Bluehawks exceed expectations at first tournament

THOMPSON FALLS – With their first tournament under their belt, the Bluehawk wrestlers are looking to be a strong, competitive force this year.

According to Head Coach Ian Taylor, the team had a couple of kids place in the Polson Invitational – a tournament that provides a healthy dose of strong competition with larger schools. With two kids placing, the Bluehawks are farther ahead than in prior years.

“That was the first time placing any kids in that tournament for quite a while,” Coach Taylor said. “It was a good start for us.”

Nina Babcock at 98 pounds took fourth while Colton Bray at 145 pounds also took fourth. Along with those two, there were a couple of kids that were a match away from placing at the tournament.

With 12 teams at the Polson Invitational, the Bluehawks faced off with larger schools with Sentinel, Polson, Whitefish and Frenchtown in the mix.

“There was a lot of competition we won’t see at our divisional or state meets but we still competed well with some of the bigger schools we had to wrestle,” Coach Taylor said.

This lets both the coach and the team know they are on a competitive level early on in the season.

“It lets us know we can go out, wrestle and compete with anybody out there. We’re able to hang with those bigger schools,” explained Coach Taylor.

Bigger teams typically have more kids wrestling and therefore often times a stronger front. The fact that Thompson Falls was able to compete with many of the bigger schools was a sign of where the program was headed.

Their next tournament will be in Superior on Saturday. Coach Taylor said the tournament consists of mostly B schools.

“It’s a pretty decent tournament,” Coach Taylor said.

Again, 12 teams are expected to come out to the invitational, providing plenty of opportunity for kids to wrestle. The goal is get more placers than at the Polson Invitational.

“I would hope we could get a couple more kids in the medal round for that (tournament),” Coach Taylor said.

He believes the kids who placed at Polson will once again place in Superior. He also mentioned Kyle Milner should also move into the medal rounds if all goes well in his 160 pound weight class.

“A couple of other kids are also really close. If things go our way, I think we could have a good tournament,” Coach Taylor said.