December 5, 2012

Wrestlers off to a very good start

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

Watford City’s varsity wrestling team kicked off its 2012-2013 season with a 12-team dual tournament in Sidney on Friday with the Wolves finishing in ninth place.
“Our team’s motto going into this year was finish stronger than we started,” stated Mitch Greenwood, Wolves’ head coach. “And that was definitely the case on Friday.”
The first round of the tournament pitted Watford City against Forsyth, Mont., the two-time defending Montana state champions and which had three state champions and three third-place finishers in their lineup.
“I was thrilled at how our team did not back down from the competition,” stated Greenwood.
The Wolves picked up 24 points through forfeits in the dual, but failed to register a single win in any actual contested matches.
Greenwood notes that he saw many positive points from his squad in what he felt was a great learning situation.
“Logan Gumke and Coleton Jore went six full minutes in close losses against a third place finisher and state champion, respectively,” stated Greenwood. “And Keegan Thompson and Kolton Hall also battled for six minutes against another pair of top-ranked Montana wrestlers. “To go out there against that caliber of competition and not get pinned shows that we’re on the right track.”
Individual results from the Sidney Tournament are as follows.
Forsyth 57, Watford City 24
98: Jake Rogness won by forfeit.
105: Jade Hepper won by forfeit.
112: Dakota Garmann won by forfeit.
119: Logan Gumke decisioned by Colt McDaniel, 11-5.
125: Coleton Jore decisioned by Matt Weber, 7-1.
130: Marty Kueffler pinned by Logan Harms, 0:28.
135: Clay Jorgenson pinned by Luke Weber, 1:16.
145: Kyle Cook pinned by Taylor French, 2:31.
152: Austin Garmann pinned by Chris Nile, 1:49.
160: Keegan Thompson lost by technical fall to Brandon Weber, 16-0.
171: Dakota Neether pinned by Frank Marcy, 0:44.
189: Kolton Hall lost by major decision to Cody Lawson, 12-0.
215: Logan Fettig pinned by Steven Gabel, 1:57.
285: Kye Bolken won by forfeit.
“The next pair of duals were much more competitive for us as we took on a conglomerate of schools from Montana and North Dakota who did not have the numbers to even come close to filling dual lineups,” stated Greenwood. “So they combined together for this tournament.”
The Wolves dropped a close dual 46-42 to a squad made up of wrestlers from Miles City, Wolf Point, and Dickinson.
Watford City picked up five pins from Logan Gumke, Coleton Jore, Clay Jorgenson, Austin Garmann, and Kolton Hall.
However, according to Greenwood, the highlight of the dual may have come in a loss.
At 105 pounds, Jade Hepper battled two-time defending state champion Maestro Martinez in a six-minute thriller. Hepper ultimately lost 11-2, but he put himself in many good positions and had opportunities to score.
“Hepper’s performance even drew a penalty point when his opponent grew frustrated with his inability to control the match,” stated Greenwood. “The performance showed that he is going to make an immediate impact on the varsity lineup for us this season.”
After dropping the close second round dual, the Wolves bounced back and picked up their first team victory of the day when they posted a 42-36 win over a squad made up of wrestlers from Sidney, Williston, Circle, Poplar, and Broadus.
Watford City found itself in a 12-6 hole early and it was looking bad as Logan Gumke trailed going into the third period against Broadus’ Zach Ward, a state qualifier in Montana a year ago. Gumke was able to reverse Ward to his back and secure the pin which was the start of a streak where the Wolves were up five of the next seven matches and secured a spot in the ninth place match against Killdeer.
The Cowboys posed little threat in the final dual of the day as injury and illness left them open at seven of the 15 weights contested.
The Wolves added a decision by Coleton Jore and pins by Keegan Thompson and Logan Gumke to make it 10 wins to five in the dual in favor of Watford City.
Five of Watford City’s wrestlers, Jake Rogness, Jade Hepper, Logan Gumke, Coleton Jore and Austin Garmann, posted 3-1 records on the day. Gumke’s three wins all came by the way of pin.
Wolf Point/Miles City/Glendive/Dickinson Combinantion 45,
Watford City 42

98: Jake Rogness won by forfeit.
105: Jade Hepper decisioned by Maestro Martinez, Wolf Point, 11-2.
112: Dakota Garmann won by forfeit.
119: Logan Gumke pinned Anthony James, Glendive, 2:31.
125: Coleton Jore pinned Austin Workman, Wolf Point, 3:22.
130: Jamison Flynn pinned by David Davis, Dickinson, 1:55.
135: Clay Jorgenson pinned by Jesus LeBaron, Dickinson, 2:05.
140: Hunter Thompson pinned by Dougal McMorris, Wolf Point, 0:28.
145: Austin Garmann pinned Richard Sanders, Dickinson, 1:07.
152: Keegan Thompson pinned by Colin Thicler, Dickinson, 5:42.
160: Jayden Vaupel pinned by Rafael Lopez, Dickinson, 1:03.
171: Dakota Neether pinned by Garett Pronto, Wolf Point, 1:38.
189: Kolton Hall pinned Justin Meyer, Dickinson, 0:54.
220: Logan Fettig pinned by David Hopson, Wolf Point, 1:35.
285: Kye Bolken pinned by Dual Keck, Dickinson, 1:49.
Watford City 42,
Circle/Sidney JV/Poplar/Broadus/Williston JV Combination 36

