Wrestling

Argo wrestling team adds pair of Montana athletes and Oregon transfer to their roster

GREAT FALLS, MT (Thursday, March 27, 2008) — The University of Great Falls Argo wrestling team has announced the signing of a two Montana student-athletes and an Oregon standout to an NAIA/Frontier Conference Letters of Intent.

Scott Schlosser will join the Argos from Conrad High School in Conrad, Montana for the 2008-2009 season. He is a three-time Class B-C state champion and has a career record at Conrad of 128-12. He is expected to wrestle at 133 lbs. for the Argos.  Arlee native Jared Foust, the 135 lb. Class B-C state champion this season will also join Caleb Schaeffer’s squad and is expected to wrestle at either 133 lbs. or 141 lbs. for the Argos.

Jason Pence will transfer from Clackamas (OR) Community College and will also suit up for the Argo wrestling team next season. Pence is a two-time All American at Clackamas CC. At the last two Junior College (JUCO) national tournaments, he finished in 8th place and in fifth place. He also won a high school state championship at 184 lbs. at his high school in Bend, Oregon.

Schlosser, Foust and Pence become the sixth overall wrestling recruits to sign for the University of Great Falls for the upcoming school year. For complete press releases from all of the UGF Wrestling recruits, please click here.

By: Kevin Scott

2008 51st Annual NAIA National Wrestling Championships: Argo Update from the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena, Sioux City, Iowa

Date: Thursday - Saturday, March 6-8, 2008

Argos claim 4th Place at the National Wrestling Tournament; Mike Kummer WINS 184 lb. individual title

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – (Saturday, March 8, 2008) – The University of Great Falls wrestling team came away from the 28-team 51st Annual National Wrestling Tournament on Saturday night with its best finish in school history. The Argos started out Saturday morning in second place but would wind up in 4th place and they were led by national champion Mike Kummer (184 lbs, Sr., Reno, NV).

Kummer, the former Simms, MT resident who attended high school in Reno, NV, won the 184 lb. title on Saturday night as he won by decision over Oklahoma City’s Mitchell Eichenauer 4-3. Cut Bank’s Alex Calvi claimed third place honors with his 11-5 victory over Lindenwood University’s Dennis Kakrah.

The Argos had two wrestlers who took second place including Wayne French (157 lbs., Sr., Malta, MT) who lost in the championship round to Notre Dame College’s Victer Crenshaw 7-2 and Brendon DeCock (174 lbs., So., Huntley, MT) fell to Lindenwood’s Matt Cauley in a major decision 22-8. Alex Calvi, a senior from Cut Bank, MT, took third place honors at 197 lbs. and Forrest Bouge (125 lbs., Sr., Elko, NV) and Brad Fraser (285 lbs., So., Spokane, WA) each took 8th place at the National Tournament. French, DeCock, Kummer and Calvi are All-Americans for the University of Great Falls. The top six in each weight class are selected as “All-Americans.” Forrest Bouge and Brad Fraser, who finished in eighth place in their weight classes, are “honorable mention” All-Americans.

The Argo Wrestlers finish with a 14-4 record in dual meets this season and finished first in the NAIA Western Regional Tournament that Great Falls hosted on February 23rd.

Congrats UGF Wrestlers!!

Championship: Team by Team Results  (PDF Format: You will need Adobe Acrobat to view results)

2008 All-Americans (By weight class) (PDF Format: You will need Adobe Acrobat to view results)

Official stats provided by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (http://www.naia.org)    

By: Kevin Scott

Argo wrestlers add three in-state recruits to their program

GREAT FALLS, MT (Monday, February 25, 2008) — The University of Great Falls men’s wrestling team has announced the signing of three Montana student-athletes to their program.

Ryan Leonard of Cascade-Simms, Michael Hader from Columbia Falls and Will McLaughlin from Boulder, Montana have signed NAIA letter-of-intents to join coach Caleb Schaeffer’s team for next season. “It’s the start of what I think will be the best recruiting class in UGF history,” said head coach Caleb Schaeffer.

Leonard has become only the 16th four-time state champion in Montana high school wrestling history. He recently finished up his mat career with only one loss with a record of 149-1. He won his final 91 high school matches and earned Class B-C championships in 98, 112, 125 and 130 pound weight classes.

