Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Sports at a Glance

All stories by Jean Schurman

Corvallis and Hamilton prepare for Divisionals Victor tags Lincoln Boys Basketball briefs Girls Basketball briefs New coach at Darby Knights of Columbus results

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Wrestling fans in the valley had a real treat this past weekend. Friday night featured a very close match between Corvallis and Hamilton under the spotlight in Hamilton. Then, on Saturday, teams from Class B and C schools across Western Montana took to the mats in Darby for the Darby Invitational. With divisional tournaments looming this upcoming weekend, the event was a chance to fine tune moves and get in one last match. The Southwestern A Divisional will be held in Frenchtown on Saturday while the Western B/C Divisional will be in St. Ignatius.

With the rivalry going strong between Hamilton and Corvallis, Friday night’s match played to a knowledgeable and loud house. Fans from both schools were vocal in their urging and appreciation of the wrestlers.

Hamilton’s Brady Anderson was only on the matt 15 seconds but it was enough for a pin. This was good news for the Bronc faithful as Anderson, one of the top-ranked wrestlers in the state, suffered an injury on Thursday night at practice.

“It happened in practice,” said Anderson. “I may have a slight tear in the meniscus but we got it to pop back and I can walk on it. I iced it all night. It was sore but I could wrestle.”

In fact, Anderson showed no signs of the injury as he and his teammates continued wrestling after the match on Friday. Coach Chad Williams of Hamilton said that Anderson and the others are just a very focused and intense group of athletes who just don’t want to quit.

“Everyone of our guys came out tonight with relentless intensity,” he said. His team “comes out with an expectation to win. Everyone of our team did that tonight.”

After Anderson’s victory, the big guys, Wes Sherman of Hamilton and Jeffrey Markette of Corvallis, took to the mat. Although Sherman took the match with a pin at the 1:30 mark, Markette made some nice moves as well. Paul Donaldson of Hamilton and Dan Sanderson had a tough match. Donaldson appeared to have the match in hand when a twist by Sanderson gave him the advantage and the pin at the 4:32 mark.

The next to take the mat were the 98-pound scrappers, Michael Ledford of Hamilton and Marcus Malone of Corvallis. Where the heavyweight wrestlers use their strength to gain an advantage, these lightweights also have the added advantage of speed. Ledford took the match on a 115 decision and Hamilton had the lead in the overall match. Nick Crop of Hamilton won by pin at 105. Corvallis’ Devan Williams pinned Zack Wilson to put points on the board for the Blue Devils.

Corvallis has a large team and had a wrestler at every slot where Hamilton doesn’t fill each division. Corvallis had wins at the 112, 130, 135 and 140 divisions by forfeit. Corvallis has 18 freshmen out for wrestling this year and of those, 10 or 12 of them have considerable experience, said long-time coach Jeff Nagel. Travis Davis, Riley Nagel and Kenny Thomas are all ranked in the state and will give Corvallis some points at the lower weights at Frenchtown this week.

The match of the night was at 145 pounds between Leif Holm of Hamilton and Nathan DuBose of Corvallis. This was the fourth time these two have battled. The two know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and used every bit of that knowledge in the match. Holm had a one-point advantage at the end of the first period but DuBose battled back in the second period to tie at 4-all. Both were fighting exhaustion but DuBose seemed to be struggling more and was somewhat shaken up at one point in the third period. He rallied back and after being awarded a penalty point, went on to take the 12-7 decision. Both have two wins against each other.

“It was a fun one,” said Nagel of the match. “Both those kids are quality wrestlers. They could both place at state.”

Corvallis went on to take the match, winning 45-36.

Hamilton’s coach Williams is feeling pretty confident going into divisionals although he would like a few more wrestlers. “But we’ve got the potential to put a lot of guys into the finals. The kids are healthy and strong and hungry right now.”

As for Anderson, “I feel great. I just have to rest up the knee, rest up the body.”

Arlee took the team championship in Darby on Saturday. Darby finished third, followed by Corvallis at fourth and Florence in fifth place.

Corvallis 45, Hamilton 36

98 – Michael Ledford, H, def Marcus Malone 11-5; 105 – Nick Cropp, H, pin Tim Allsop 1:41; 119 – Devan Williams, C, pin Zack Wilson 3:42; 135 – Troy Haacke, H, def. Kyle Thomas, 4-0; 145 – Nathan DuBose, C, def Leif Holm, 12-7; 152 – Bret Goodsell, C, pin Dillon Wood, 2:26; 160 – Troy Capp, H, pin Mark Connolly, :36; 171 – Alex Masters, H, pin Ethan Schwehr, 5:53; 189 – Brady Anderson, pin Nick Ridges :13; 215 – Dan Sanderson, C, pin Paul Donaldson 4:32; Hwt – Wes Sherman, H, pin Jeff Markette 1:30.

