Although Christmas is only a couple of weeks away, the wrestlers of the valley already have their sights set on the first weekend in February and the All Class Championship Tournament in Billings. Hamilton held their tournament last weekend with teams from across Western Montana competing and sizing up opponents.

The Broncs claimed the championship at their own tournament, topping the field of 17 teams with six individual championships, all in the heavier divisions. Veteran senior Alex Martin took the 152 weight division with a pin over Eli Kindred of Sentinel. Trevor Capp won at 160, Colton Weigle at 171, Brock Anderson at 189, Brady Anderson at 215 and Wes Sherman in the heavyweight division were all winners.

Darby’s Dalton Roundy won the 125 division. Florence had a winner with Brennan Lund at 140 and Corvallis’ Andy Jessop won at 145.

Team scores: Hamilton 210.5; Salmon 190; Kalispell Flathead JV 169.5; Darby 114, Florence 111, Hellgate JV 104; Sentinel JV 97.5; Corvallis JV 81.5; Big Sky JV 68; Kalispell Glacier JV 56.5; Polson JV 55; Ronan JV 41, Drummond 39; Summit 20; Loyola 12; Frenchtown JV 11.

112 - 1. Talley, KF, maj. dec. Corbin Newbary, Flor, 14-1;

119 - 1. Phillips, Sal, pinned Chris Hammersmith, Dar, 2:55;

125 - 1. Dalton Roundy, Dar, dec. Calderon, KF, 15-13.

130 - 1. Weaver, Sal, pinned Cody Lund, Flor, 3:25; 3. Jacob Conklin, BS, dec. Kaleb Ledford, Ham, 15-5.

135 - 3. Micahel Majors, Dar, dec. Gravelle, KF

140 - 1. Brennan Lund, Flor, pinned Hill, Sal, 2:10; 3. Diest, KF, pinned Leif Holm, Ham. 2:21

145 - 1. Andy Jessop, Cor. maj. dec. Seeberer, Sent, 12-1; 3. Allen-Schmid, KF, pinned Troy Capp, Ham, 1:48.

152 - 1. Alex Martin, Ham, pinned Kindred, Sent, 1:43; 3. Nick Harra, Cor, dec. Lacey, Ron. 10-8.

160 - 1. Trevor Capp, Ham, pinned Ballard, Sum, 1:07.

171 - 1. Colton Weigle, Ham, by default over Beamon, KF; 3. Doty, Sent, pinned Kyle Maki, Dar, 3:48.

189 - 1. Brock Anderson, Ham, by default Craig Ashworth, Flor;

215 - 1. Brady Anderson, ham, pinned Paul Donaldson, Ham, 4:10;

HWT 1. Wes Sherman, Ham, pinned Cody Albright, Ham, 1:39.

Corvallis took part in the Mining City Duals in Butte. The event features Class AA and Class A teams from across the state and often is the only time some wrestlers will meet until the state tournament.

Corvallis opened strong on Friday. The Blue Devils defeated Billings West, 58-23 in the second round of the meet. Corvallis then matched up against Conrad in Round 5. The Blue Devils took the match, 42-36, over the Class B Cowboys. On Saturday, Corvallis lost to C.M. Russell, 55-27, but rallied back to top Bozeman, 41-33, and Colstrip, 66-18.

Off and running, Lady Falcons look tough

The Lady Falcons of Florence gave their normally reticent coach Bryan Neuman a pleasant surprise this weekend. The team notched two substantial wins over two very different teams. On Friday, Florence stormed over Superior, 67-11. Then, on Saturday, the Lady Falcons tackled Salmon, Idaho, and came away with a 79-35 victory.

“I was a little concerned about our conditioning (against Salmon),” said Neuman. This was Salmon’s eleventh game of the year.

Playing a run and gun style of basketball, the Lady Falcons held the Lady Savages to only 13 points in the first half while dropping down 39 points themselves. Florence has some balance and depth to their team this year and an added bonus of several scorers which takes the pressure off of one or two players.

“The style that we want to play, getting up and down the floor, it gets the kids involved,” said Neuman. That involvement was evident this weekend. Although he used the games to work kinks out of plays and get his team more comfortable in a game situation, Neuman also played his entire bench with most of the players getting on the scoreboard.

Kristina Kmetekova led the Lady Falcons with 13 points against Superior. She notched 17 against Salmon.

