MONTAGUE — Montague finished in fourth place at its home Mat Cat holiday tournament Saturday, with seven wrestlers placing in the top five in their weight classes. What impressed coach Kris Maddox most about his team, though, was how the wrestlers approached the day and competed despite being a big part of the operations at the previous day's girls' tournament.
"I can't say where we had
anybody that really didn't put forth an effort today," Maddox said. "I'm really proud of the way our kids came out. Yesterday they were here for almost 10 hours helping run a girls
tournament. I was worried about that coming in today,
but I think they did the right things. They went home last night and went to bed and got the rest they needed to come back to
compete today. I like how we performed considering the circumstances."
Fletcher Thommen was Montague's highest placer, scoring a pin and a technical fall to reach the 150-pound finals before finishing in second place. Thommen entered the season as one of the presumed team leaders, and he has lived up to the billing, with a 14-2 record so far.
"He never complains. He does what is asked," Maddox said of Thommen. "If I said he had to stand on his head for five hours,
he would do it. He's that type of kid that's real respectful
and works his tail off in everything he does. He's not a showman. He's not cocky. He's not overzealous."
Taking third place were Isaac French, at 190, and Gavyn Maddox, at 138. All three of French's wins were pins, and Maddox secured pins in both his wins. French has been a steady performer, as projected prior to the season, but Maddox's emergence - he's 13-3 - has been a bit of a surprise to the coaches, even with his dad being the head coach.
If anything, coach Maddox said, his son has shown the ability to be even better if he wrestles with a little more confidence. In Gavyn's lone loss Saturday, the coach said Gavyn came off the mat believing he'd been in good positions but was unable to execute a couple of moves that could've given him a better chance to reach the finals.
"We had a
conversation today about, 'Hey, you realize that you belong
with these upperclassmen. You're not just a freshman. You've got to
realize that you belong,'" coach Maddox said. "I think in his match against Muskegon, he
realized that in the third period and started to wrestle
well.
"We're just now getting into the meat of our season, so now is where he's
got to start realizing that matches will be a little tougher and a little
closer."
Brock Hunter finished in fourth place at 120. Kaiden Jeffery (144), Maverick Osborne (285) and Michael Jones (157) each finished fifth and posted 3-2 records, scoring bonus-point victories in each of their wins. Jeffery and Osborne each scored three pins. Gibson Sholes (126) and Clay Jordan (175) placed sixth.
Montague's Michael Jones (left) tries to take down Hudsonville's Alden Schulte during a consolation semifinal match at Saturday's Mat Cat Classic. Jones finished fifth for the Wildcats.
The winner of the tournament, narrowly, was Muskegon, a program that until recently had been unsuccessful. The Big Reds' rise to a competitive level mirrors what Maddox continues trying to build at Montague. The 'Cats saw firsthand the culture Muskegon is building in a couple of tough defeats late in the day.
"They're keeping their kids, and that's good to see," Maddox said. "Their kids are
tough. They're respectful. It's good to see their program where it's at,
and hopefully they can keep growing. I like their grittiness. They're
tough kids. I take that and try to use that as a little example to our
kids."
Montague keeping busy over the holiday break - the 'Cats had their Assembly Dual Dec. 21, hosted girls' and boys' tournaments last weekend and will be back in action this weekend - is hardly unique among wrestling teams. Both Whitehall and Reeths-Puffer had meets over the post-Christmas weekend and will compete again the following weekend. However, Montague's being able to do so at home is, Maddox believes, a good thing for the program, and it helps retain the athletes' focus.
"It keeps us moving forward," Maddox said. "They come out of break Jan. 1 and they get
their two-pound growth
allowance, so that helps in managing their weight. Most of our kids like
it. It's tough on the parents, and I've got to commend our community and
all the volunteers it
takes to do this two days back to back. It takes a lot of manpower and a
lot of behind the scenes people stepping up and helping us."
