The Chinook Sugarbeeters and Harlem Wildcats took to the mat on Thursday at the Chester/Joplin-Inverness mixer. Friday and Saturday the teams took part in the Wolves Invitational. Both teams performed well Saturday afternoon, with the 'Beeter boys placing one in the invitational while the 'Beeter girls placed three. The Harlem Lady Cats had a number find their way to the podium.

The 'Beeter boys got a solid effort from freshman Walter Schoen, who finished fourth at 160 pounds, going 3-2, picking up three wins by pinfall. Schoen fell in the third/fourth place match to Turner Milender of Superior by decision. Junior Grace Buck finished second at 107 pounds, falling in the championship match by a 5-2 decision. Sophomore Bailey Billmayer finished third at 114 pounds with a 4-1 record for the day. Billmayer won the third place match with a 4-2 decision over Harlem's Izzy Baker.

Emma Klingaman won it all in the 126 pound weight class, going 4-0 on the day with three of the four wins by fall. In the Championship match, Klingaman won with an 8-1 decision over Lucy Armstrong of Choteau.

Head Coach, Ben Stroh was pleased with how his young athletes performed coming off of the Christmas break. "It was a good weekend. The team, as a whole, wrestled well. We went over a lot of techniques during the Christmas break, and it seems like that really helped. It is fun to see the team using some of these new moves in the actual competition."

"Our girls wrestled amazingly. They are really settling in and are taking care of business each and every week. Now, it is time for our very young boys' team to step up and start wrestling like they are a couple of years older. They have the tools. They just need the mindset."

The Harlem boys continue to grow and get better each week, working hard in the wrestling room. Head Coach Jonny Baker believes this was their best weekend yet, and has high expectations for their meet this weekend. "The boys wrestled well and had some good matches. We saw growth in the ranks. We have a big focus on basics right now and honing the technique. We saw a lot of textbook moves being finished correctly. The muscle memory seems to be taking hold. The Wildcat wrestlers exhibited their best mental game so far this season and I have high hopes for this week's brawl!

On the girls' side, seven out of the 10 girls who wrestled this weekend made it to the podium. Senior Kaitlyn Johnson finished third in the 126-pound weight class. Johnson went 3-1 overall on the day, winning all her matches in fall. In the third-place match, Johnson won by fall in 2:33 over Etta Wicks of Fort Benton. Sophomore Jarah Wilson also finished with a third-place win in the 165-pound weight class. Wilson finished with a record of 3-1 over the weekend. In the third-place match, Wilson won by fall in :49 over Harley Fetters of Cut Bank. Junior Izzy Baker finished fourth in the 114-pound weight class. Baker went 3-2 on the day, making it to the third-place match where she lost by decision 4-2 against Chinook's Bailey Billmayer.

Overall, Coach Baker was very pleased with his girls' performance this weekend. "Huge growth for the girls this week with their technique. A confidence was seen in the rookies that show their education of the sport is time well spent."

The Harlem Girls finished fourth overall as a team. "I was very impressed with the turn around and look forward to some tough competition in Choteau for our girls to sharpen the hunt even more."

Jamie Berreth

Coach Baker encourages the community to come and show their support to these young athletes, "nothing pumps up a wrestler more than an entourage of fans. It's life-changing, and it's worth the price of tickets. Come and see what we see."