Ronan gains experience at Holiday Classic
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GREAT FALLS – The Ronan Chiefs had a good week after a solid performance at Cascade before taking on some of the state’s finest at the CMR Holiday Classic in Great Falls over the weekend. At Great Falls, Ronan finished 25th out of 43 teams with a final score of 49.5.
Chase Rhine went 0-2, but also competed in Saturday’s junior varsity tournament, where he went 4-1 to secure a second-place finish.
“He was able to pick up five more matches, which is good time on the mat,” head coach Dustyn Azure said.
Ronan’s only varsity placer was 130-pound competitor Andrew Teigan, who placed fifth for the second year in a row at the meet, finishing 5-2.
“He wrestled well,” Azure noted. “It’s a tough tournament to place at.”
Shelby Grant went 4-2 on the weekend, finishing just one round away from placing, while Dustin Goldsby also finished one round from placing with a 4-2 record. Colby Roberts finished 2-2 on the weekend, while Quentin Denton won 3 of 2.
“I’m very pleased with how we performed this weekend,” Azure said. “We only entered six of our varsity guys because we had a few sit out for injuries.”
On Friday, 130-pound grappler Andrew Teigan pinned Sonny Meyer of Billings Senior in 1:31. Shelby Grant won by technical fall against Missoula Big Sky’s Chase Linton, 19-2.
Dustin Goldsby (160) defeated Matt Dillon of Billings Skyview in a 6-5 decision. In the 170-pound category, Quentin Denton lost to Tyler Weaver of Great Falls in a 6-3 decision. Colby Roberts (189) won his first match of the weekend, pinning Robbie Henville of Glasgow in 2:35.
In the championship second round, 119-pound Chase Rhine lost to Gabe Schroeck of Helena by technical fall, while Teigan won his second match of the day by pinning Braden Fitzgearld of Park High School in 1:08.
Grant lost his second match when he was pinned by Eli Hinebauch of Havre in 3:40.
Goldsby (160) also fell in his second match after he was pinned by Cole Gebhardt of Bozeman in 5:01.
Roberts continued to fare well, pinning Mike Wigert of Anaconda in 54 seconds.
With two wins under his belt, Teigan lost in a 21-16 decision to Markus Kolp, while Roberts fell in the 189-pound category to Casey Schaub of Havre via pin in 2:47.
On Saturday, Teigan faced off with Quinn Trindle of Fort Benton High in the fifth-place match, where Teigan pinned Trindle in 2:42.
“I’m really pleased with how my guys are wrestling until the end of the match, regardless if they won or lost,” Azure said. “We’ve been stressing that a lot to them.”
Earlier in the week on Thursday, Ronan traveled to Cascade, where Chase Rhine (119), Conner Benn (125), Nate Brooks (140), Grant (152), Ronnie Cullis (152), Goldsby (160), Denton (160), and Roberts (189) all pinned their opponents, giving the Chiefs the win.
Tre Garcia won his match by technical fall in the 98-pound class.
This week Azure says he will work on his team’s conditioning to prevent his boys from giving up angles, which lets their opponents score.
“It’s easy stuff to fix,” Azure said. “All the tournaments are like practice for preparing when State comes around.”
The Chiefs’ next match will be at home, when Ronan hosts the Quad Meet on Dec. 22 at 1 p.m.
