Avila moves to 18 wins
Photo by Ed Moreth<br>Plains-Hot Springs Savage Horseman Wes Goodwin tries to take Superior Bobcat Mike Avila to the mat during the Western Montana Duals at Ronan Saturday, but Avila escapes Goodwin's hold and goes on to pin Goodwin in 5:45. Avila, a senior, finished Saturday with a 18-4 record.
With the wrestling season past the halfway point, one Superior wrestler is proving he's going to be a force to be reckoned with come divisionals.
Mike Avila, wrestling in the 152-pound weight class, went 4-1 with three wins coming by way of pin this weekend at the Western Montana Duals in Ronan to move his record on the season to 18-4.
Superior coach Charlie Crabb said he is not surprised at all by Avila's success. "I thought he would do pretty good this year. He's a smart kid and picks things up pretty quick," he said. Crabb said Avila is getting better with each match. "He still makes mistakes, but that's par for the course. He's getting better and that's all we can ask from him," he said.
Crabb said that Avila has a good shot at placing high at the divisional tournament in Darby Feb. 2, and should make it to the state tournament. "If he keeps wrestling the way he is, he should be all right," he said.
Avila's tournament didn't get off to such a good start. The lone senior on the Bobcats squad lost a 6-3 decision to Polson's Sheldon Fisher Friday. Avila bounced back by beating Glacier's Clayton Hamilton 6-2.
On Saturday, Avila won all his matches by pin. He started by pinning Loyola's Alex Ward in 3:28, then moved on to Hellgate's Will Smith, pinning him in just under two minutes,. He finished his day by pinning Plains' Wes Goodwin in five minutes and 45 seconds.
Avila was one of four Wrestlers from Superior competing in the duals. In his second match after moving down to 119 pounds, Mason Chatterley went 3-1 at the Duals. On Friday, Chatterley split his two matches, getting pinned by Polson's Jacob Young and then dominating Glacier's Derek Mitchell with an 11-0 decision. Saturday, Chatterley started his day by pinning Casey Hanson in the first period and finished his day by pinning Cody Moore, from Big Sky, in three minutes and 26 seconds.
Crabb said that Chatterley was a little undersized to wrestle in the 125-pound class and the 119 class seems to be a better fit. He said that in the 119 class, Chatterley is able to use his strength to his advantage.
Superior rookies Clint Hoaglen and Dustin Goebel had a rough time at the dual. Both, wrestling in the 125-pound class, combined to go 0-4 at the duals. "They're rookies, but they go hard, so that's all I can ask," Crabb said. He said both wrestlers are getting better and are starting to pick things up.
Two hundred and ninety wrestlers from 20 teams from Western Montana's class A, B, and C schools competed for two solid days at the Ronan Events Center. When the competition was over late Saturday evening, the Ronan Chiefs came out on top, followed by Corvallis in second, Kalispell in third and Arlee in fourth.
Superior will be wrestling at the Rocky Mountain Classic Tournament at Missoula Sentinel this Friday and Saturday. Crabb said there should be about 26 teams at the tournament - one of the biggest of the season. He said the level of competition at the tournament is also very high. Crabb said Chatterley and Avila are his only wrestlers that have been to the tournament, but the whole team knows how tough it's going to be.
"They all know it's a meat grinder and they better bring their A game," he said.