The Park High Ranger wrestling team kicked off their season on Saturday, Dec. 1 at home with nine teams competing. Shane Gibson and Cade Gubler wrestled well, taking first, and Aden Rogge finished second. Overall, the Rangers took sixth place on Saturday and hope to keep the momentum going for the rest of the season. More recently, the Rangers competed in a tournament in Great Falls on Saturday Dec. 15. Gibson took third in his division and Gubler took second in his division.

Coach Ben Hahn is very excited to have assistant Matt Stott at his side this year to help the Rangers achieve success this season. This will be Stott’s first year assisting the Rangers, but he is a four-time Montana state finalist. The Rangers also have a young team consisting of nine freshmen, but they are accompanied by a couple veterans, including Rogge and Gibson who are expected to achieve a lot this season. Both talented wrestlers have high chances to place at State, and coach Hahn believes, “If Shane Gibson wrestles well, then he is as good as anyone in the state.”

Hahn is very excited for the Rangers to start competing with other schools and has some expectations for his team. Since the team consists mostly of young wrestlers, Hahn looks forward to these younger wrestlers gaining experience and just having fun while competing. He also believes that the veteran wrestlers will do well from the beginning of the season. Hahn hopes the Rangers will compete as a team and win many dual matches, especially against Belgrade and Billings Central. The Rangers next match will be on Jan. 4 in Bozeman. The post season will be taking place during February and the veteran wrestlers are excited to hopefully take their talent to State.