Flathead sets lofty goals for divisional
The Daily Inter Lake
Braves hope to put at least 12 in the finals, qualify 25 or more for state
The Flathead Braves have lofty goals for the Western AA divisional tournament starting today in the FHS gym - at least 12 wrestlers in the finals and at least 25 state qualifiers.
In other words, the Braves would be happy with a repeat of last year's performance when 14 made the finals and 27 made it to Billings en route to Flathead's first state championship since 1973.
"We feel like most of our No. 1 guys and even some of our No. 2 guys have a chance, and we should have a high percentage of them in the finals," FHS coach Jeff Thompson said.
Action starts at 4 p.m. and will run until about 9. The tournament concludes Saturday, starting at 9 a.m. with the championship bracket slated for about 3 p.m. The top eight placers in each weight class qualify for next week's state tournament.
The three Missoula schools, the two Helena schools and Butte join Flathead for the divisional.
"I think it's going be a dogfight between us and Butte," Thompson said. "They have some really tough individuals who are going to be competing for the top spots."
Working in Flathead's favor, other than being the defending state champions, is being the tournament host.
"Kids are going to be able to sleep in their own beds, eat home-cooked meals, wrestle in front of friends and family," Thompson said. "I think that's a huge bonus for us. The kids are excited about being home. Overall we're very happy about hosting it.
"We're going to put on a show for the weekend. We should have a great tournament."
Flathead Lineup
98-Brian Ham (freshman, 33-7 record), Chris Anderson (fr., 8-7)
105-T.C. Decker (fr., 27-5), Joel Ahles (jr., 16-5)
112-Ricky Janes (so., 18-8), Austin Zapata (so., 21-17)
119-A.J. Stoick (so., 8-11), Jesse Morritt (so., 17-6)
125-Brandon Mitchell (sr., 24-11), David Anderson (jr., 7-8)
130-Duranm Flaget (jr., 22-9), Jason Hayes (sr., 8-9)
135-Ryan Nelson (jr., 24-10), Luke Fischer (fr., 10-3)
140-Colter Lane (jr., 16-11), Tyler Wells (fr., 25-5)
145-Mikey Kuehne (jr., 33-1), Tucker Hankinson (so., 17-10)
152-David Lau (fr., 28-9), Ryan Ross (sr., 15-2)
160-Drew Watkins (so., 20-7), Josiah Nelson (jr., 12-19)
171-Levi Holt (so., 29-10), Scott Cassel (jr., 10-2)
189-Chris Thompson (sr., 30-4), Damien Farrier (jr., 18-5)
215-Garrett Woodson (sr., 24-11), Casey Poier (jr., 16-5)
HWT-Brandon Hoffenbacker (sr., 28-2), Andy Noel (jr., 11-11)
Class AA
Coaches Poll
Team
1. Flathead. 2. Billings Skyview. 3. Billings Senior. 4. Butte
Individual
98 - 1. Brian Ham (Fla); 2. Zach Mendenhall (GFH); 3. Tyler McLaughllin (Butte); 4. Seth Goodell (Sky)
105 - 1. Kallen Kleinschmidt (Cap); 2. T.C. Decker (Fla); 3. Mike Pfaff (Big Sky); 4. Darren Pulver (SR)
112 - 1. Ben Spencer (GFH); 2. Ricky Janes (Fla); 3. Lester Plotner (West); 4. Austin Zaputa (Kal)
119 - 1. Kody Tolliver (GFH); 2. Trent Sprenkle (SR); 3. Jeff Jones (Sky); 4. T. J. Renz (Butte)
125 - 1. Craig Moline (West); 2. Brody Verrall (Butte); 3. Zach Gregoire (GFH); 4. Brandon Mitchell (Fla)
130 - 1. Cole Dalleserra (Butte); 2. Duran Flagget (Fla); 3. Tom Brennan (Hel); 4. Matt Schieno (West)
135 - 1. Vince Saliminen (Sky); 2. Will Kusker (Big Sky); 3. Nick Lang (Boz); 4. Bobby Vinsen (GFH)
140 - 1. Josh Beeman (SR); 2.Nick Haynes (Butte); 3. Joe Binkoski (Sky); 4. Tay Todd (Boz)
145 - 1. Mikey Kuehne (Fla); 2. Danny Whitby (Sr); 3. Tel Todd (Boz); 4. Kacey Halero (Cap)
152 - 1. Tom Daniels (CMR); 2. Cory Shilhanek (SR); 3. Darrin Williams (Sky); 4. D. Lemm (Sent.)
160 - 1. Derek Maciel (Sky); 2. Kirk Devore (Boz); 3. Austin Ouelette (Hlg); 4. Ryan McCracken (CMR)
171 - 1. Ryan Shilhanek (SR); 2. Chase Gazzerro (CMR); 3. Ryan Featherstone (Hel); 4. Chance Scally (Sky)
189 - 1. Chris Thompson (Fla); 2. Mike Keyser (Boz); 3. Zach Jones (Sky); 4. Colten Sherley (Cap)
215 - 1. Kevin Klaboe (West); 2. Will Wine (SR); 3. Ben Schmidt (Butte); 4. Erick Meyer (Sky)
Hwt - 1. Brandon Hoffenbacker (Fla); 2. Preston Lyles (SR); 3. Pat Pitman (Sky); 4. Riley Boucher (SR)