Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Sports at a Glance

All stories by Jean Schurman

Grapplers gear up for touraments

Shrine All-Star players selected

Girls basketball roundup

Boys basketball roundup

With the divisional tournaments looming just two weeks away, the valley's wrestling teams are honing their skills. The ultimate goal is the All-class State Tournament in Billings in three weeks.

Corvallis took on the No. 4 ranked team in the state, the Frenchtown Broncs, Thursday night. Although Corvallis wrestling always draws a good crowd, it was the annual Rock the Gym night and the gym was packed. With raffle drawings every few minutes and a couple of good teams on the matts, it was a great night for wrestling. Coach Jeff Nagel said without sponsors such as Subway, Super 1, Aura's and la Mas Fina Restaurant, the event wouldn't take place. Proceeds from the raffle fund some of the wrestling expenses.

Although Corvallis took an early lead, the Broncs came back to take the dual, 43-36. Frenchtown won all of the lightweight divisions. Nagel was hoping to take the 125 match and the 152 match which he said were toss ups.

"We went 50/50 there," said Nagel. "I was hoping that we would stay off our backs and not get some pins against us. Our kids wrestled hard but we didn't match up really well."

Freshman Duston Stephens, who wrestled at 125 pounds, had the match well in hand over Keith Carmen but a mis-step by Stephens resulted in a pin. At the 152 match, Taylor Nagel won a 7-1 decision over Cody Way. Taylor Nagel finished third last year at 135 pounds at the State Meet.

Coach Nagel says his team is a decently balanced team. Thursday night they were wrestling without their varsity 119 pound wrestler, Tyler Allen, and their heavyweight wrestler. With those two wrestlers back on the roster, the Blue Devils will definitely compete at the divisional tournament which will be held at Anaconda in two weeks.

Corvallis finished in third place at the State A Duals in Belgrade over the weekend. The Blue Devils defeated Belgrade in the third fourth place dual, 55-21. After going undefeated on Friday, the Blue Devils lost to Libby. Havre took the championship with 48 points and Libby finished in second place with 42 points. Hamilton finished seventh in the two day event.

Corvallis will travel to Hamilton for their final match of the regular season on Friday night.

Frenchtown 43, Corvallis 36

98-Tyler Stedman, Ftn, pinned Anthony Stelken 1:21; 105-Chad Hansen, Ftn, dec. Steve Jessop, 11-2; 112 - Josh Stedman, Ftn, pinned Danny Powers 2:50; 119 - Ryan Weyer, Ftn, pinned Wyatt Sorrell, 1:26; 125 - Keith Carmen Ftn. Pinned Dustin Stephens 3:30; 135 - Beau Nordahl, Ftn. Dec. Nathan DuBose 9-2; 145 - Jaris Bierer, C, dec Derec Nelson 8-2; 152 - Taylor Nagel, C, dec, Cody Way, 7-1; 215 - Nick Weller, Ftn. Pinned Dennis Jessop, 3:12; Hwy - Keith Brent, Ftn, pinned Jeff Markette, 3:15

Corvallis won 130, 140, 160, 171, and 189 by forfeit.

Darby was the place to be for Class B/C wrestlers on Friday and Saturday for the annual Darby Invitational Tournament. And, it will be the place to be again this weekend when the western B and C teams converge for the B/C duals.

The Darby Invitational featured 11 teams from Salmon, Idaho to St. Ignatius and Charlo as well as junior varsity teams from Sentinel, Hellgate, Big Sky and Corvallis.

Florence had a good showing, finishing third behind St. Ignatius/Charlo. Four Falcons took the championships in their division. Corbin Newbary won a 5-1 decision over Cliff Evans of Sentinel at 98 pounds. Brennan Lund pinned Aaron Callaghan at 130. Sam Fernandez won a close 17-12 decision over Darby's Michael Richie at 160. Logan Person pinned Dan Orr of Big Sky for the 189 championship.

