Two at the top: Cheff earns 2nd straight state title, McArthur is 171-pound champion
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BUTTE - Ronan's wrestlers had a day to remember Saturday as a pair of Chiefs earned championship titles at the state wrestling tournament. Polson came away from the tournament disappointed after sending 17 wrestlers to event to see only one even make the finals.
Ronan sent eight wrestlers to the event and came away with a 10th-place team finish as four of those wrestlers placed in their weight classes.
The highlight of the tournament for the Chiefs was a second straight state title for Toby Cheff in the 189-pound division as Cheff pinned Belgrade's Levi Cade in 3:19. The matchup was back and forth through the opening two minutes as Cade opened strong against the defending state champ, but Cheff was able to put things away in the second period.
According to Cheff, he may have picked up the win but he had hoped to get the pin more quickly.
"It's awesome to be a back-to-back champ. It's what I was expecting to do," he said after winning the championship. "I really wanted to get the quick pin two years in a row, but I guess you can't get everything you want."
For Toby, winning state titles is a matter of family pride and rivalry as the Cheff's have won numerous state titles over the years.
"I did what I wanted. I am a two-time state champion, just like my dad," Cheff said. "The difference is that he took sixth as a freshman and I took third. I will always have that on him."
Cheff's win was icing on the cake for the Chiefs as senior Cole McArthur picked up a state title in the 171-pound division earlier in the tournament.
This was the first trip to the state meet for McArthur, who was at a loss for words following his victory.
"There are no words to describe this feeling. It just felt amazing to get that win. It's completely indescribable," he said. "It was great to get a title in my first trip here. It felt amazing to finally get a state championship. Just trying to get that done, it has been a long ride."
McArthur jumped ahead early in the title match but Havre's Casey Schaub battled his way back to make it close. McArthur was able to hold Schaub off for the win.
"He kind of scared me there at the end," McArthur said. "He almost had the takedown but I wanted to win so bad. I found a way to out and was able to scramble through."
The wins by Cheff and McArthur helped propel the Chiefs to 10th place as a team as Andrew Tiegan earned sixth place in the 119-pound weight class and Colby Roberts was sixth in the 215-pound weight class.
The Polson Pirates earned seventh as a team at the meet but had only six of the 17 wrestlers they sent make the awards podium.
Only one Polson wrestler advanced to Saturday afternoon's finals as Craig Feistner finished second after an 8-2 loss to Glendive's Dillon Tennant.
Carlos Quinones finished third in the 98-pound weight class for the Pirates and Josiah Clairmont earned third in the heavyweight division. Mike Devlin finished fourth in the 152-pound weight class, Dylan Moll finished fifth at 105 pounds and Lucas Polk was sixth at 98 pounds.
Summary
State A wrestling
Saturday at Butte
Team scores: Laurel 198, Havre 186, Belgrade 179.5, Glendive/Terry 152, Corvallis 151, Frenchtown/Alberton 139, Polson 120, Miles City 115, Sidney 105.5, Ronan 92.5, Dillon 84, Lewistown 84, Hardin 66.5, Libby/Troy 57, Columbia Falls 54, Billings Central 36, Hamilton 33, Anaconda 30, Livingston 23, Whitefish 6, Butte Central 3, Browning 1.
Championship
98 - Karson Kukes, Laurel, dec. Bryant Dorn, Hardin, 6-2; 105 - Dillon Tennant, Glendive, pinned Glenn Hensley, Frenchtown, 4:59; 112 - Tyler Kinn, Glendive, dec. Craig Feistner, Polson, 8-2; 119 - Duell Stadel, Havre, dec. Bryce Weatherston, Belgrade, 6-3; 125 - Kolter Kukes, Laurel, major dec. Justin Whitman, Columbia Falls, 8-0; 130 - Zac Westre, Frenchtown, dec. Shawn Tezak, Dillon, 5-4; 135 - Travis Davis, Corvallis, dec. Brennan Gorder, Sidney, 4-2; 140 - Kyle Leir, Libby, dec. Tommy Cooper, Laurel, 6-4; 145 - Eli Hinebauch, Havre, major dec. Riley Nagel, Corvallis, 8-0; 152 - Brad Nordal, Frenchtown, dec. Shane Cooley, Miles City, 10-8; 160 - Connor Malone, Lewistown, dec. Dylan Kramer, 4-3; 171 - Cole McArthur, Ronan, dec. Casey Schaub, Havre, 10-6; 189 - Toby Cheff, Ronan, pinned Levi Cade, Belgrade, 3:19; 215 - Jess Padden, Laurel, dec. Trevor Conrad, Glendive, 4-2; Hwt - Chris Kurkowski, Miles City, dec. Allen Neulib, Sidney, 7-2.
