Broncos head into duals

The Frenchtown wrestlers battled against Corvallis last Tuesday before heading to the Ronan Duels on Friday and Saturday.

Coach Bob Henderson said that they knew going into the duel it was going to be tough. He said that the team does better in tournaments versus duels.

“But it’s a great environment down at Corvallis. They have around forty kids and we have thirty-some,” Henderson said.

Roy Schutter, from Alberton, wrestled well in junior-varsity. Henderson said that he moves him from junior-varsity to varsity depending on when and where they are wrestling. Cody Ishler, also from Alberton, had a good match. He pinned his opponent with 1:43 left on the clock.

After Corvallis, the Broncs headed to Ronan for the western Montana Duels. Henderson said that it is a tough tournament and they had a lot of young kids in the lineup. He said that Cody had a couple of good matches on Saturday, dropping one to a Libby kid and one to a kid from Ronan.

“But he’ll come back and beat them. There were just a couple of things wrong that needed fixed,” Henderson said.

He said that Roy also had a good tournament on Friday. He said there was a match on Saturday they were counting on, but it swung by one point.

“When Roy is on, he does well and it’s the same with Cody. It was just one of those things,” Henderson said.

Frenchtown came out of the duels undefeated on Friday. They won against Plains, 60-18. Roy won his match at 119 pounds by forfeit. Cody got pinned at 125 pounds by Plains wrestler Kenneth Beech in round one.

In round three, Frenchtown bested Glacier, 58-24. Roy won by decision, 8-4, and Cody pinned his man with a minute and nine seconds left in the match.

In round four against Arlee, Frenchtown outlasted them, 55-24. Ishler pinned his man, but Roy ended up falling short.

On Saturday, Cody got pinned pretty quickly by his opponent from Ronan in round six. Roy lost by decision, 14-15.

Cody lost by decision in round seven, 4-1. Frenchtown won against Libby in the round by a mere four points, 37-33.

In round nine, Frenchtown beat Glacier again, 45-39.

“They put in a lot of matches,” Henderson said. “The more time on the mat the better.”

Up next, the Broncs have Columbia Falls and Whitefish at home on Thursday night at 6 p.m. Henderson said that Columbia Falls has a full lineup and it will be tight. Then on Friday and Saturday, the Broncs are heading to the Rock Mountain Classic in Missoula.

“It’s tougher than state,” Henderson said. “It’s big schools from Washington and Idaho.”