P-HS wrestlers first in Ronan

When it comes to wrestling ,Plains/Hot Springs athletes know their moves and their results last weekend showcased just that. They were second coming into the Ronan Invitational for class B schools but took home first place. They got fifth overall against 18 teams, including many class A schools. Coach Jesse Jermym said that the kids wrestled well.

Jermyn said that Gavin Schrenk and Brady Schrenk did a good job, both winning their first two rounds. Gavin Schrenk weighing in at 113 pounds took fifth place and Brady Schrenk placed sixth in the 160-pound weight class. Senior Jacob Schultze placed third in the 126-pound class. “He did very good with only one loss and is really stepping up,” said Jermyn.

John Waterbury placed fourth in the 132-pound weight class, Mason Elliott placed fifth in the 145-pound weight class and Brenden Vanderwall placed fifth in the 170-pound class. Jermyn said that Vanderwall’s match was exciting to watch because he lost in the first round, then came back to win the next three matches, lost the fifth match, then won the sixth match.

Lillian MacDonald placed third in the 138-pound weight group. She lost in the quarterfinal to Yasmine Tatsey-McKay from Browning and then came back to pin her in her final third-place match.

The JV boys wrestled tough as well. John Thurston, weighing in at 113, placed second, Drew Carey placed first in the 132-pound weight class, Beau Crabb placed third in the 132-pound class, David Chapman placed second in the 170-pound weight class and Levi Blood placed second in the 182-pound class.

In the Duel part of the Tournament last weekend, Plains only lost to Libby, placing ninth overall. Duels are wrestled between two teams. Individual wrestlers gain points for winning their matches and the teams with the most points wins the duel. Jermyn said that it’s common to bump wrestlers up and down in weight to take advantage of the other team's weakness or to mask their own. In the team scores Plains beat Hamilton 48-28, Browning 28-24, and Glacier 49-18. “At times we had four matches going on at the same time and needed four coaches. Thankfully we have Coach Michael Chenowith, from Washington, helping us out,” said Jermyn, adding that he is a wealth of knowledge.

The Plains/Hot Springs wrestlers will be traveling this week to the Fairfield mixer on Thursday and to compete in the Choteau Classic this Friday and Saturday.