Wrestlers compete at Buz Lucey
On Saturday, the Savage Horsemen and Red Devils battled a competitive field at the Buzz Lucey Memorial Wrestling Tournament in Eureka, earning a combined five medals.
Seniors Kenneth Beach, 119 pounds, and Cole Goodwin, 135, won their respective weight classes For Plains-Hot Springs.
Beach, not only medaled, but received his 100th career win.
“That is an awesome accomplishment,” Savage Horsemen head coach Kenny Margerrison said. “There are not a lot of kids that achieve that in their high school career.”
A win on Saturday for Goodwin meant more than just a rebound from a poor showing on Friday, but his first gold medal as a Savage Horsemen.
“Cole pinned his way through the tournament which was just awesome to watch,” Margerrison said. “Cole just amazes us with the amount of heart and grit he has every time he walks on the mat. He is an extremely tough minded kid.”
Noxon’s winners included Adam Moore, 189, Derek Jensen, 215, and Cody Martens, 285.
Noxon’s Adam Brunner was one of four wrestlers recognized by officials for outstanding sportsmanship during the tournament.
The two Sanders County teams battled to a near standstill as Plains-Hot Springs scored 61 points, and Noxon 60 in a field including Columbia Falls, Frenchtown, Eureka, Libby, Polson JV, Whitefish, Glacier JV and Flathead JV.
“Friday was a little rocky for us,” Margerrison said of the Mixer before the match. Margerrison attributed some of the sluggishness to a three-hour long bus ride. “It wasn’t a terrible night by any means, it just wasn’t the performance that we would like to have seen.”
On Friday, Savage Horsemen Josh Eitelberg got his first victory of the season at 160 pounds. Eitelberg got the pin in the first round after taking down his opponent twice.
After a night of sleeping in the gym on the wrestling mats, the Savage Horsemen were ready to go on Saturday morning.
“It was a completely different result,” Margerrison said. “All of the kids across the board wrestled well in the tournament.”
Ben Gorham, 215, and Ted Beech, 130, were each only one win away from earning medals.
“Ted amazes us a little more every day. He is incredibly scrappy and never gives up one bit. It is going to be exciting to watch him through the rest of the season,” Margerrison said.