One of the factors Lady Falcon opponents will have to contend with is speed. “We’re pretty darn fast,” said Neuman. “We have some girls that have had some success in track and we might as well use that speed to our advantage.”

Speed, shooting and tenacity will come into play on Thursday when Loyola comes to town for what could be the match of the season, so far. Although Loyola lost several of their players from last year’s fourth place in the state team, they are still a team to contend with and Florence will have to be tough. If that were not enough, Deer Lodge comes to town on Saturday night. Both are conference games.

The Lady Falcons will hope to have another weekend like last weekend, one where Coach Neuman can say on Saturday night, “I was pleasantly surprised.”

Florence 67, Superior 11

Superior - Lucier 4, Cooper 1, Frederick 2, Plouffe 2, Rennick 1, Yarnell 1

Florence - Cassie Pederson 3, Rae Baerlocher 7, Lindsay Bauch 2, Katie Niemeir 7, Brooke Zeiler 3, Brittany Heinz 1, Jordan Rick 15, Odessa Conley 5, Taylor Sheppard 2, Jo Johnston 8, Megan Rick 1, Kristina Kmetekova 13.

Florence 79, Salmon 35

Salmon - Beyeler 4, Miller 7, Jones 4, Cochrell 4, Edwards 4, Bennett 3, Thomas 1, Infanger 4, Miller 4.

Florence - Baerlocher 9, Zeiler 8, Rick 8, Johnston 7, Kmetekova 17, Bauch 3, Niemeir 15, Connelly 6, Sheppard 6.

Victor’s Lady Pirates are in a rebuilding year with only three seniors on the team. They also have a ‘new’ coach in Michelle Widder. Widder has been the junior high coach for four years and has coached many of her players so there really hasn’t been a ‘get-to-know-you’ period. In addition, Widder, the former Michelle Kittel, is a graduate of Victor in 2000. Coach Widder will rely on seniors Britany Mitcham and Katie McCormick to lead the team but does have a crop of young players who are coming on strong.

Friday night, the Lady Pirates fell to Salmon, Idaho, 51-33. Freshman Elizabeth Taylor led the scoring with 13 for Victor.

Saturday, Victor took control early over Superior and came away with a 35-16 victory. It was the freshmen again with Taylor notching nine points and Katie Morozumi adding another nine.

Darby split their weekend, falling to Eureka, 61-34, in their opening game. Lindsey Trowbridge led the scoring with 10 points followed by Rachel Wetzsteon’s eight points.

Saturday, the Lady Tigers topped 8B foe, St. Ignatius, 36-33. Missy DeWalt caught fire with 23 points.

Class A Tip Off tournament held

The Tip Off Tournament in Whitefish saw the Southwest A matching up against teams from the Northwest A. Hamilton came away with two wins. The Lady Broncs topped Polson, 34-32. Hamilton edged out to a four-point lead at the half and then held off a Lady Pirate rally in the fourth quarter for the win. Cierra Smith had seven points to lead the way and Misha Trotter, Dayna Moerkerke and Annie Schultz each added six.

The Libby Loggers were the next to fall to Hamilton. After a 15-point second quarter, the Lady Broncs held off a surging Logger team to secure the win. Schultz had 17 points to lead the Lady Broncs.

Stevensville fell to Whitefish in their opening game, 69-44. The young ‘Jacket team didn’t let up even though the Bulldogs took an early lead. Senior Allison Jones led the scoring with 17 points and freshman Blaire Brookshire added eight.

The Lady Yellowjackets defeated Ronan, 51-33, in their second game of the season. Playing a tough swarming defense, the young team held Ronan to only five points in the first half. They then showed composure and held Ronan at bay to take the win. Brookshire had 15 points and Jones added 10. Izzy Miller had 8 in the scoring run as well.

Corvallis fell to Libby, 42-29. The Blue Devils came out cold in the third quarter and were unable to regain their momentum. Kirstin Bull had nine points to lead the Devils.

Columbia Falls topped Corvallis in the final game of the tournament, 62-41. The red hot WildKats came out strong and kept the Devils out of their game. Megan Auch had 16 points to lead all Blue Devil scoring.

Victor Pirates look strong

The Victor Pirates opened their season against an unknown opponent on Friday night. The Salmon, Idaho, Savages made the trip over the hill for the non conference game. Although it was Victor’s first game of the season, it was Salmon’s fifth game.

