Wrestlers prepare for divisional tournament

SANDERS COUNTY – With the divisional tournament right around the corner, Sanders County wrestling teams are hitting the mats hard in preparation of the competition.

The top four wrestlers in each weight class at divisionals move on to the state competition – the ultimate goal for a lot of the wrestlers.

With only a few more days before Saturday’s events, the key to success right now is to tie up any loose ends.

With a week full of cancellations, the wrestlers have to work even harder to hone their skills. Both the Plains Mixer and the Thompson Falls Quad were canceled last week to due a variety of different reasons.

For the wrestlers of Plains, sickness hit the team and a week of recuperation was in order, while poor road conditions canceled the meet in Thompson Falls.

Since Noxon was scheduled to compete in Plains, they also got the week off.

However, none of the coaches seem to be worried.

According to Noxon’s Head Coach Ben Ulrick, the week off wasn’t expected to hinder any progress.

“We wrestled and practiced right through and we are going to keep practicing,” Coach Ulrick said.

The kids are excited to finish the season strong and are all healthy – something that is incredibly important during this time of year.

“I’m pretty fortunate to be going with 100 percent of our team (to divisionals) even though it’s small,” Coach Ulrick said.

Numbers are not as important to Noxon’s team as individual effort and determination.

He did not want to make any predictions but knows what he expects out of his kids.

“I want them all to do well,” Coach Ulrick said.

As for Thompson Falls, Head Coach Ian Taylor is also working hard at practice.

“It was a little bit longer break from live competition than what I really wanted,” Coach Taylor said.

However, his team is more than ready for divisionals. The guys have taken advantage of all the opportunities before them and Coach Taylor said they would take it as far as they could go.

“This is the best time of the year as far as I’m concerned. This is what we’ve worked for all year. This is why we are in the sport we are in,” Coach Taylor said.

He wasted no time getting straight to the point. He wants each of his wrestlers to give their best effort with every kid in every match.

“That’s what will determine whether we are successful or not,” Coach Taylor said.

The Savage Horsemen were the only team that was able to get some live wrestling time as they headed to Florence on Saturday, February 1. Although one of the teams cancelled, the wrestlers were still able to get some live time against Florence.

The night was low key but this close to the end of the season; any time on the mat is good time.

Head Coach Kenny Marjerrison of the Plains, Hot Springs wresting team said he was cautiously optimistic of how his team would perform at the divisional tournament.

With much tougher competition in the weight classes this year, he is unsure of what to expect fully but he said their success would all depend on how their team showed up to the competition.

“If the kids wrestle as well this weekend as they did last Thursday night, we’ll have a good divisional tournament,” Coach Marjerrison said.

This week of practice is the most intense week of the season and Coach Marjerrison said emotions are running high.

“A lot of different things are coming to play in a high school kid’s mind right now,” Coach Marjerrison said.

As long as those emotions are channeled well on the mat, good or bad, the Savage Horsemen should be in a good spot, hopefully bringing home a trophy for one of the top three spots.

The divisional tournament will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 8 in Ronan.