Two Superior Little Guys take first

A wrestler didn't have to make it to the championship round or even place in the top four spots to celebrate. Such was the case for Superior Bobcat Tyler Wharry, who competed in the 125-pound junior high class, and claimed his first victory of the year. Immediately following his triumph, Wharry cheered, jumped in jubilation, and gleefully shook the hand of Superior assistant coach Gary Tourtelotte. The eighth-grader won his match against Frenchtown Bronc Colby Hagen 14-0.

Superior head coach Charlie Crabb took 15 athletes to the Western Montana State Little Guy Wrestling Championships in Missoula Saturday. More than 500 matches were conducted and by the time the gymnasium at Sentinel High School was cleared, four Bobcat athletes ended up in the top four placements, including two first place winners.

Kyle Yadon, competing in the novice 140-pound weight class, went undefeated this season, collecting 10 victories, including three at the state finals to give him first place.

The 11-year-old Yadon, a fifth-grader, defeated Hamilton and Lolo wrestlers by pins, then grabbed the championship round 10-0 against Corvallis Bobcat Cole Schmidt. Yadon said he didn't wrestle last year and in the previous season, he competed in the 95-pound novice class, but didn't place at state.

More than 400 wrestlers from 22 teams took part in the state finals, which ran from 9 a.m. to almost 7 p.m. The tournament included only novice, middle and junior wrestling classes and comprised 25 weight classes, although five had two groups due to the large number of competitors in those classes. Throughout most of the day, there were eight matches going on at one time. It went down to six matches late in the afternoon.

A beginner championship tournament was held in Arlee Friday evening when 164 wrestlers battled it out on 10 mats. Ken Hill, the chief organizer of the event and head coach for the Arlee Warriors team, said they held 244 matches during the four hours of competition. Bobcats Tucker McLees and Dante Mellen competed at Arlee, but didn't place.

Teammate Matt Campbell didn't have an undefeated record, but walked away with a championship win in the junior 90-pound after defeating Lucas Mantell of the Kalispell Mountain Lions 8-2, giving Campbell a 3-0 record for the day.

“I'm proud of our kids; they had a great season,” said Jason Mann, who's been an assistant coach for the Bobcats for four years. Mann said they never gave up - “They're Bobcats.”

Superior's Anthony Parkin went 2-1 Saturday and finished in third place in the middle 65-pound weight class. Billy Smith, competing in the middle 100-pound class, also finished with a third place with a 3-1 record, including one pin for the day.

In the small school team category Saturday, Superior finished third with 20 points behind Lolo, which took first with 25 points and Arlee with 22. Thompson Falls took fifth place with 16 points. Corvallis took first place with 79 points in the large school category. Kalispell finished second with 77 points, and in third was Columbia Falls with 58. Evergreen, a team out of Kalispell, took first in the medium class with 45 points. Second place went to Mission/Charlo/Dixon with 41 points, followed by Eureka one point behind.

Colby Cline, head coach for the Thompson Falls High School Bluehawks and Little Guy teams, said favors the sport of wrestling because he said it's one where an individual can excel. Winning is especially a highlight in wrestling, said Cline, because it's all based on the individual. “But that means you have no one to blame if you lose,” said Cline. The coach added that wrestling is a way for kids to use their aggression in a positive way, and it teaches self control.

Crabb had five junior high wrestlers on the Little Guy team, but he hopes to eventually get all of the Little Guy wrestlers on his high school team. Crabb had eight high schoolers for the 2007-2008 season, but he'd like to increase that.

He said that his little Bobcats put up a good fight at the state finals and finished with a good season.