls, 140 - Ty Fouty, Polson, pinned, :30, Ben Elliott, Libby; Toby Cheff, Ronan, pinned, 4:41, Casey Stewart, Columbia Falls, 145 - Tanner Benedict, Whitefish, dec, 5-2, Joe Gross, Columbia Falls; Zax Martin, Polson, pinned, 5:40, Dean Willey, Libby; Cody Morris, Whitefish, maj dec, 14-2, Kody Berget. 160 - Brock Picard, Polson, pinned Trevor Miller, Columbia Falls, 189 - Justin Graham, Libby, pinned, :50, Dylan Dryden, Whitefish, 285 - Tommy Parker, Ronan, pinned, 1:54, Skylar Knutson, Polson; Kevin McDowell, Whitefish, pinned, 1:17, Cody Bartos, Columbia Falls.