McKenzie County Farmer - Sports

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

It was a week of lows and highs for Watford City’s varsity wrestling team last week. The Wolves suffered a 69-9 dual loss to the Sidney Eagles on Tuesday, which marked the low point for Watford City. But the Wolves turned things around over the weekend as Watford City took 12th place at the Dickinson Classic which featured Class A wrestlers from North Dakota, Montana and South Dakota.
This week, the Wolves will host their first home dual of the season as Watford City takes on Killdeer on Thursday, Dec. 20, while the Junior High wrestlers will compete in Minot over the weekend in the Junior High State Tournament.
Sidney 69, Watford City 9
Watford City was no match for Sidney last Tuesday as the Wolves suffered a 69-9 loss to the Eagles in varsity wrestling action.
The Wolves’ lone points came from Jake Rogness picking up a forfeit at 98 pounds and Jade Hepper earning a 4-3 decision at 105 pounds.
“I thought we let Sidney get into our heads a little,” stated Mitch Greenwood, Wolves’ head coach on the loss. “We knew they were a tough team after they won the Sidney Dual Tournament two weeks ago and we placed eight or 10 places behind them. That was intimidating.”
According to Greenwood, he didn’t believe that the team wrestled to its potential. That coupled with several regular wrestlers out of his normal lineup, he felt that the team did the best they could on that day.
“It was a learning experience for us,” stated Greenwood. “We saw what a top caliber team looks like and we understand that we have a lot of hard work ahead of us if we ever want to get to that level.”
Individual results from the dual were as follows.
98: Jake Rogness won by forfeit.
105: Jade Hepper decisioned Wyatt VanBuren, 4-3.
112: Dakota Garmann pinned by  Ethan Graves,1:47.
119: Logan Gumke pinned by Gresh Jones, 0:48.
125: Marty Kueffler pinned by  Brady Gorder, 0:41.
130: Coleton Jore pinned by Ryan Chatton, 4:49.
135: Clay Jorgenson decisioned by Brayden Brooks, 5-0.
140: Double Forfeit.
145: Kyle Cook pinned by Oakley Chase, 1:37.
152: Austin Garmann pinned by Cody Johnson, 3:02.
160: Joe Nelson pinned by Spencer Brost, 1:41.
215: Hunter Olson pinned by Garrett Darby,1:06.
285: Kye Bolken pinned by Josh Alexander, 3:05.
Dickinson Classic Wrestling Tournament
After a lackluster performance at Sidney, a very different Watford City team showed up at the Dickinson Classic Tournament with the Wolves placing six wrestlers in the top eight in the varsity division and six wrestlers placing in the junior varsity matches.
“We went into that tournament with a much different mind-set,” sated Greenwood on the performance of his young squad. “We didn’t know many of the opponents because they were teams we don’t normally see as we were the only Class B team from North Dakota to wrestle in the varsity division.”
But even going up against much stiffer competition from Class A opponents from Montana and South Dakota, Greenwood was impressed with the way his team wrestled.
“Our kids wrestled with more confidence and they had success because of it,” stated Greenwood.
In the varsity division, Joe Nelson took fourth place at 160 lbs., while Kolton Hall took fifth at 195 lbs.
Placing in sixth place for the Wolves was Logan Gumke at 120 lbs. and Austin Garmann at 145 lbs., while Keegan Thompson came in seventh at 152 lbs. and Coleton Jore took eighth at 126 lbs.
In the junior varsity division, taking third place was Clay Jorgenson at 138 lbs., Kyle Cook at 145 lbs., Hunter Olson at 195 lbs., and Kye Bolken at 285 lbs. Taking eighth place for the Wolves was Marty Kueffler at 126 lbs., and Dakota Neether at 170 lbs.
“We finished in 12th place out of 16 teams, but considered our performance a success,” stated Greenwood. “We are a very young team and we know this is a high quality tournament. Because of this, we only entered seven individuals into the varsity tournament and everyone else wrestled in the JV portion of the tournament to get better competition against their own age and ability level.”
Region 4 Coach’s Poll
106: 1. Jade Hepper, Watford City. 2. Alec Andress, Hettinger. 3. Jeremy Leintz, Beulah-Hazen. 4. Talen Nielsen, Bowman County.
113: 1. Lucas Ormiston, Hett. 2. Brayden Jorgensen, BC. 3. Tyrel Mellmer, B-H. 4. Dakota Garmann, WC.
120: 1. Chauncey Hughes, Hett. 2. Logan Gumke, WC. 3. Matt Carlson, BC. 4. Shane Forster, New Salem-Almont.
126: 1. Codi Tomac, Hett. 2. Cullen Seeger, NS-A. 3. Colten Jore, WC. 4. Derek Tabor, Killdeer.
132: 1. Trevor Abrahamson, Hett. 2. Clay Jorgenson, WC. 3. Matt Neuman, NS-A. 4. Tanner Rhode, Killdeer
138: 1. Colton Neumiller, NS-A. 2. Eric Bucholz, BC. 3. Logan Eisenbeis, B-H. 4. Kyle Cook, WC.
145: 1. Christian Hughes, Hett. 2. Austin Garmann, WC. 3. Troy Steele, BC. 4. Scott Weinand, B-H.
152: 1. Rodney Vanhoff, Hett. 2. Keegan Thompson, WC. 3. Sonny Herczeg, B-H. 4. Curtis Summers, BC.
160: 1. Joe Nelson, WC. 2. Dillon Jepson, Killdeer 3. Cody Fladeland, B-H. 4. Paul Abrahamson, Hett.
170: 1. Taylor Heins, NS-A. 2. Evan Mellmer, B-H. 3. Dakota Neether, WC. 4. Daniel Arthur, Killdeer.
182: 1. David Murphy, Standing Rock. 2. Colbey Steeke, Hett. 3. Isaac Ripplinger, B-H. 4. Dalton Kramer, NS-A.
195: 1. David Dukart, Killdeer 2. Kolton Hall, WC. 3. Kevin Sandgren, Hett. 4. Nolan Dolyniuk, BC.
220: 1. Denby Lueck, Hett. 2. Jacob Hildebrandt, BC. 3. Logan Fettig, WC. 4. Ryne Storsved, NS-A.
285: 1. T.J. Moore, Killdeer 2. Spud Medicine Horse, SR. 3. Brandon Ehlers, Hett. 4. Mac Stuber, BC.