MatCats whip Bulldogs

WHITEFISH - It wasn't perfect. But it was darn close.

The Columbia Falls MatCats dropped host Whitefish 88-0 in a Northwestern A wrestling dual on Friday night.

Eureka also defeated the host team 54-23 in a nonconference nightcap.

The MatCats finished up early - the early dual took just about 45 minutes.

Columbia Falls picked up six forfeits (105, 130, 145, 152, 189 and 285) and had pins at every other weight class except 125. MatCat freshman Dalton Nelson won a 9-1 major decision over Bulldog Wyatt Price in that weight class.

Getting pins for Columbia Falls were Jordan Harland (98), Seth McCall (112), Hunter Fishel (119), Kohl Thompson (135), Bryan Shaffer (140), Mark Hader (160), Josh Folsom (171) and Jacob Babcock (215).

Fastest pin of the night was 26 seconds by Kohl Thompson.

"We wrestled well.

"We had a fairly young lineup in there tonight and they wrestled aggessive," said Columbia Falls coach Jesse Schaeffer.

"I liked how our young guys went out there. Some of them, it was their first varsity match. They wrestled really well, were aggressive and got the job done. That was exciting to see," he said.

"They wrestled well. I commend their effort for it - and we move on now," the coach said.

Despite the scores, Whitefish coach Ryan Boyle saw a lot from the Bulldogs that made him smile.

"That was the best two duals we've wrestled all year," Boyle said.

"The scores didn't show it, especially versus Columbia Falls, but those kids wrestled the best matches they have all year. I'm very proud of them, very proud of them."

It was tough because the scores were so lopsided.

"But it was their best matches. Up and down the lineup, they fought the hardest. There was heart there and they were going hard," he said.

"They were kind of outmatched. The scores didn't show it, but it was a great moment for our guys," Boyle said.

"They are all coming together. I've seen more team unity in the last couple weeks and I like seeing that. There are 18 guys fighting for each other," he said.

Whitefish got started on a better note against the Lions.

Kyle Tracy got a 15-0 technical fall at 112 over Eureka's Brian Goff to start the dual 5-0 in Whitefish's favor.

The Lions won the next four matches, though, to go up 24-5.

Whitefish's Madison McWhirter got a pin at 140, but it was all Eureka after that.

Still, Lions coach Danny Lemer was hoping for better.

"It was not quite what we wanted, but we will take it. We had higher expectations. We wanted to execute our moves a little bit better.

"We were a little sloppy here and there, but we will improve. We will be ready for divisional next week," he said.

"Opening period, I liked our takedowns. I liked how aggressive we were on our feet. But it seemed like we were sluggish in the second and third period at times and we should have had more fire," he said.

This was the last regular season action for all three teams. Next for Columbia Falls and Whitefish is the Northwestern A divisional Feb. 5 at Whitefish. The Lions are at Arlee for the Western B divisional.

"It's going to be a fun weekend," Schaeffer said.

He's looking forward to a battle with Class A No. 6-ranked Polson.

"We've got some strep throat going through the room right now, but hopefully we'll have all the guys healthy and on their weight," Schaeffer said.

Dual started at 98

Columbia Falls 88, Whitefish 0

98: Jordan Harland, CF, p. Kaleb Mohn, 5:23; 105: Caleb Bauman, CF, won by forfeit; 112: Seth McCall, CF, p. Kyle Tracy, 3:31; 119: Hunter Fishel, CF, p. Wyatt Morris, :47; 125: Dalton Nelson, CF, maj. dec. Wyatt Price, 9-1; 130: Sal Baccaro, CF, won by forfeit; 135: Kohl Thompson, CF, p. Jason Newbury, :26; 140: Bryan Shaffer, CF, p. Madison McWhirter, 2:34; 145: Colby Arbuckle, CF, won by forfeit; 152: Jacob Burgess, CF, won by forfeit; 160: Mark Hader, CF, p. Auston Burgeson, 2:27; 171: Josh Folsom, CF, p. Marcelo Theodoro, 5:29; 189: Marcus Ross, CF, won by forfeit; 215: Jacob Babcock, CF, p. Richard Hough, :36; Hwt: Cody Bartos, CF, won by forfeit.

Dual started at 105

Eureka 54, Whitefish 23

98: Kaleb Mohn, WF, won by forfeit; 105: Double forfeit; 112: Kyle Tracy, WF, tech fall Brian Goff, 15-0; 119: Nikko Bakkila, E, p. Wyatt Morris, :41; 125: Trent Vaughn, E, p. Wyatt Price, 3:18; 130: Ashton Dierman, E, won by forfeit; 135: Jose Letcher, E, p. Jason Newbury, :43; 140: Madison McWhirter, WF, p. Wyatt Miller, 5:32; 145: Bodee Floyd, E, won by forfeit; 152: Curtis McDuffie, E, won by forfeit; 160: Logan Brown, E, p. Auston Burgeson, 1:05; 171: Taylor Vaughn, E, p. Marcelo Theodoro, 2:41; 189: Colin Gillard, E, won by forfeit; 215: Richard Hough, WF, won by forfeit; Hwt: Double forfeit.