Wrestlers take it on the chin

The Libby Greenchain put in a double shift of mat work this past week. On Thursday the grapplers traveled to Columbia Falls. The Wildcats dominated the competition and won the dual 66-16.

“We didn’t respond well to the challenge of facing them,” Coach Kelly Morford said. “We didn’t compete very well and, hopefully, that woke us up to how much work we need to do.”

The Greenchain followed a disappointing Thursday with a separated Friday and Saturday. Four wrestlers — Zach Crace, Garret Chapel, Josh Bowers and Skyler Higareda — traveled to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, for the numerically challenged 35th Annual Tri-State Tournament at North Idaho College. The competition featured wrestlers from the four states of Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. 

“All four guys did well there,” Morford said. “Everyone won a match. Garret and Zach were able to push their ways into the second day of competition. In fact, Crace had the most pins of anyone in the tournament with six.”

Grinding through the loser’s bracket, the junior Crace finished 7-2 on the weekend and ranked seventh at 132 pounds. At 3-2, Chapel, also a junior, impressed his coach.

“It’s a good feat to make the second day in your first Tri-State,” Morford said. 

Also on Saturday in Eureka, the rest of the Greenchain competed in the Buzz Lucey Invitational. Junior 160-pounder Alex Yeadon placed fourth after being pinned in 2:46 by Columbia Falls’ Cody Walters. Sophomore Josh McGough, a 220-pound wrestler, was pinned in 33 seconds by Flathead’s Riley Leigh in his third-place match. 

“It was the first time for both of them to earn a medal at a high school tournament,” Morford said. “They were excited about that and should be.”

The Greenchain plan to continue conditioning in the days immediately following Christmas. Full practices return Monday and the next competition will be Jan. 2 in Polson. The Western Montana Duals in Ronan will keep the crew busy both Jan. 3 and Jan. 4.