Greenchain looks to new season of opportunity

This year’s Libby High School wrestling season will give new players a great opportunity to make themselves known and boost their school’s image.

Libby High School wrestling coach Kelly Morford says he is confident in the team he has put together for this year’s Greenchain wrestling team.

“We’ve got a bunch of kids who can take some big steps forward and have a shot to place at state,” said Morford. “It’s exciting to see these kids kind of breaking out.”

As it stands, the team consists of senior Dominic Voorhies, juniors Reed Christensen, Dylan Parrish, Braydan Thom and Miguel Farias, sophomores Mason Sams, Tim Brivka, Michael Lehnert, Tanner Wood, Laine Young, Clancy Gout, Ethan Wallace and Tim Carvey, and freshmen Buddy Doolin, Jon Tinnel, Colten Clemons, Rick Jandorn and Michael Beers.

Sams, Brivka, Lehnert, Wood and Young are returning Sophomores while Christensen and Parrish are returning Juniors.

Wallace, Beers, Jandorn and Brivka are all wrestlers from Troy.

The new blood for this year consists of Thom, Doolin, Voorhies, Farias, Tinnel, Clemons, Gout, Carvey, Wallace, Beers and Jandorn.

Morford says he considers this wrestling season an opportunity for the team members to make names for themselves.

Morford says Christensen and Parrish have improved by “leaps and bounds” during the wrestling year, and put in a lot of hard work during the off-season.

The year before, Thom had gone out for basketball instead of wrestling. As such, Morford could not offer any prediction as to Thom’s skill or how he might benefit the team going forward.

Carvey, one of LHS’s newest students, moved from Eureka to Libby. Morford considers Carvey a good pick for the team, saying that he is a good athlete and will be of great help to the team. Morford said the same thing of Gout, who moved to Libby from Frenchtown.

“They are both great athletes and very nice young men,” said Morford. “We are elated to have them join the Greenchain family.”

Morford was able to elaborate further on Young, Sams and Doolin, and how their presence will affect the team overall. The trio participated in the University of Great Falls Wrestling Camp during the summer. They also represented Team Montana in a national level tournament in Pocatello, Idaho, which featured teams from all across the United States. In addition, Christensen attended a wrestling camp at Glacier High School in Kalispell.

“Experience like that is going to pay dividends for us going forward,” said Morford.

Morford says that the greatest challenge for the team this year will be the lack of experienced seniors.

“Without any experienced seniors, we will be looking for some of the returners from last year to step up and fill the leadership gap,” said Morford. “Dylan and Reed have done a great job stepping up as leaders and I expect a few others to evolve into that role as we go. Dom hasn’t wrestled for a while, but he has a great work ethic and is a great example for the others in that sense. I think guys like Braydan and Laine have the potential to step into that role as well.”

In addition to the skilled athletes Morford has recruited, he has enlisted the help of veteran wrestling coach Jason Harrington.

“He’s a very experienced coach and we’re glad to have him on our side,” said Morford. “He’ll be a great asset.”

Morford says he will be satisfied if LHS’s team has 20 members before the start of the season, but that he would be open to more members.

“There’s a lot of room for growth,” said Morford. “I expect there will be a different looking team at the end of the year than at the start.”