Darby Invitational Results

Team scores - St. Ignatius/Charlo 173, Salmon, Idaho 131 Ŋ; Florence 129 Ŋ; Big Sky JV 105; Darby 91; Hellgate 91; Corvallis JV 77; Plains/Hot Springs 66, Sentinel JV 58; Loyola 27; Noxon 23

Championship
98 - Corbin Newbary, F, dec Cliff Evans, S, 5-1; 125 - Tyson Olson, Sal, pinned Michael Majors, Dar. 3:49; 130 - Brennan Lund, Flo, pinned Aaron Callaghan, BS :57; 140 - Craig Wheeler, Si pinned Andy Jessop, Cor, 3:04; 160 - Sam Fernandez, Flo, dec Michael Richie, Dar 17-12; 171 – Cory Jellit5ich, BS, pinned Craig Ashworht, Flo, :29; 189 - Logan Person, Flo, pinned Dan Orr, BS 1:24.

Consolation
98 - David Marne, S, pinned Jamie Doss, Cor. 1:22; 135 - Ethan Burt, Cor, maj. Dec Keith Harribien, Dar, 11-2; 140 - Jedd Brown, Dar, pinned Zach Hill, Sal, :34; 146 - Ryan Hoffman, Loy, pinned Justin Richardson, Dar, 1:33; 152 - Brett Goodsell, Cor, dec Zach Lowrey, BS 704; 160 - Jase Miller, P, pinned Evan Scott; Flo 4:31; Hwt. - David Lugibihl, S, pinned Dan Sanderson, Cor 2;36.

Bridger Chambers, a 6'5", 210 pound senior from Stevensville has been selected to play in the 61st annual Shrine game this summer in Great Falls. Chambers was selected as quarterback and for his kicking and punting. Joining Chambers on the first team selection is Logan Person of Florence. Person, a 6'1", 250-pound linebacker helped to power Florence to the playoffs. Scott Thomas of Stevensville was selected as an alternate at the corner/safety position.

The Victor Lady Pirates made a clean sweep this last week, notching three wins, including knocking off undefeated Drummond on Tuesday, Jan. 16. Led by a strong senior core of Katie Jolley, Kat Coorough, and Shandel Weeks, the Lady Pirates then went on to top Philipsburg and 8B Plains.

Jolley led the way for the Lady Pirates against Philipsburg with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the 43-27 win. Coorough added 11 points as well.

Jolley had 11 points again Saturday night against Plains. The Lady Pirates held off a late surge by Plains to take the 32-29 win. Coorough added 10 for Victor.

Florence split their games, defeating Deer Lodge in Deer Lodge in double overtime on Friday night, 58-54. The two teams battled back and forth for 40 minutes before a winner emerged. Florence held Deer Lodge scoreless in the final overtime period while dropping in four points themselves. Brooke Zeiler led all scorers with 21 points, including the trey at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime.

Saturday, the Lady Falcons fell to Loyola, 64-34. Zeiler notched 18 points.

Hamilton defeated Frenchtown in a battle of the Lady Broncs on Friday. Led by sophomore Ashley Albertšs 21 points, the Lady Broncs of Hamilton topped Frenchtown, 46-31.

Corvallis trounced Valley Christian on Friday, 65-39. Sunni Bleibtrey and Kristin Bull combined for 34 points in the non-conference win.

Hamilton 46, Frenchtown 31

Frenchtown - Lebsock 7, Hendrick 7, Gies 9, Brown 6, Russ 2.
Hamilton - Misha Trotter 3, Cierra Smith 8, Ashley Albert 21, Jessica Huseby 9, Dayna Moerkerke 1, Annie Schultz 2, Jess Hill 2.