Darby Invitational

Team scores: Arlee 144; St. Ignatius-Charlo 125.5; Drummond 114; Darby 105.5; Corvallis 93; Florence 90.5; Thompson Falls 90.5; Eureka 74.5; Plains/Hot Springs 54.5; Noxon 37; Corvallis JV 23; Summit 10.

Championship

98 – Marcus Malone, Cor, dec Jake Adler, Dru 6-3. 105 – Tanner Lund, Flo, pin Dakota Kinsor, TF, 3:05. 112 – Kenneth Beech, PHS, pin Scotty Gilleard, SIC. 119 – Jake Trujillo, Arl, dec Logan Lefler, Arl, 4-1. 125 – Cody Lund, Flo, maj dec Steven Jessop, Cor 12-3. 130 – Cole Rice, Arl, maj dec Dalton Roundy, Dar, 8-0. 135 – Jordan Lefler, Arl, dec Michael Beebe, SIC, 10-8. 140 – James Peterson, SIC, pin Shawn Sacchi, TF 1:14. 145 – Taylor Vaughn, Eur, def Nathan DuBose, Cor, default. 152 – Justin Richardson, Dar, pin Taylor Brown, Eur, 6:31. 160 – Adam Moore, Nox, maj dec Kyle Maki, Dar, 15-3. 171 – Chris Stobie, PHS, def John Garrison, TF, 6-4. 189 – Craig Ashworth, Flo, dec Matt Faroni, SIC, 2-0. 215 – Cyle Cook, Eur, pin Curt Seidel, Arl, 1:25. HWT – Jason Brown, Dru, pin Ben Eggars, SIC :45

Consolation

98 – Tim Allsop CJV, dec Russell Shultz, SIC, 3-0. 112 – Kody Davidson, Flo, def Austin Kinser, 9-1. 119 – James DuBose, CJV, pin Colton Kiewatt, Dru 1:16. 125 – Cody Davis, Dru pin Randy Kirkendahl Eur 2:53. 130 – Erick Bergerson, Dru default Riley Nagel, Cor. 135 – Austin Martel, Dru, def Quincey Jessop, Cor, dec 11-7. 140 – Christian Hammersmit, Dar, dec Tucker Lytle, Arl, 4-3. 145 – Josh Goodrich, Dru, pin Dakota Matt, SIC 1:32. 152 – Collin Gillard, Eur, def. Luc Comunetti, TF, 1:24. 160 – Trevor Rice, Arl, dec Kyle Lawson, Sum, 4-3. 171 – Travis Dumont, SIC won by default over Brady Potts, ARl. 189 – Chris Trimino, TF, dec Matt Convers, Dar, 2-1. Hwt – Cody Martens, Nox, dec Travis Dupuis, Arl, 3-0.

The Lady Pirates of Victor came out playing tough ball in the first half against Lincoln and held on to a 51-35 conference win. Playing without their only senior, Emalee Smith, the young Lady Pirates pulled together for the win.

“They didn’t know at first really what to do,” said coach Michelle Widder. “It was good for our freshmen to play as much as they did.”

Victor took a nine point lead into the locker room and then came back to handle the pressure the Lynx put on the ball handlers. The Lincoln team kept chipping away at the Pirate lead using a pressure defense. With two people guarding Liz Taylor, Widder spread the offense for Victor and pulled the pressure off of Taylor who finished with 26 points. Rachel Borowick stepped up for the Lady Pirates as well, causing a couple of turnovers and grabbing a rebound to keep the momentum going for Victor.

“She’s a tough little kid,” said Widder of Borowick.

Victor 51, Lincoln 35

Lincoln – Anna Nicolai 4, Annah Gardner 17, Emilee Siloti 9, Michelle Korman 2, Loni Brady 1, Cassi Arombarri 2,

Victor – Teal Patton 10, Regan Tracey 4, Rachel Borowick 2, Savannah Mitcham 6, Kaylene Munson 3, Liz Taylor 26.

The Victor boys then played Lincoln. Earlier in the season, Lincoln dealt Victor its first loss of the regular season and the Pirates were looking for revenge. Playing a tough, physical game, Victor controlled the tempo for much of the game and came away with a 45-36 victory.

“We had a game plan,” said coach Jay Jagelski of his Victor team. “And at times we did play according to the plan.”

