Powder River Examiner -

The Hawk Wrestlers traveled just up the road to the 63rd Annual Cowboy Invitational, last weekend in Miles City. With a team decimated by illness, Coach Frankie Schoonover brought four wrestlers to the meet: Freshman Isaiah McMullan, wrestling at 103 pounds, Senior Seth McDowell, who bumped up in weight class to 145 lbs for the Cowboy, Sophomore Riggin Schaffer, at 152 lbs, and Heavyweight Senior Josiah Middle Rider.

"The Cowboy lived up to its name as a tough meet," Schoonover told us during a Monday interview. The numbers of teams were down somewhat this year, but the competition was still fierce."

He continued: "When you have a number of kids out from a meet, it affects the morale of the team, and I think we saw that in Miles City, especially with our team leader, Dakota Holbrook out sick."

All four Broadus wrestlers found themselves falling just short of the podium, with two Hawks – Riggin Schaffer and Josiah Middle Rider falling mere points away from placing. The good news is that all four of the Hawks placed very well in the 2nd Chance Tourney, with McMullan, McDowell, and Middle Rider placing third in their respective weight classes, and Riggin Schaffer placing 2nd at 152 lbs.

Riggin Schaffer, pictured with his face visible, competes in Miles City last weekend. (Wrestling photos courtesy Steph Schaffer)

"We really need to learn to develop that sense of urgency," Schoonover commented on the performances. "The guys were really close to standing on that podium, and knowing when to lay it all out in those last moments of a match could've been the difference for us. That being said, I'm proud with how our wrestlers performed overall, especially in the Second Chance Tournament."

The Hawks home meet takes place this Thursday, with teams expected from Colstrip, Circle, Baker, and Custer/Hysham. Schoonover expects 60-80 matches to take place, with 2 sets of matches going on at once. Action begins at 6 pm, and the public is encouraged to attend.

This weekend the Hawk team travels to Moorcroft, WY, and next weekend to their final regular season matches of the year, in Hardin. From there it's the Divisional Tournament, with hopes of qualifying for State and stepping up on that podium of the most elite wrestlers in Montana.