Little guy wrestlers compete in tournament
Ethan Kelsey starts to control the match as he gets on top of his opponent during Thursday's wresting meet.
Jake Lapinski works to get his opponent in a hold during a match last Thursday.
Bryan Mask gets ready to challenge his opponent.
Coach Jason McLees offers Kaden Hill some advice during his match last Thursday night.
Chaotic might just be the word to describe the atmosphere of the little guy wrestling tournament that took place last Thursday in Superior.
As the stands filled with people, parents eager to get a snapshot of their child wrestling squeezed the mats with cameras and camcorders. The gym was loud as it bustled with activity and parents shouted and cheered for their kids.
Coaches stood nearby as their wrestlers went up against opponents to offer advice and encouragement. Wrestlers also huddled around the mats cheering on their teammates and talking excitedly with others around them.
Volunteers staffed tables and helped the young wrestlers find out where they needed to go for their match. Up to six matches took place at a time and there was plenty of action to watch.
There are four different levels that wrestlers compete at based on experience and age: beginner, novice, middle and junior. At the meet last Thursday, the beginners got to go out and wrestle twice.
Coach Charlie Crabb said that the season spends a lot of time introducing kids to the sport of wrestling in hopes that if they do decide to wrestle during high school they have an idea of how the sport works.
“We just want to teach them the basics,” Crabb said. “We’re basically sort of doing a lot of prepping. My main goal with the older kids is to get them prepared for high school. With the younger kids, I want to teach them a good stance and some simple moves so they’ll have that foundation.”
Coming up this weekend, the qualifying tournaments to get to state begins. The season of little guy wrestling is kept short so not to burn the kids out.
This weekend, the little guy wrestlers will be in Superior on March 11 and 12. On March 19, the boys will wrestle in Frenchtown and on March 26, they’ll be in Missoula.