But the Lynx were not always cooperative. They were within four points at the end of the third quarter and were using strength and quickness to push the Pirates into making mistakes.

“We stayed with them,” said Jagelski. “We got them to take some rush shots on their end, but we just didn’t always get the defensive rebound that was needed.”

Clay Sacks led the way with 16 points and controlled the boards inside the paint. “Clay did a great job posting up there,” said Jagelski of the lanky senior.

Matt McClintick came in off the bench for several key rebounds and finished with five points. Sacks had 16 points for the night.

“We were able to get the run we needed,” said Jagelski of his team’s final run, which began with a steal by Dustin Harris. “As much as we struggled at times, it was a good team win.”

Victor 45, Lincoln 36

Lincoln – Brant Lumpkin 8, Zane Tams 15, Jesse Erickson 4, lee Fleming 5, Siawasch Ebrahim 2, Lane Fleming 2.

Victor – Gatlin Lamb 8, Saxton Coorough 4, Dustin Harris 2, Alex Bishop 7, Dough Salazari 3, Clay Sacks 16, Matt McClintick 5.

Victor defeated Alberton, 39-30, on Saturday. Coorough finished with 16 points. Dalton Buker came off the bench to score six points at the end to give the Pirates the edge.

The Lady Pirates lost to Alberton, 61-36.

Stevensville only had one game this week, a non-conference game against Polson. Led by Ethan Pateman’s 17 points, the Yellowjackets led throughout the game. Boone Chambers and Tyler Gavlak each added 13 points in the win.

Corvallis defeated Frenchtown, 67-43, in Southwest A action. Freshman Riley Bradshaw led the Blue Devils with 21 points. Rodee Anderson added 18. Saturday, Corvallis stormed over Anaconda, 84-55. Bradshaw finished with 25 points and Anderson again had 18 points. Dalton Sybrant added 19 in the win.

Florence defeated Seeley-Swan, 43-33,on Thursday. The young Falcon team jumped out to an early lead and held on for the conference win. Reid Baerlocher dropped in 18 points and Alex Mitchell added 11 points. Saturday, the Falcons defeated Thompson Falls, 70-60. Brandon Lorensen had 16 points and Chris Benson added 15 points. Baerlocher and Mitchell each had 11 points.

Hamilton defeated Seeley-Swan, 63-51, in non-conference action on Saturday. Jake Jessop had 18 points and Mac Walters added 13 in the win.

Darby fell to Loyola, 76-32. Tyler Bergren had 13 points in the loss. The Tigers lost to Deer Lodge on Saturday, 64-36. John Pyles had 10 points for Darby.

Stevensville defeated Polson in a close match on Thursday, 59-55. Led by Blaire Brookshire’s 17 points, the Lady ‘Jackets came from behind in the third quarter to take the lead and hold on for the win. Brekka Johnson had a breakout game with 13 points and Maddie Jones finished with 13 as well.

Corvallis lost to Frenchtown, 49-37. Megan Auch had 16 points and Coral Higuera added eight. Saturday, the Blue Devils lost to Anaconda, 70-39. Auch finished with 12 points.

Hamilton defeated Seeley-Swan, 45-27, in non-conference action. Ashley Albert had 14 points and Ali Mildenberger added 10. Averyl LaSalle made her return from a soccer injury and scored four points.

Florence split over the weekend, losing to Seeley-Swan, 41-32, on Thursday and then defeating Thompson Falls on Saturday, 57-44. The Lady Falcons got off to a slow beginning and just couldn’t catch up against the Blackhawks. Brittany Heinz and Odessa Conley each had nine points in that game. Saturday was a different story. The Lady Falcons came out on fire and scored 19 points in the first quarter. They kept up the pressure and came away with the win. Conley had 20 points for Florence.

Darby lost to Loyola, 67-26. Mariah Cress had seven points. Saturday, the Lady Tigers lost to Deer Lodge, 52-35. Taylor Ruark had nine points for Darby.

Superintendent Tim Bronk confirmed that Darby boys’ basketball coach Clyde Truax had been placed on administrative leave last week. Dan Peters, the current athletic director at Darby, is filling the position at this time. No further details were given.

The Knights of Columbus held their free throw championship on January 25, for Ravalli County. Here are the winners of that event.

Girls

Age 10 – Raine Faulk, Hamilton; age 11 – Keeley Ehmann, Darby; age 12 – McKayl Rothie, Hamilton.

Boys

Age 10 – Kylan Burch, Hamilton; age 12 – Bill Anderson, Corvallis; age 13 – Landen Faulk, Hamilton; age 14 – Kyle Ball, Victor.