98: Jake Rogenss pinned by Jess Lockwood, Broadus, 0:46.
105: Jade Hepper won by forfeit.
112: Dakota Garmann pinned by Layne Shafer, Sidney, 0:32.
119: Logan Gumke, pinned Zach Ward, 5:26.
125: Coleton Jore pinned Zach Amsden, Broadus, 1:51.
130: Marty Kueffler pinned by Andrew Lamb, Poplar, 1:14.
140: Clay Jorgenson, decisioned Quincy Stormer, Circle, 6-0.
145: Kyle Cook pinned by Oakley Chase, Sidney, 0:46.
152: Austin Garmann decisioned Layne Gorder, Poplar, 8-3.
160: Keegan Thompson pinned Taylor Green, Broadus, 1:59.
171: Dakota Neether pinned by Garrett Darby, Sidney, 3:35.
189: Kolton Hall decisioned by Austin Burshia, Poplar, 6-0.
220: Hunter Olson pinned by Chris Mann, Williston, 0:53.
285: Kye Bolken won by forfeit.
9th Place Match
Watford City 57, Killdeer 28

98: Jake Rogness won by forfeit.
105: Jade Hepper won by forfeit.
112: Dakota Garmann pinned by Cole Dukart 5:02.
119: Logan Gumke pinned Jake Horner, 1:31.
125: Coleton Jore decisioned Dane Larsen, 7-0.
130: Marty Kueffler pinned by Derek Tabor, 0:13.
135: Clay Jorgenson lost by major decision to Tanner Rhode, 17-7.
140: Hunter Thompson won by forfeit.
145: Kyle Cook won by forfeit.
152: Austin Garmann won by forfeit.
160: Keegan Thompson pinned Daniel Arthur, 3:11.
171: Dakota Neether won by forfeit.
189: Kolton Hall won by forfeit.
215: Hunter Olson pinned by David Dukart, 1:02.
285: Kye Bolken pinned by TJ Moore, 0:23.
The Wolves then closed out a busy weekend of wrestling action taking fifth place at the Velva Invitational with nine wrestlers placing in the top six, including three finalists.
Leading the way for the Wolves was Jade Hepper, Logan Gumke, and Coleton Jore, who each entered the tournament as the second seeded wrestlers in their respective weight classes.
Hepper and Jore wasted little time as they each received first round byes before picking up two pins apiece to reach the finals. Gumke took a different route. He received a first round bye, but then had to navigate his way to the finals by getting past a pair of state qualifiers from last season. He posted a 15-6 major decision over Stanley’s Jayden Iverson in the quarterfinals and then put together six minutes of smart wrestling to defeat Des Lacs/Burlington’s Kole Johnson in the semifinals.
The Wolves ended with a trio of third place finishers as well.
Clay Jorgenson’s lone setback at 132 pounds was against a former state runner-up in Carson Koble. After that, he fought back to the third place match where he posted a convincing 11-5 win over Minot Ryan’s Daniel Becker, a state entrant from a year ago.
Like Jorgenson, Austin Garmann suffered a semifinals loss to a high ranking opponent in Stanley’s Rhett Wolter. Garmann fought back to the third place match where he found himself matched up against Minot Ryan’s Ben Mayer. Both Garmann and Mayer were state qualifiers at 152 last season and are both down to 145 pounds this season as they hope to become state place-winners this year. Garmann wrestled a tremendous match in the third place match, controlling the entire first period and earning a second period pin.
At 152 pounds, Keegan Thompson found himself in a bracket that featured more than half a dozen state qualifiers. Thompson dropped a first round matchup against eventual tournament runner-up Hunter Schreiner, from Velva before rattling off three straight pins to get to the third place match, including a pin over two-time state qualifier Zach Helmers, of Kenmare. In the third place matchup, Thompson found himself in an early 5-0 hole after getting thrown in a headlock, but avoided getting pinned and then went on to score 14 unanswered points to win 14-5.
Rounding out the place winners for the Wolves was fourth place finisher Logan Fettig at 220 pounds; Kyle Cook, who tied for fifth place at 145 pounds; and Hunter Olson, who took sixth place at 152 lbs.
Dakota Garmann picked up a first period pin in his first round match-up, but then withdrew from the tournament due to injury. Jake Rogness, Marty Kueffler, Dakota Neether, and Kye Bolken also competed in Velva for the Wolves.
Velva Invitational
Team scores: 1. Velva, 195; 2. Minot Ryan, 194; 3. Stanley, 161.5; 4. Watford City, 135; 5. Des Lacs/Burlington, 116.5; 6. Minot JV, 84.5; 7. Harvey, 73; 8. Rugby, 52; 9. Rolla/Rock Lake/St. John, 50; 10. New Town, 46.5; 11. Kenmare, 43.5.

WATFORD CITY WEATHER