The Broadus Wrestling Squad competed in three matches over the past month, including a mixer at Baker, the Glasgow Tournament, and last weekend, in Hettinger, ND.
We spoke with Broadus Head Wrestling Coach Frankie Schoonover on Monday, where he described the team’s season thus far.
“Seth McDowell, Corbin Irish, and Dakota Holbrook wrestled at the mixer in Baker. We wrestled well, and got a lot of matches in, which translates to good experience,” Schoonover said.
Next up was Glasgow, which was a new meet for the Hawks. In the past, Broadus wrestled at Forsyth, but Schoonover figured the Glasgow Meet would provide Broadus a better opportunity to face competition the Hawks would see further down the line, as Glasgow features more teams from our Division. This thinking was correct, as Broadus matched up against opponents that were not only tough, but also wrestlers they are likely to see in the future.
The Hawks’ only current Senior, Ronnie Richards, made the trip to Glasgow and wrestled at 152 lbs. Schoonover commented: “Ronnie is a resilient wrestler, and it showed in his placing.” Richards would nab 8th place in his weight class, as the only Hawk to place on the weekend.
On December 27th, the Hawks came back from Christmas break to begin practice in preparation for the Hettinger tournament. This tournament has been perennially tough, featuring competitors from across Eastern Montana and North Dakota.
Seth McDowell, a Broadus Sophomore wrestling at 126 lbs, was noted as being incredibly aggressive, but ran out of juice late in matches, according to Schoonover. This is something he says can be fixed by better conditioning. With Seth’s willingness to improve and aggressiveness on the mat, the better conditioning will hopefully translate into him stepping onto the podium.
Corbin Irish, a Sophomore wrestling at 138 lbs, dropped down to wrestle in this weight class at Glasgow. Schoonover says Irish looks incredibly strong at 138 lbs, but his lack of experience in Glasgow meant other wrestlers were able to beat him. Schoonover thinks this will change in the future, as Irish’s experience improves.
Dakota Holbrook, another Sophomore wrestling at 160, wrestled well at Glasgow. Schoonover said Holbrook’s intensity was displayed when a Hettinger wrestler caused him some pain, which seemed to light a fire in Dakota’s eyes – Dakota went back on the mat and finished the match his way, winning easily.
Holbrook would wrestle his way to 7th place in the tournament.
Kyle Minow, a Junior wrestling at 182 lbs, competed in his first ever High School Wrestling tourney at Glasgow.
“There’s no quit in him,” Schoonover said. “He’s incredibly strong, but still needs to work on his technique. That will come as he continues to improve.”
Minow would take 6th in Glasgow.
Sophomore Josiah Middle Rider, in his first tournament of the season after a broken wrist during the football season, wrestled at 220 in Hettinger (North Dakota has different weight classes – he would be at 205 here). Even though Middle Rider wrestled heavier opponents, he was still able to come out ahead of many, winning 6th at the tournament.
“Overall, I think the team looks good. I see us getting better, and when we compare ourselves to last year, when we were happy to win matches, now we’re looking at placing on the podium,” Schoonover beamed as he described his team. “With that being said, those wins are made in practice, so we’re going to get back at it and work hard on the practice mat to improve.”
Broadus will go to the Cowboy Invitational, this weekend in Miles City. This ultra-tough meet features some of the best wrestlers in the state, so the Broadus wrestlers will have their work cut out for them, but will also see where they need to be in order to compete with the best.
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