Three Broadus Wrestlers place at Hettinger

Coach Frankie Schoonover's wrestling team made the journey to Hettinger, ND last weekend. Eight Broadus wrestlers competed in the tournament, including Seth McDowell, wrestling at 113 lbs, Corbin Irish, wrestling at 132 lbs, Brian Hopkins, at 138, Troy Amsden, at 145, Donovan Sturtz, at 152, Dakota Holbrook, at 160, Larry Hunt, at 170 lbs, and Josiah Middle Rider, in the Heavyweight Division.

"Our guys showed up with the right attitude, and wanted to wrestle. They are a motivated bunch of kids and want to improve – for instance we had a Saturday morning practice before the tournament, because the kids wanted to make sure they were as fine-tuned as possible for the tournament," Schoonover commented on his team.

Three from the team would place at the tournament, including Senior Hawk wrestler Troy Amsden, who took 6th place. "Troy wrestled amazingly. He showed that he was a leader on our team," said Schoonover.

Another Senior wrestler, Larry Hunt, placed in his first tournament of the season. Hunt began the season later than the rest of the team, and didn't have enough practices in before the tournaments in December. Despite not having wrestled a match since last season, Hunt dominated every match in Hettinger, according to Schoonover. One match away from the title match, Larry faced an opponent who was able to pin Larry, after a very questionable no-call by the referee during a start. This meant that Larry wrestled for 3rd and 4th, handily winning 3rd place.

Dakota Holbrook, in the first tournament of his career, was able to take 6th place in his division. "Dakota is very coachable and competitive, and has a lot of heart. What cost him at this tournament was his lack of experience, but that will come with more time on the mat," his coach said.

Schoonover continued: "Overall the team did well. We're progressing, and have the right attitude. Our conditioning is great, and we're building experience at every match."

This weekend, the Hawks compete at the Cowboy, a tough tournament in Miles City.

"I've heard some comments about whether I should take such a young team to this tournament. My reply is that we are here to improve, and the best way to improve is by competing against difficult opponents. That's how you improve," Schoonover defended his position.

The Cowboy will feature 36 teams from around the region. The last Broadus wrestler to win at the Cowboy: Jess Lockwood. Previous to that, Frankie Schoonover.