Horsemen, Hawks hit Ronan

Although the wrestling season has been going on since the end of November, last weekend was the first meet for one Thompson Falls athlete, who had been recovering from severe injuries he sustained during the Bluehawks' football playoffs. Tate Cavill said he felt he was still out of shape, but that didn't seem to stop him from going undefeated at the Western Montana Duals in Ronan Friday and Saturday.

Cavill went six matches and all but one were victories by pin, which was a 10-1 major decision, said Colby Cline, the Bluehawks' head coach. The 119-pound senior, who competes in the 119-pound and 125-pound weight classes, had a 42-second pin against Hellgate wrestler Hailey Barnier and a 1:02 pin against Johnny Dillard of Mission.

"He's a little out of shape, but the best way for him to really get back in shape is wrestling," said Colby. The Bluehawks finished in 13th place at the two-day tournament, the best they could do after losing their first two matches to the Mission Bulldogs and the Libby Loggers. Thompson Falls claimed wins against Drummond 60-18, Plains-Hot Springs 57-30, and Hellgate 72-12.

The Hawks' only two losses to the Missoula Hellgate team were by forfeit. All of Thompson Falls' victories against Hellgate were by pins, said Cline, who had 14 wrestlers at the tournament.

The team's fastest pin of the day for the Hawks was done by Shawn Sacchi. Competing in the 125-pound class, he had a 22-second pin against Sean King of the Sentinel Spartans. Sentinel was one of two junior varsity teams to attend the tournament. Sacchi went 3-1 at Ronan and also had a 45-second pin against Hellgate's Curt Jensen and a 5:15 pin against Skilur Dilley of Libby.

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. The Plains-Hot Springs Savage Horsemen, coached by Kenny Marjerrison, finished in 15th place.

Five Thompson Falls wrestlers had only one loss at the tourney. Competing in the 145-pound weight class, Richard Lyons went 4-1 — three pins and a decision, including a 1:17 pin against Zach Gagnon of Hellgate. Tanner Gascon, who wrestles in the 119- and 125-pound class, went 3-1 with a 48-second pin against Dexter Orr of the Glacier Wolfpack.

Jason Shaw of the heavyweight class went 3-1. His fastest pin was 1:55 against Keough Paulsen of Sentinel.

Bluehawk Matt Hojem had two pins under a minute. He took down Cody Davis of Drummond in 30 seconds and Cody Moore of Big Sky in 29 seconds. Hojem, competing in the 119-125-pound classes, had two other pins and a major decision. Hojem's only loss was to Mission's Mike Beebe, who he beat earlier in the season. Cline said Hojem just got into a bad position and Beebe took advantage of it.

The Bluehawks travel to Conrad for a meet Thursday. Thompson Falls and Plains-Hot Springs will participate at the Choteau Tournament Friday and Saturday. Plains is scheduled to host a meet Thursday, Jan. 17. The Bluehawks will again host the Ted Kato Tournament Saturday, Jan. 19.

Plains-Hot Springs took eight wrestlers to the tournament, but did not have complete stats. The Deer Lodge Wardens defeated Plains-Hot Springs 48-42 and Hamilton claimed a 71-18 win over the Savage Horsemen. Plains-Hot Springs defeated Drummond 48-24.

Savage Horseman Kenneth Beech went undefeated, pinning C. Wildman of Hamilton in 3:41 and Colton Kiewatt of Drummond in 1:01. Beech pinned a Corvallis wrestler, but Plains-Hot Springs did not have the competitor's name. Chris Stobie went 4-0, but the coach had no names.