Riggin Schaffer manhandles his opponent at Divisional Wrestling, in the photo above courtesy of Maddie York. Schaffer won 6th place at the tournament at 145 lbs, and now moves on to State.
Reuben Kinzer stands on the podium with his third place medal at 205 lbs. Kinzer will wrestle at State. (Photo courtesy Cody Kinzer)
"It was an all-out dogfight," Broadus Wrestling Coach Frankie Schoonover described the action on the mats at the Eastern Divisional Wrestling Tournament, held last Friday and Saturday in Columbus. He continued: "Everyone there was ready to scrap, and our kids showed up with focus and intensity. It was an epic tournament."
Due to injuries and other issues, only eight members of the Broadus team were able to wrestle at the tournament. Those those who were there came ready to compete, with two individuals moving on to State, while for the other Hawks their season would come to an end on the black mats of the Columbus gym.
Wrestling at 138 lbs, Raiden Aurand joined the team after Christmas, and had to have 10 practices in before he could wrestle in a tournament. His first match came against the Sidney JV, and then it was on to Columbus, where Schoonover said Raiden wrestled well but his experience on the mat this season did not match up with his opponents, who had been wrestling all year. Aurand lost two matches in the tournament.
At 152 lbs, Senior Hawk wrestler Colton Playle went toe to toe with Zach Cox of Colstrip in his first match, losing but showing great skills. Playle then pinned Tristen Quimby of Columbus/Absarokee, and went on to the "blood round" against Walter Schoen of Chinook to determine who would potentially go on to State, where he was pinned in 2:36.
"Colton was a great leader for us. I never had to worry about his dedication or anything else off the mat. I wish I could've had him on the team for a few more years, but from what I've seen from him he'll do well in the future," Schoonover said.
8th grader Collin Weatherall, also at 152 lbs, "showed amazing intensity," Frankie said. Weatherall lost his first match before pinning Rhett Eklund of Glasgow in the second round, then lost to Sheldon Serrano in the third round.
"Collin tried a move we had shown him in practice in the blood round that we knew would be a high risk/high reward move, and though it didn't work out, Collin showed great potential for us this season, especially as an 8th grader," his coach commented.
Kolton Turnbough gave up weight to his heavier opponents as he was bumped up to 160 for the tournament, since Broadus could only enter two wrestlers at 152, and Turnbough had been on and off the mat throughout the season due to injury. Frankie said that with giving up size on the mats and lack of time in practice this season he tired out in later rounds, but completing the season was a great goal to achieve after missing portions of last year as well. Turnbough lost out in two matches.
Jon Wood, wrestling at 205, had good positioning and strength but lacked offense, according to Schoonover, which cost him at the tournament. Wood lost out in the third round of competition.
Kordell Schonenback, a heavyweight 8th grader, found himself in a fairly matched fight as he wrestled another 8th grade heavyweight, Rollen Spotted Bull of Poplar in the third round. Spotted Bull won the match, but Kordell still has four years of high school to hone his skills.
Riggin Schaffer, a Junior at 145 lbs, was one of the two Broadus wrestlers to place at the tournament and move on. Schoonover described Riggin's performance: "This was the tournament of Riggin's career so far. He wrestled spectacularly."
Schaffer went into the tournament seeded 5th, which put him against unseeded competition early, helping his chances. He beat Taylin Johannesen of Malta/Whitwater in the first round, then lost to William Kirkland of Glasgow.
Riggin bounced back from the loss to beat Hawken Haakanson of Harlem in the blood round, pinning him in 1:00 and then Kai Heck of Colstip by pin in 1:41, punching his ticket to State.
"At that point Riggin seemed to relax, knowing the pressure was off of him to make it to next weekend," his coach noted.
Schaffer's next test would be Lane Snider of Chinook, ranked third in MT at 145, per Schoonover. Riggin battled back and forth and with 20 seconds left in the third period, points were awarded to Riggin and they called the match in his favor. A discussion was held and the points were reversed, tying the match and sending it into overtime. During the overtime period a scoring dispute sent the crowd into a frenzy, but ultimately folks calmed down and Snider was awarded the win.
In the next match for 5th and 6th place, once again the match went into overtime, with Jack Cornwell of Glasgow winning the sudden death victory, and Riggin placing 6th.
Reuben Kinzer, a Freshman wrestling at 205, was seeded 3rd going into the tourney. Reuben made quick work of Colton Davis of Roundup in the first match, and then Boston Ewing of Red Lodge in the second, winning both by pin.
In the semi-final, Spencer Higareda of Huntley got the best of Reuben, pinning him and shaking the young wrestler's confidence.
"We could see Reuben was struggling to focus, so we took him aside and helped him calm down," Schoonover said. Knowing that Reuben had beat his next opponent, Christopher Brawley of Baker, two times in previous matches, the coaches concentrated on having Reuben wrestle the match his way, channeling the energy he had used to be Brawley in their first two meetings.
Kinzer took the advice to heart and pinned Brawley in 2:16 to advance to the third place match against Gavin Schmele of Fort Benton.
As the match progressed, Schoonover could see Reuben was once again losing focus, so during an injury time out when his opponent had a bloody nose, the coaches once again emphasized the need to calm down and wrestle the match his way. Back on the mat, Reuben's confidence seemed to grow by the second as he scored again and again. With 11 seconds left and down by 1 point, Reuben scored an escape and takedown, to win 4-3, and win third in the tournament.
This week Riggin Schaffer and Reuben Kinzer will experience the spectacle of the Montana All Class Tournament, February 10th and 11th at MetraPark in Billings.
Riggin, as the Eastern 6th seed at 145 with a 25-16 record, will start off the tournament facing the West's number 3 ranked Jace Oxarart of Boulder, with a 46-8 record.
Reuben, the East's 3rd seed at 205 with a 17-9 record, opens up against Gus Lee of Choteau, the West's 6th seed with a 17-19 record.
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