Wrestlers compete in Huntley

Five members of the Broadus Hawk Wrestling Team traveled to Huntley Project last week for a tournament. Seth McDowell, Brian Hopkins, Luke Herzog, Ronnie Richards, and Josiah Middle Rider wrestled for the Hawks. The tournament was set up as a Dual Tourney, though Broadus didn't have enough wrestlers to make a team. This meant the Hawks were wrestling to gain experience and test their mettle against opponents they would potentially see in the future, perhaps at State.

The Hawks first faced opponents from Sidney, who have a perennially tough program. Sidney's experience showed on the mat, as the Hawks did not win a single match against the Eagles. Still, Broadus Coach Frankie Schoonover noticed good things from his matmen. "Ronnie Richards wrestled in his first match, ever. He surprised me and his opponent with his intensity and aggressiveness."

Next up was Columbus/ Absarokee, pitting Broadus against opponents they very well may see down the line at State. "We wrestled full matches against these kids, and gained some good experience. Josiah won one match," Schoonover commented.

After that, a few Broadus wrestlers went up against Billings Central JV opponents, and then went on to face Malta. Seth McDowell, normally wrestling at 120 lbs, had an exhibition match against a 113 lb opponent. McDowell beat his opponent soundly, for his first win of his high school career. Schoonover said that now Seth knows he can win at 113, he's going to try and make the 113 lb weight over the coming weeks.

Luke Herzog faced a Malta opponent who had won 4th at State last year, and wrestled him the entire 6 minutes, showing he can contend with tough competitors.

Ronnie Richards also faced a tough, muscular, Malta opponent, and ultimately lost but did really well, according to Schoonover. "I'll take farm kid strength over weight room strength any day. Some of those kids look strong, but tough kids can beat them," Frankie opined as he described the match.

The Broadus wrestlers will take the next two weeks to go home, rest up, and practice their mental and physical skills over Christmas, as they get a break until their next big match, on January 5th in Hettinger, ND.

Schoonover surmised where his team is at, a month into the season: "Seth McDowell and Luke Herzog are the only two wrestlers on the team who have made every practice, and it shows with their performance in the tournaments. The kids need to take this time over Christmas to focus on the season, and decide where they want to be. They can all get to that next level, but they need to focus and work towards that goal."