“What Ryan Leonard brings is his will to win and his drive. He’s going to be top-notch,” said Schaeffer.

Michael Hader will join the University of Great Falls wrestling program next season from Columbia Falls High School in Columbia Falls, MT. Hader won the State A Championship as a junior and this year he finished in third place in his 152 pound weight class.

“Michael Hader knows how to wrestle. He’s a very fierce competitor. His up-side is huge.”

Will McLaughlin just finished off his prep career at Jefferson County High School in Boulder, Montana. At the recent Montana All-Class Wrestling Championships that were held recently in Billings, Montana, McLaughlin finished third in the Class B-C 125 pound weight class.

“Will McLaughlin is just starting to blossom as a wrestler. His best days are ahead of him,” said coach Schaeffer, the former Columbia Falls High star and MSU- Northern NAIA National Champion wrestler.

These are the first recruits to sign with the University of Great Falls wrestling team so far this season.

By: Kevin Scott

2008 NAIA Western Regional Wrestling Championships: Argo Update from the UGF McLaughlin Center, Great Falls, MT

Date: Saturday, February 23, 2008

Hosted By: University of Great Falls

2008 Western Regional Preview: Provided by Great Falls Tribune

Argos capture their second consecutive Western Regional Championship; Alex Calvi and Wayne French take home individual championships

GREAT FALLS, MT – (Saturday, February 23, 2008) – The University of Great Falls Argos hosted the 2008 Western Regional Wrestling Championships on Saturday at the McLaughlin Center as the fourth-ranked team in the NAIA. The tournament rotates every year between the six schools that make up the Western Region including Simon Fraser (B.C.), Embry-Riddle (AZ), Southern Oregon, MSU-Northern, Menlo (CA) College, and this year’s host, the University of Great Falls.

The Argos have fared well this season in the UGF McLaughlin Center and Saturday was no different as the University of Great Falls captured their second consecutive Western Regional Wrestling team championship as they had 10 Argo wrestlers that placed in the top four. The four top wrestlers in each weight class will compete at the 51st Annual NAIA National Wrestling Championships on March 6-8, 2008 in Sioux City, Iowa. The Argos that are slated to attend include Forrest Bouge, Spencer Griffiths, Ross Mosher, Wayne French, Michael French, Brendon DeCock, Mike Kummer, Alex Calvi, Robert Hazenburg, and Brad Fraser.

At the 157 lb. championship, Wayne French (Sr., Malta, MT) defeated Menlo’s Lee Morrison (Jr., Okanogan, WA) 14-2 in a major decision. Great Falls’ Alex Calvi (So., Cut Bank, MT) captured the 197 lb. title with a 8-2 decision over Southern Oregon’s Chase Locke (Jr., West Linn, OR). The Argos had three who receive runner-up honors including Augusta, MT native Ross Moss (Freshman, 149 lbs.) who fell to MSU-Northern’s Byron Kuylen (So. Sidney, MT) by a 7-1 decision. Brendon DeCock (So., Huntley, MT) also captured second place at 174 lbs. as he lost to Embry-Riddle’s Hayden Harrison (Jr., McKean, PA). Mike Kummer (Sr., Reno, NV) also lost his championship match to Calvin DeVault (Sr., Temecula, CA) who pinned him in 1:20. DeVault was also voted on by the coaches as this year’s Western Regionals Outstanding Wrestler.

Third place honors for the Argos include Forrest Bouge (Sr., Elko, NV) at 125 lbs., Simms native and UGF senior Spencer Griffiths at 141 lbs., Michael French (Fr., Malta, MT) at 165 lbs. and heavyweight Brad Fraser from Spokane, WA.

Meanwhile, MSU-Northern’s Corey Borges defeated Menlo’s Jose Hernandez at 125 lbs. and his teammate Byron Kuylen (149 lbs.) each claimed individual titles. Embry-Riddle, who finished in fifth place at the tournament, took home three individual titles followed by Menlo (CA) College, MSU-Northern and UGF with two champions. Southern Oregon had one champion and Simon Fraser (B.C.) had their two regional qualifiers finish in fifth and sixth place.

The total attendance for the one-day event was over 600. For more information on this tournament, please click here. You can also find full results by clicking here.

Official stats provided by the University of Great Falls Athletic Department (http://www.ugf.edu/goargos)    

By: Kevin Scott

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