Third place
98 - Carlos Quinones, Polson, pinned Zach Wall, Billings Central, :55; 105 - Glenn Hensley, Frenchtown, dec. Lyle Degen, Belgrade, 12-10; 112 - Levi Gingerich, Corvallis, dec. Gilbert Bara, Havre, 3-2; 119 - Sal Baccaro, Columbia Falls, pinned Travis Kaufman, Glendive, 1:55; 125 - Jordan Stevens, Laurel, dec. Ethan Bristol, Belgrade, 2-1; 130 - Marty Etchemendy, Miles City, major dec. Zackary Smith, Havre, 12-1; 135 - Brandon Gifford, Hardin, dec. Robert Nalewaja, Miles City, 6-4; 140 - Jayme Kelly, Sidney, pinned Cole Bilbrey, Glendive, :50; 145 - Rex Martin, Lewistown, major dec. Dilan Starkel, Dillon, 12-4; 152 - Kameron Pribyl, Havre, dec. Mike Devlin, Polson, 1-0; 160 - Dylan Berget, Libby, dec. Jordan Malarchick, Belgrade, 5-1; 171 - Matt Merenz, Dillon, dec. Ryan Gosselin, Laurel, 7-5, OT; 189 - Skyler Carroll, Livingston, dec. Jared Ruttkofsky, Havre, 7-3; 215 - Zeke Koslosky, Dillon, pinned Austin Reyher, Belgrade, 2:40; Hwt - Josiah Clairmont, Polson, pinned DeVante Wilson, Frenchtown, 2:32.
Fifth place
98 - Josh Venema, Corvallis, dec. Lucas Polk, Polson, 8-2; 105 - Dylan Moll, Polson, pinned Jake McCarthy, Anaconda, 2:34; 112 - Cody Lemons, Frenchtown, pinned Jon Verlanic, Laurel, 2:25; 119 - Tyler Orchard, Glendive, dec. Andrew Teigen, Ronan, 12-7; 125 - James DuBose, Corvallis, pinned Tucker White, Billings Central, 2:48; 130 - John Chamberlin, Lewistown, dec. Jeremy Quinterro, Belgrade, 2-1, OT; 135 - Dillon Seeley, Havre, dec. Keaton Sterling Belgrade, 7-4; 140 - Jim Malone, Lewistown, dec. Ethan Sterling, Belgrade, 8-4; 145 - David Preller, Miles City, won by injury forfeit over Bryce Akers, Belgrade; 152 - Colton Devers, Belgrade, pinned Auston Hergenrider, Laurel, 4:32; 160 - David Anderson, Frenchtown, dec. Kyle Thomas, Corvallis, 5-0; 171 - Layne Johnson, Miles City, dec. Troy Capp, Hamilton, 1-0; 189 - Forest Fortney, Hamilton, pinned Randy Green, Sidney, 4:07; 215 - Austin Boucher, Laurel, pinned Colby Roberts, Ronan, 3:29; Hwt - Cody Stone-Murphy, Laurel, pinned Tyler Adams, Havre, 1:33.
Semifinals
98 - Karson Kukes, Laurel, major dec. Josh Venema, Corvallis, 12-0; Bryant Dorn, Hardin, technical fall Zach Wall, Billings Central, 15-0. 105 - Dillon Tennant, Glendive, dec. Glenn Hensley, Frenchtown, 9-6; Tyler Forcella, Glendive, dec. Lyle Degen, Belgrade, 7-0. 112 - Tyler Kinn, Glendive, dec. Levi Gingerich, Corvallis, 8-1; Craig Feistner, Polson, dec. Gilbert Bara, Havre, 10-5. 119 - Bryce Weatherston, Belgrade, major dec. Tyler Orchard, Glendive, 9-0; Duell Stadel, Havre, major dec. Sal Baccaro, Columbia Falls, 11-3. 125 - Kolter Kukes, Laurel, dec. Tucker White, Billings Central, 8-3; Justin Whitman, Columbia Falls, dec. James DuBose, Corvallis, 6-2. 130 - Zach Westre, Frenchtown, dec. John Chamberlin, Lewistown, 3-0; Shawn Tezak, Dillon, dec. Jeremy Quinterro, Belgrade, 7-4. 135 - Travis Davis, Corvallis, pinned Robert Nalewaja, Miles City, 3:05; Brennan Gorder, Sidney, pinned Dillon Seely, Havre, 5:03. 140 - Kyle Leir, Libby, dec. Jayme Kelly, Sidney, 4-2; Tommy Cooper, Laurel, dec. Jim Malone, Lewistown, 7-2. 145 - Riley Nagel, Corvallis, dec. Rex Martin, Lewistown, 9-8; Eli Hinebauch, Havre, pinned Dilan Starkel, Dillon, 2:38. 152 - Bret Nordahl, Frenchtown, pinned Mike Devlin, Polson, 1:51; Shane Cooley, Miles City, dec. Kameron Pribyl, Havre, 2-1. 160 - Connor Malone, Lewistown, major dec. Kyle Thomas, Corvallis, 11-1; Dylan Kramer, Laurel, pinned Dylan Berget, Libby, 5:59. 171 - Casey Schaub, Havre, dec. Matt Merenz, Dillon, 11-5; Cole McArthur, Ronan, pinned Ryan Gosselin, Laurel, 2:36. 189 - Levi Cade, Belgrade, major dec. Forest Fortney, Hamilton, 10-2; Toby Cheff, Ronan, dec. Skyler Carroll, Livingston, 12-6. 215 - Jess Padden Laurel, dec. Austin Boucher, Laurel, 4-0; Trevor Conrad. Glendive, dec. Colby Roberts, Ronan, 6-3. Hwt - Chris Kuekowski, Miles City, major dec. DeVante Wilson, Frenchtown, 9-1; Allen Neulib, Sidney, dec. Josiah Clairmont, Polson, 3-2.