Loyola 64, Florence 34

Florence - Jordan Rick 5, Rae Baerlocher 5, Brooke Zeiler 18, Cortney Reynolds 2, Amber Wahl 4.
Loyola - Grimstad 5, Janssen 8, Anderson 18, Herzog 11, Tschida 9, Ward 9, Hall 4,

Victor 32, Plains 29

Victor - Angel Deering 2, Kat Coorough 10, Katie McCormick 1, Shannon Reinhardt 4, Katie Jolley 11, Shandel Weeks 4.
Plains - Stewart 10, Earhart 4, French 2, Vullies 13

Florence 58, Deer Lodge 54 2OT

Florence - Rae Baerlocher 7, Brooke Zeiler 21, Amber Wahl 15, Jordan Rick 9, Odessa Conley 6
Deer Lodge - Brott 5, Christnacht 15, Owens 3, Beck 11, Burnes 20.

Corvallis 65, Valley Christian 39

Corvallis - Clarissa Boyer 5, Sunni Bleibtrey 14, Kristin Bull 20, Kayla Gingerich 6, Kayla Eschenbacher 4, Ashlee DellaSilva 6, Casey Burnett 2, Kim Gider 4, Whitney Henderson 2, Morgan Auch 2.
Valley Christian - Cross 2, Davenport 6, Hartzell 5, Truitt 4, Heckerman 10, Centifanto 5, Griffin 7.

Victor 43, Philipsburg 27

Philipsburg - Boomer 7, Graham 11, Dennis 8, Lepley 1
Victor - Angel Deering 1, Kat Coorough 11, Kristen Burrington 6, Shannon Reinhardt 4, Britany Mitcham 4, Katie Jolley 11, Shandel Weeks 6

It was an overall tough weekend for the valleyšs boys basketball teams. Only three teams came away with victories. Florence upended Deer Lodge, Victor topped and Philipsburg and Corvallis came away with a non-conference win over Valley Christian for their first win of the season.

The Florence Falcons jumped out to an early lead against the Powell County Wardens but the Wardens quickly came back to take the lead throughout much of the second quarter. But the never-say-die Falcons tied the game back up at the end of the half.

"The kids came ready to play tonight," said coach Sam Baerlocher of his Falcons. "We struggled a little with our shooting tonight but they made up with it with heart and defense."

The Falcons had a five point edge at the end of three but within a minute, the Wardens were tied right back up with Florence. It was almost a game of horse from there on out with the teams trading buckets back and forth. Joe Redfern hit a trey to pull the Falcons within a point and then Kiel Hansen hit both free throws to take the lead. Kris Person added one more charity shot and the game over with Florence winning, 52-50. Person finished with 17 points and Hansen added 11 points.

"To beat someone by four or five would be nice," said Baerlocher. "The kids are learning how to win. Kiel is a go getter, not afraid to go after that loose ball. He stands up to the challenge every night and so do all of the kids."

Florence took on Loyola on Saturday night. The Rams came out strong and never looked back, defeating Florence, 54-45.

Stevensville took on two teams from the next mountain ranger over, Butte Central and Anaconda. Butte Central, from the Central A Division had their hands full with the ŒJackets swarming at them most of the game. The Maroons pulled away in the third quarter and although Stevensville made an effort to close the game, they fell short by three points, losing, 57-54.

Saturday night, the Copperheads of Anaconda came to town. With only one conference loss, Anaconda quickly established the tempo of the game. The younger Stevi team took a while to get untracked but battled back from an 11 point deficit at the half to close the gap to only four points.

"The first 16 minutes, we just came out lackadaisical and wešre just not good enough to come out lackadaisical and come back on people. Wešve got to play for a full 32 minutes," said coach Keith Chambers of his Stevensville team. "Wešve got to be a little more diligent in being ready to play a full basketball game."

He went on to say his team works hard and want to do well, "hopefully wešll get through it before divisional tournament."

A 27-point fourth quarter proved to be the difference in the Corvallis/Valley Christian game. Led by Dalton Sybrant and Levi Clarke who combined for 17 of the 27 points, the Blue Devils notched their first win with a 67-62 victory. Sybrant had 19 points. Joining him with double figures were Clarke with 15 and Garrett Morris with 12.

Michael Wemple of Victor broke out of a scoring slump to power the Pirates to a 63-45 victory over 13C foe Philipsburg. The Pirates held the Prospectors to only 13 first half points. Wemple finished with 25 points.

