The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

The Chinook Sugarbeeters and Harlem Wildcat/Lady Cat wrestling teams were in Columbus this past weekend competing at the Eastern B/C Wrestling Divisional. On the line, a trip to the State B/C Tournament in Billings next week.

The 'Beeters performed exceptionally well, qualifying five boys for the state tournament while all three 'Beeter girls punched their ticket. The Lady Cats will send four wrestlers to Billings and the Wildcats two. The Lady Cats finished second in the team standings and the Sugarbeeters fourth.

The Sugarbeeters captured two individual titles at the Eastern B/C. Freshman Emma Klingaman went 3-0 on her way to the 120 pound title in the girls division. Senior Tyler Schoen continued his quest for a second straight state title by winning the 182 pound boys division. Senior Amelia Blackcrow captured the 165 pound girls division by winning her lone match.

Klingamen went 3-0 on her way to the title. First she defeated Cierra Norton of Circle in the quarterfinal round by pin in 2:32. In her semifinal match Klingamen won by major decision over Karissa Afrank of Baker 10-0 to send her to the championship match. Klingaman pinned Circle's Madeline Black in 5:20 to win.

Schoen continued his journey on what he hopes is a second straight Montana State Title by going 3-0 at the Eastern B/C while running his overall season record to a perfect 37-0.

Schoen began the tournament with a quarterfinal win over Harlem's Kendon Young by pin in just 1:18. Schoen then looked for another strong performance in the semifinal where he faced the Longhorns Nathan Dunham. Schoen wasted little time in advancing, pinning Dunham in 1:49 to advance to the championship match.

In the 182 pound final Schoen faced a familiar foe in Malta's Camryn Mears and claimed the title following a win by Major Decision 9-1.

Blackcrow received byes in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds based on her No. 1 seed and advanced straight to the girls 165 pound title match. Blackcrow squared off against Colstrip's Kylah Redfox where she earned a pin in 0:28 to win the division.

The Lady Cats picked up a couple of second place finishes from junior Kaitlyn Johnson at 126 pounds and freshman Cyla Adams at 114 pounds. Sophomore Izzy Baker finished fifth at 114 pounds and also qualified for the State Tournament.

The 'Beeters garnered two third place finishes in the Girls Division. Sophomore Grace Buck finished third at 107 pounds while freshman Bailey Billmayer finished third at 114 pounds.

Finishing fourth for the 'Beeter boys was senior Lane Snider at 145 pounds. Also qualifying for the state meet for the 'Beeters are freshman Zeke Sanders (6th at 120), sophomore Gauge Chapman (7th at 126) and eighth grader Walter Schoen (6th at 152). The Wildcats will send two wrestlers to the State meet, they are senior Leon Champagne (7th at 152) and freshman Kiiw Windy Boy (6th at 182).

The process for determining who advances to state and who doesn't is determined by the number of wrestlers in each weight class. Some kids placed at the Eastern B/C Divisional but because of the numbers they were left out. Griffen Crowley (8th), Ayden Allish (8th) for Chinook and Landen Gray (7th) Myla Rider (4th) and Ihte' Stiffarm (6th) of Harlem found themselves in this position.

Lady Cat senior Amelia Blackcrow pinned her only opponent in just 0:28 to win the 165 pound Division.

'Beeter Head Coach Ben Stroh was impressed by his teams effort in Columbus, "As a team, we wrestled amazing. The best I have seen them wrestle all year. In some cases, we were wrestling too hard and made a few costly mistakes. That being said the wrestlers that didn't qualify need to hold their heads high because they didn't go out without a fight. I am as proud of them as I am of the wrestlers that are going to wrestle for us next week at state.

Stroh still expects everyone to practice, "The only difference is that practice starts right now for next year for those that didn't qualify. They need to take the feeling they had and use it to motivate them through the off season. "

Stroh looks forward to the weekend," As for going to state, I am confident. That confidence is built off of what we saw from the team in divisionals. Simply said, they are ready. It is time to put them on the big stage and see where everything shakes out.

The All Class State Wrestling Tournament will be held this Friday in Billings at Rimrock Auto Arena/Metra Park. Good luck to all who are competing.