Superior Little Guys head to state
Photo by Paul Sievers Superior’s Taryn Ververis looks to his coach for advice in his 8-6 defeat of Libby’s Chaz Judkins in the novice 55-pound weight class.
Fifteen grapplers from Superior will are bound for the Little Guy Wrestling State Championships in Missoula this weekend after qualifying at the Inter Valley Tournament in Libby Saturday.
Head coach Charlie Crabb said that he took around 25 wrestlers to the event that started at 9 a.m. and lasted until shortly after 4 p.m. He said that he was impressed with his team's performance,considering the three-hour drive they endured to get to the competition.“Overall we did pretty good,” Crabb said.
The coach said that of the 15 competitors headed for Missoula, five are in the junior class, eight in the middle class, and two are in the novice class.
Twelve teams and 393 wrestlers competed at Libby Saturday. There will be more than 20 teams competing at Sentinel High School in Missoula Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m.
Crabb said that in order to advance to the competition in Missoula, novice competitors had to place within the top four in their weight class, middles had to place within the top eight and juniors advanced no matter how they performed. Crabb said that wrestlers in the beginner category will not compete in Missoula.
Of the 15 competitors that will be traveling to Missoula to compete this weekend, four of them had first place finishes, according to Crabb. Middle class 80-pounder Matt Campbell, an eighth-grader, won his final match 12-4. Dan Taron, an eighth-grader in the 110-pound junior class, won his match 8-0. Sixth-grader junior 90-pounder Tucker Smith won his final match 12-3. Fifth-grader novice class 130-pounder Kyle Yadon pinned his opponent in his final match.
The Bobcats will have to face several tough opponents in the coming match from neighboring Thompson Falls Bluehawks. Bluehawk coach Colby Cline said that they will be taking between 15 and 20 wrestlers to the tournament. Eleven Plains-Hot Springs wrestlers qualified, along with two Trout Creek Eagles and six Noxon Devils.