Mountain Cat wrestlers win Brawley Classic
Members of the Clark Fork Mountain Cats wrestling team celebrate their win at the Glyn Brawley Classic in Corvallis Dec. 21. (Courtesy photo)
Might have to start calling them the Cardiac Cats.
Another big wrestling meet with another thrilling finish, this time with first place team honors on the line.
Once again, the big guy would not be denied as 285-pound Mountain Cat wrestler Jacob Lapinski pinned Missoula Sentinel’s Ramsey Knowles in just 55 seconds to secure the team title for Clark Fork by one point.
Lapinski’s win allowed the Mountain Cats to sneak ahead of runnerup St. Ignatious by a 164-163 score in the nine-team Glyn Brawley Classic in Corvallis, Montana, Dec. 21.
The quick pin by Lapinski improved his season mark to 15-2.
Once again Clark Fork got solid points from the lighter weight classes, good support from the middle weights and big time points from the upper weight classes.
In addition to winning the 285-pound individual title, the Mountain Cats got first place honors from freshman Chandon Vulles at 205 pounds, Trey Green at 182 pounds and Decker Millender, another freshman, in the 113-pound division.
Also scoring team points in the final rounds for Clark Fork were 145-pounder Wesley Buchanan, third place; Hunter Haksins, third at 152 pounds; and Carter McIees who finished fourth at 160 pounds.
In the 182-pound final, Green upped his season record to 12-2 when he pinned Deer Lodge’s Teegan Shafer at the 4:26 mark of the final. Likewise, Vulles won his title match by pin, sticking Miles Anderson of St. Ignatius to the mat in 1:12, to improve his season mark to 14-3.
The Mountain Cats return to action Friday and Saturday at the Ronan Duals. They return home Tuesday, Jan. 7 when they host a quad meet in Superior.