Strong showing for county wrestlers at divisional meet
<p>Savage Horsemen senior Russell Kujala won first place in his division for the third time in his high school career last weekend a the divisional meet in Eureka.</p>
EUREKA – Wrestlers from throughout Sanders County had an opportunity to move on to the State Tournament last weekend.
Top finishers from last weekend’s divisional tournament in Eureka will make the trek east next weekend for the state competition in Billings.
Athletes from the Savage Horsemen, Bluehawk and Red Devils wrestling teams all had stand out performances at the divisional meet.
In total, Thompson Falls will send six wrestlers to the state tournament, Plains-Hot Springs five and Noxon two.
The representatives from Thompson Falls include Kaleb Frank at 103, Cody Garrison at 120, Wesley Gilroy at 126, Jase Sorenson at 138, Colton Bray at 152 and Kyle Milner at 160.
Plains-Hot Springs will send Daniel Uli at 103, Bryce Henning at 126, Dusten Henning at 132, Jake Lile at 138 and Russell Kujala at 145.
Luke Crowe and Alan Chojnacky will represent the Noxon squad at Billings. Crowe will wrestle at 160, while Chojnacky will compete in the 182-pound weight class.
The wrestlers from Thompson Falls took fourth place in the divisional tournament with 134 team points. Plains-Hot Springs finished in sixth with 92 team points and Noxon took tenth with 44 team points.
Both Thompson Falls and Plains-Hot Springs saw success during the lightweight rounds of the tournament.
Frank of Thompson Falls took first place in the 103 pound weight class after winning a 7-3 decision over Colin Rogers of Deer Lodge.
Uli of Plains-Hot Springs took third place in the weight class after a 6-4 win over Spencer Stagg of Ronan.
Savage Horsemen Head Coach Kenny Marjerrison was impressed with Uli’s performance.
“(Daniel) Uli wrestled very well and ended up defeating two kids he had lost to earlier in the season,” Marjerrison said.
Garrison of the Bluehawks took third at 120 after pinning Alex Waite of Deer Lodge during the first period.
At 126, Gilroy of Thompson Falls took third, while B. Henning of Plains-Hot Springs secured the fourth place finish.
D. Henning of Plains-Hot Springs advanced to Billings after taking fourth at 132.
In the 138-pound bracket Savage Horseman Lile finished in second place, following a 7-3 decision against Torren Lawson of Florence-Carlton.
Marjerrison was pleased with Lile’s performance at the divisional tournament and stated he (Lile) has shown tremendous improvement as a wrestler throughout the season.
Sorenson of Thompson Falls took third at 138, defeating James Dunn of Eureka in a 10-8 decision.
Kujala of the Savage Horsemen finished on top of his weight class; taking first place at 145 following a hard fought 6-4 decision over Jared Neiss of Ronan.
According to Marjerrison, Kujala’s first place finish gave the senior his third first place finish at the divisional tournament during his high school wrestling career.
The Savage Horsemen coach noted the talent in this year’s western division had been impressive.
“This year the western division has been the most difficult region by far. By and large our division is tougher than it has been,” Marjerrison said.
At 152 Bray of the Bluehawks took third place with a second period pin against Garrett Graves of Eureka.
Milner of Thompson Falls and Crowe of Noxon faced off in the championship finals of the 160-pound weight class.
It was Milner who finished with the win, defeating Crowe in an 11-9 decision.
Chojnacky of the Red Devils took third at 182, pinning Kail Cheff of Ronan in the third period.