Saturday, the Pirates fell to Plains in non-conference action, 68-56. Wemple again took the lead for Victor with 17 points. Junior Eric Taylor finished with 11 points. Victor is now 8-6 overall.

Frenchtown 66, Hamilton 51

Hamilton - Jason Schallenberger 12, Ryan Turley 6, Evan Greene 5, Adam Moyer 10, Billy Barnes 10, Brandon Syme 6, Britt Farley 2
Frenchtown - Lebsock 22, Velasques 3, Block 2, Davis 2, Larson 5, Kirk 7, Mether 8, Nau 1, DeGroot 16

Butte Central 57, Stevensville 54

Butte Central - Boyle 13, Ritter 23, Neumann 12, McQueary 2, Bair 2, Kamrud 2, Markovich 3.
Stevensville - Boone Chambers 8, Drew Zeiler 6, Nick Dahlquist 16, Ethan Pateman 8, Ryan Grove 8, Bridger Chambers 8.

Seeley 80, Darby 34

Darby - John Pyles 9, Rider 9, Jake Lindquist 5, Dillon Oliver 9 RJ Hill 2
Seeley - Stone 18, Nelson 19, Mudrow 17, Hard 16, Parcell 4, Williams 6.

Florence 52, Deer Lodge 50

Deer Lodge - Thomas 3, Niederklein 8, King 13, Johnson 10, Miller 2, Despain 4, Artila 10
Florence - Kris Person 17, Jordan Dean 9, Kiel Hansen 11, Joe Redfern 5, Dustin Lind 3, Reid Baerlocher 7.

Victor 63, Philipsburg 45

Philipsburg - McDonald 18, Lind 1, Schiedamayer 6, Demers 4, Williams 6, McGuire 5, Jacobsen 5.
Victor - Josh Maydole 1, Gatlin Lamb 9, Saxton Coorough 1, Eric Bissett 1, Michael Wemple 25, Drew Lewis 7, Tyler Swanson 7, Eric Taylor 5, Mark Frye 7.

Anaconda 65, Stevensville 61

Anaconda - Nate Lopez 10, Triston Spehar 5, Lucas Wagner 10, Nick Hensley 11, Justin Paul 2, Steve Attonich 14, Tyler Hurley 13.
Stevensville - Drew Zeiler 2, Boone Chambers 2, Nick Dahlquist 10, Ryan Grove 15, Bridger Chambers 26, Ethan Pateman 6.

Corvallis 67, Valley Christian 62

Valley Christian - Morgan Parsons 5, Ryan Zaring 2, Neil Christiansen 15, Brock Roberts 3, Steve Kasun 13, Josh Kitchin 14, Skyler Orr 3, Gregg Fister 7.
Corvallis - Eric Spencer 11, Shea Gingerich 2, Garrett Morris 12, Dalton Sybrant 19, Levi Clarke 15, Geoff Fehr 8.

Deer Lodge 66, Darby 31

Darby - John Pyles 6, Kyle Rider 8, Jake Lindquist 6, Dillon Oliver 6, Andrew Bender 2, RJ Hill 1, Stephen Morgan 2.
Deer Lodge - Thomas 2, Artilla 2, Despain 4, Niederklein 13, Hendrickson 2, Hansen 2, Stefalo 3, King 23, Phillips 9

Plains 68, Victor 56

Victor - Josh Maydole 7, Gatline Lamb 3, Erick Bissett 4, Michael Wemple 17, Drew Lewis 6, Tyler Swanson 4, Eric Taylor 11, Mark Frye 4.
Plains - Holland 8, Dicken 9, Baker 8, M. Thompson 16, Columbo 13, McComas 1, Larson 1, T. Thompson 12.

Loyola 54, Florence 45

Florence - Kiel Hansen 4, Jordan Dean 7, Kris Person 15, Dustin Lind 2, Joe Redfern 9, Reid Baerlocher 6, Deric Stephens 2.
Loyola - Balcom 13, Schaff 6, Hollenback 15, Zins 11, Colyer 4, Robertson 5.