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

The Chinook Sugarbeeter wrestling team was in Great Falls this past weekend while the Harlem Wildcats made a last-minute change to compete in the Huntley Project Invitational. This marked the last time the teams would see the mat before returning in the new year.

The Wildcats got a strong showing all around. Senior Leon Champagne wrestled his way to a seventh-place finish at 152 pounds, going 5-2 in the two-day tournament. Sophomore Dustin Adams went 4-2 over the weekend and finished seventh at 182.

For the Lady Cats, sophomore Cyla Adams won both her matches by pinfall to finish first at 114 in the B bracket. Senior Kaitlyn Johnson went 4-0 on Saturday, pinning all four opponents on her way to a first place finish at 126.

At the Walt and Trudy Currie Tournament at Great Falls High, Chinook freshman Walter Schoen finished second, going 3-1, falling in the final by an 11-10 decision at 160 pounds. Junior Gage Chapman finished fourth at 138 pounds. Junior Grace Buck finished fourth at 107 pounds, going 4-2 in the CMR Holiday Classic. Sophomore Emma Klingaman went 5-3 and finished sixth at 126 pounds.

Chinook Head Coach Ben Stroh summarized his team's performance, "The boys were all at the JV tournament Saturday. We have a couple of kids that need to find the passion for the sport, and soon. However, we had a few kids like Ethan, Sam, and Charley that really came alive and showed that they want and deserve to be wrestling with the high schoolers. That was super exciting to see!" Stroh added, "Grace and Emma did great. They wrestled really well all weekend and have become consistent wrestlers every weekend! Grace got 4th and Emma got 6th. There were so many tough girls at this tournament that they beat. We are very happy with their performances!"

The Wildcats Head Coach was pleased with the results at the Huntley Invitational with the sudden schedule change, "Last minute change, I took a long look at the team's moral and thought a changeup was necessary. CMR is tough, and I wasn't looking for easier competition, but more or less a simpler weekend. The CMR meet has grown and grown over the years, and it seems like we are always in such a rush, running from gym to gym that we lose our focus. The girls are in another school across town during CMR and with a small coaching staff it gets stressful." Baker added, "So we went south and found a big tournament that focused more on competition we would see at divisional and state. The Huntley Project invite filled that need. With over 400 wrestlers at the tournament, we were challenged properly and able to break some barriers we'd been facing."

Jamie Berreth

Baker talked about his boys' team, "The boys all wrestled very hard in the tournament. In the regular and 2nd chance we racked up several wins and places. Getting through the mental game was the plan and I believe their confidence definitely was boosted. I saw the fire restored in them." As far as the girls went, Baker commented, "The girls had equal success with several tough matches and valuable mat time. The girls wrestle all class at state but have to wrestle through the b/c ranks at divisional, so this meet brought a lot of the eastern division opponents to the mat. A lot of my newbies got a taste of what divisional will bring."

Baker concluded by saying, "All and all, a great weekend of wrestling. Back to the wrestling room on Monday and throughout the break we are going to sharpen up for the second half of the season. I'm excited to see what happens next. Still a younger team, but with this many kids matching my excitement, it's going to be something to see for sure."