First year coach Jay Jagelski of Victor was impressed with his team’s attitude and gutsy play. The bigger Salmon team jumped out to an early lead but the Pirates stayed right with them and challenged almost every pass and shot.

"We never gave up," said Jagelski. "We kept them on their heels."

Tenacious defense by the Pirates kept Salmon from getting into an offensive rhythm but 6'6" Mark Hobbs was able to work inside the paint for the score and, on the defensive side, challenge the inside shot. He finished the night with 10 points.

Victor relied on their quick, athletic guards to create turnovers and score in transition. Eric Taylor and Eric Bissett kept pressure on the Savages for the turnovers. However, a few missed opportunities for the Pirates was the difference in the game.

“There were a couple of missed shots there,” said Jagelski. “If they had, we’d have been playing for the last shot. But we never gave up and we kept them on their heels.”

Jagelski said the running and pressure style of play seen over the weekend will be the norm for the Pirates this year. “We have quick athletic guards and so we are going to use them.”

Victor was paced by Eric Taylor’s 14 points. Mark Frye added 10.

Saturday night the Pirates played host to Superior. The Pirates came out on fire and never let up in the non conference game. They had 45 points on the board by half time and with their swarming defense, held the Bobcats to only 14 points in that half. With 10 players scoring, and led by senior Eric Taylor’s 17 points, the Pirates cruised to a 72-27 victory.

Salmon 48, Victor 36

Salmon - Blair 5, Dahle 11, Insanger 8, Nooner 6 , Hobbs 10, Stokes 4, Jones 2, Sessions 2.

Victor - Gatlin Lamb 7, Eric Bissett 2, Tyler Swanson 4, Eric Taylor 14, Mark Frye 10.

Victor 72, Superior 27

Superior - Sternberg 12, Repke 2, Labbe 3, Luke Ragan 2, Rennick 4, Walen 2, Yarnell 2.

Victor - Lamb 13, Bissett 4, Swanson 6, Taylor 17, Frye 10, Mai 9, Josh Hixon 7, Xavier Morigeau 2, Clay Sacks 2, Saxton Coorough 2.

In other boys basketball action, Florence defeated Superior, 48-33. Sophomore Reid Baerlocher dropped in 16 points and Brandon Lorensen added 11. Florence fell to Salmon on Saturday. Baerlocher and Lorensen each had 10 points in that game.

Darby is off to a good start with two games and two victories under their belts. Darby topped Townsend in overtime behind the double digit scoring of John Pyles (18), Dillon Oliver (18) and Kyle Rider (14). The Tigers turned around and defeated Townsend again on Saturday, 61-55. Pyles dropped in 25 points and Rider added 14 in the win.

The Tip Off Tourney was held in the Flathead over the weekend for the western Class A schools. Columbia Falls was the host for the boys which featured matchups between Southwestern A and Northwestern A schools. For many teams, this is their only chance to see some of these teams.

Hamilton topped Libby, 43-39, in a close game. One point separated the two teams after a half but balanced scoring in the second half allowed the Broncs to pull away. Jason Schallenberger led the scoring for the Broncs with 17 points.

Hamilton’s second game was against the Pirates of Polson. Although they scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, it was not enough as the Broncs fell to Polson, 50-44. Schallenberger again led in scoring, knocking down 14 points.

Stevensville is faced with playing without senior post Ryan Grove who injured his knee before the season. The loss of Grove has meant Coach Keith Chambers has had to do some adjusting. The adjustments weren’t quite done on Friday when the ‘Jackets fell to Ronan, 70-55. After a 20-point first quarter, Stevensville went cold while Ronan caught on fire. The Chiefs built a lead and gained steam in the fourth quarter for the win. Stevensville was paced by Logan Creech’s 18 points.

The Yellowjackets topped Whitefish on Saturday, 62-59. With only two points separating the two at half, Stevensville came out of a cold third quarter to overtake the Bulldogs for the win. Sophomore Drew Zeiler had 10 points while junior Ethan Pateman had 16 and senior Logan Creech added 14 points.

Columbia Falls defeated Corvallis, 63-51, in the Blue Devils’ first game of the tournament. Corvallis came out strong but couldn’t contain the Wild Cats. Branden Bowles led the scoring with nine points. Matt Smith, Dalton Sybrant and Garrett Morris each added eight points.

The Blue Devils fell to Libby, 68-46, on Saturday. Sybrant had nine points to pace Corvallis.

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