Greenchain has strong start at Owen Invite

The Libby High School wrestling team had their first test of the season at the Owen Invitational in Polson Friday and Saturday, taking second place in three weight classes, but no top honors.

Libby Head Coach Kelly Morford said the overall team performance may have been a little better than expected.

“It was fun to see our top end, more experienced guys did well, which, you know, we hoped they would do, but some of our newer guys wrestled really well and picked up some wins, so that was really fun to see,” he said.

Morford said that the first tournament is mostly about getting a sense of where the wrestlers are and what they need to work on.

“And we definitely did that this weekend. And I think we learned as a group that there’s some fundamental things that we need to do every match,” he said.

For a wrestler such as senior Buddy Doolin, anything less than first can be a disappointment, Morford acknowledged.

“But, he wrestled a really tough kid from Frenchtown, and those guys are going to be going back and forth all year,” Morford said. “So, I just told Buddy that we’re more concerned about how we wrestle that kid at the end of the year as opposed to the beginning.”

For sophomore Zach Morrison and junior Trey Thompson, Morford said that second place was not what they were gunning for either.

“Zach, he wrestled really well all weekend, and he just got caught in a bad position and got put on his back and pinned,” Morford said. “And he can beat that kid, and when they wrestle down the road, I think he will.”

Thompson faced an opponent who really tested his abilities as well, Morford said. But, wrestling that kind of an opponent is a great opportunity to learn and become better.

For the half of the team that is new to high school wrestling, Morford said it was good to see freshman Zane Nordwick pick up a couple wins.

“Zane Nordwick is a kid who’s never wrestled before who won, not one, but two matches, and I know, as a coach, that’s really rewarding to see him have a little success out there,” Morford said.

As a group, the team is a step ahead of where Morford thought they might begin the season, he said.

“I got some great compliments from other coaches that really enjoyed watching out kids wrestle, and said they’re wrestling well,” he said. “But at the same time, there’s a lot to continue to work on.”

Owen Invitational

Friday, Nov. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 1

120: Carson Kateley (0-2); Champ. Round 1 bye; Champ. Round 2 - Walker Dyer (Frenchtown) won by fall in 0:56 over Kateley; Cons. Round 2 - Carter Moran (Whitefish) won by major decision (12-2) over Kateley.

120: Buddy Doolin (4-1, 2nd); Champ. Round 1 - Doolin won by fall in 1:21 over Donavin Baker (Polson); Champ. Round 2 - Doolin won by fall in 0:49 over Colten Hogan (Columbia Falls); Quarterfinal - Doolin won by fall in 1:03 over Nick Blanchard (Frenchtown); Semifinal - Doolin won by tech fall (TF-1.5 5:51 (18-3)) over Maysn Cowell (Polson); 1st Place Match - Walker Dyer (Frenchtown) won by 7-2 dec. over Doolin.

132: Zack Morrison (3-1, 2nd); Champ. Round 1 - bye; Champ. Round 2 - Morrison won by fall in 0:40 over Carter Brown (Corvallis); Quarterfinal - Morrison won by fall in 0:36 over David Sharp (Browning); Semifinal - Morrison won by fall in 5:15 over Wesley Buchannen (Superior); 1st Place Match - Nathan Schmidt (Eureka) won by fall in 1:12 over Morrison.

145: Trey Thompson (3-1, 2nd); Champ. Round 1 - bye; Champ. Round 2 - Thompson won by fall in 1:11 over Jesse Horner (Sentinel); Quarterfinal - Thompson won by fall in 3:22 over Caleb Pierre (Polson); Semifinal - Thompson won by major decision (14-2) over Darwin Adams (Mission/Charlo); 1st Place Match - Luke Joy (Sentinel) won by 3-0 dec. over Thompson.

152: Tucker Masters (4-2); Champ. Round 1 - Conall Powers (Sentinel) won by 8-5 dec. over Masters; Cons. Round 1 - Masters won by fall in 0:43 over Shane Calley (Polson); Cons. Round 2 - Masters won by fall in 1:04 over Kayden Carter (Mission/Charlo); Cons. Round 3 - Masters won by fall in 0:57 over Lawrence Birdrattler (Browning); Cons. Round 4 - Masters won by fall in 1:37 over Jeff Devlin (Polson); Cons. Round 5 - Porter Howard (Lake City) won by fall in 2:39 over Masters.

152: Cody Crace (3-2); Champ. Round 1 - Crace won by fall in 3:50 over Hunter Golding (Hellgate); Champ. Round 2 - Crace won by fall in 1:41 over Kayden Carter (Mission/Charlo); Quarterfinal - Bridger Williams (Hamilton) won by fall in 0:24 over Crace; Cons. Round 4 - Crace won by fall in 3:13 over Brenan Runninc Crane (Browning); Cons. Round 5 - Daniel Collins Bishop (Ronan) won by 4-2 dec. over Crace.

160: Zane Nordwick (2-2); Champ. Round 1 - Garrett Croft (Polson) won by fall in 1:00 over Nordwick; Cons. Round 1 - bye; Cons. Round 2 - Nordwick won by major decision (11-2) over Sam Whealon (Polson); Cons. Round 3 - Nordwick won by fall in 1:54 over Kellen Maart (Hellgate); Cons. Round 4 - Camren Ross (Whitefish) won by fall in 3:57 over Nordwick.

170: John Tinnell (1-2); Champ. Round 1 - bye; Champ. Round 2 - Tinnell won by 6-4 dec. over Johnny Fehr (Eureka); Quarterfinal - Hunter Fritsch (Polson) won by fall in 0:41 over John Tinnell; Cons. Round 4 - Sam Despain (Columbia Falls) won by fall in 1:13 over John Tinnell.

182: Daniel Rigne (0-2); Champ. Round 1 - bye; Champ. Round 2 - Zane Monaghan (Lake City) won by fall in 1:17 over Rigne; Cons. Round 2 - Xaden Cunningham (Belgrade) won by fall in 2:21 over Rigne.