Forsyth’s Weber brothers continue winning ways

A family that plays together stays together.

But sometimes that playful competition gets a little rough at the Scott Weber household in Forsyth.

“I think we have a record for broken teeth at our house,” said Matt Weber with a grin. “I’d say we have it for sure.”

Matt is a superstar senior wrestler at Forsyth and the older brother to Luke and Nathan. All three Weber brothers advanced to the semifinals with solid performances Friday as the 37th annual CMR Holiday Classic wrestling tournament got underway at CMR Fieldhouse.

Matt is a three-time State B-C champion, while Luke is a junior seeking his third title. Older brother Brandon graduated last year after winning his third state champion. Nathan is a talented freshman.

And back home is eighth-grader Michael, who can be expected to continue the successful mat tradition next season.

“A lot of competition, that’s with every family,” Matt said of his family, which includes no sisters.

He said there’s no secret to the success.

“The no. 1 reason is the weight room,” Matt said. “And working hard is the other.”

Scott is a 1982 graduate of Forsyth, where he won one state championship and finished runner-up twice.

“I’m behind in the competition in the house,” he said. “I guess I can’t do anything about that now.”

But it doesn’t bother the old man.

“No, not really,” Scott said with a grin.

Brandon finished with a prep record of 200-9. Matt, who currently has 10 career losses, is on track for 200 victories, too. Luke has only five career losses and would also seem to be on pace for 200 triumphs.

All the victories are nice, of course, but the Weber clan is involved in wrestling for a different reason.

“Wrestling’s a sport that’s so family-oriented,” Scott said. “You basically get to be on the same mat in the same gymnasium. That’s why we did it.”

Next year, Matt and Brandon will reunite on the team at Montana State-Northern. Until then, tournaments like this weekend’s will provide quality time for the Weber crew.

“It’s a great atmosphere,” said Matt Weber. And then he looked around the Russell Fieldhouse for a moment. “With all these Hall of Fame things on the walls, it’s just cool to be in this building.”

Matt said it’s also pretty great to be here with his wrestling brothers.

“It’s special,” Matt said. “Not a lot of people have the opportunity to do something like this. And to be the best of the lot.”

The CMR Holiday Classic has 45 teams this season. Class AA powerhouse Great Falls High is looking to win a fifth consecutive team team. The Bison of coach Steve Komac took control on Friday with 135¹/₂ points. Bozeman, Helena High and host C.M. Russell High are locked in a tight battle for second place.

“This is the best tournament in the state as far as I’m concerned,” said coach Weber. “There isn’t a tougher tournament. We got to Bozeman, we go to Miles City, and there’s good teams there. But when you talk about the all-around competition, this is the best. I love it.”

To have three of his boys battling for Classic championships, of course, is another reason to savor the season.

“It is,” coach Weber said. “You sit in the chair and you hope that, win or lose, your kids wrestle well.”

Eight of Komac’s Bison advanced to the semifinals, a group that includes Jarren Komac, Jordan Komac, Tommy McMillen, Casey Dobson, Colton McElhinney, Gage Bentley, Kessler Leonard, and Randy Keesler.

Four CMR Rustlers also advanced to the semifinals.

“I really like the way we competed,” said Russell coach Aaron Jensen.

Deven Altenburg-Lasher, Jared Dickson, Nick Grassechi and Payton Sexe are all in the hunt for individual titles.

“We also got some good wins from Nick Nordell, Noah Durnell and Dave Bennyhoff,” Jensen said. “It was a pretty complete team effort.”

The Bison are in their familiar first-place position entering this morning’s semifinals, which start at 10. The championship matches are slated to start this afternoon at 4. Don’t be shocked if there aren’t several hometown wrestlers involved, for the Bison and tourney host C.M. Russell High Rustlers are both looking to make excellent impressions.

For the Bison, it’s a holiday tradition.

“It’s always a great feeling when you have a lot of wrestlers here, and winning the tournament as a team, it just brings some joy to our wrestling room,” said Bison senior 182-pounder Randy Keesler, one of several unbeaten Great Falls High grapplers. “You gotta be proud. To win this tournament would just mean we can accomplish great things.“

Keesler said the Bison have a mentality that never wavers.

“You’ve gotta keep your head high, no matter what,” he said. “If your match doesn’t go your way, you’ve still got to keep your head high and keep working.”