Seven Braves in champions tourney

| February 16, 2009 1:00 AM

The Daily Inter Lake

Northwest Montana will be well represented at the Tournament of Champions all-star wrestling tournament at the Great Falls High School Field House on Saturday.

Four-time Class AA state champion Flathead will have seven competing in the inaugural event. Ronan will have four, Libby two and Glacier, Polson and Columbia Falls all have one each.

Selected from FHS are: Tanner Beaman (135), Alejandro Calderon (119), Joaquin Calderon (125), Shawn Lau (130), Ryan Thiel (152), Bryce Stacy (160), and Tyler Thomas (289).

Representing Ronan: Mick Cheff (145), Toby Cheff (160), Cameron Neiss (125) and Zach Robinson (105); and for Libby it's Justin Graham (215) and Seth Wright (171).

Glacier will have Larry Francis (152) on the mats, Columbia Falls is sending Kelly Houle (215), and Polson's pick is Brock Picard (171).

Lau, Thiel and Stacy won state AA individual titles last weekend in Billings. The Calderons, Beaman and Thomas all finished second.

Francis was a AA runner-up.

Mick Cheff, Graham, Neiss, Picard and Robinson were Class A champions, while Houle and Wright placed second, and Toby Cheff third.

"This is an event that we had hoped would happen since I started coaching," Polson wrestling coach Bob Owen said in a press release. "It would certainly put to rest who was the toughest kid at each weight."

The law firm of Hoyt and Blewett PLLC in Great Falls is sponsoring the one-day, single elimination event.

Weigh-ins are set for 8:30 a.m. All wrestlers will receive a 5-pound weight allowance.

The semifinals will be held in the morning, followed by the championship matches in the early afternoon.

Hoyt and Blewett is providing free lodging for coaches and wrestlers and compensation for gas mileage.

"The wrestling community has been trying to get something going like this for over 30 years, and there is a lot of excitement that it is finally going to happen," said Anders Blewett, one of the organizers.

"The tournament will resolve all debates about who is the king of the mat in Montana."