Braves 2nd; Decker, Hoffenbacker champs

BILLINGS - By the time the championship round of the 2005 all-class wrestling tournament rolled around Saturday, the team title had been sewn up by Billings Skyview and defending champion Flathead had secured second place.

But that's not to say the final set of matches wasn't without drama - or

controversy.

The Braves picked up two individual champions, heavyweight Brandon

Hoffenbacker and 105-pounder T.C. Decker, to go along with the runner-up

team trophy. In all, Flathead placed 11 in the top four and 12 overall.

"That's a good year, a good state tournament," FHS coach Jeff Thompson said. "We wrestled much better today, proud of our kids. We just didn't win the head-to-head matches with Skyview that we wanted to or needed to.

"Skyview's just deep. They're a very good AA team in the sense that they have an excellent backup guy at every weight class."

Flathead was denied a third champion in 145-pounder Mikey Kuehne when

ethically questionable stall tactics late in the match by Billings Senior coaches made it difficult for Kuehne to score, trailing 8-7 to Danny Whitby.

Several times in the closing seconds, a Senior assistant coach - filling in for the head coach who had been ejected from the tourney earlier in the evening - called the referee to the scorers table to question the accuracy of the score.

The pauses broke Kuehne's momentum, and Whitby won the championship. For his efforts, the Billings assistant coach was also ejected from the tournament.

"I have never seen anything like that in my 25 years in wrestling," Thompson said.

The controversial finish cost Flathead a split among its finalists. Six Braves were in the finals, but only Decker and Hoffenbacker were victorious.

Decker outlasted Helena Capital's Kallan Klienschmidt 5-3. Klienschmidt pinned Decker in the divisional championship a week ago.

"It just feels incredible," Decker said. "I just looked at it like I was the underdog and didn't have anything to lose. I was hoping for first, but you never know what to expect at state."

Hoffenbacker dominated his championship match, winning 12-4.

"It's something I've been working for all season and now it's reality," he said. "It's hard to put into words."

Hoffenbacker's win put an end to what can only be described as Flathead's

up-and-down tournament. The 11 Braves who finished in the top four all had solid performances, but the other 14 were sporadic, at best. Still, the

second day of the tourney was an improvement over the first, and this wasn't a team projected to do this well at the start of the season.

"They wrestled very well, they were relaxed, it felt like the pressure was off a little bit," Thompson said of his 12 placers. "They wrestled for

themselves, but if they got a chance to get a pin or a major, they did it for the team.

"We were a little disappointed at first, but nothing's wrong with taking second. It has been a great year and a great state tournament. We only lose three senior point scorers for next year, so there's a lot of excitement in Flathead wrestling."

Saturday was not without its disappointments, though. Besides the Kuehne

controversy, 189-pounder Chris Thompson was upset in the semifinals, getting

pinned in the second period.

"We lost a couple of matches that hurt - Chris Thompson got into a position he wasn't comfortable in, got thrown to his back and got pinned,"

coach Thompson said. "Disappointing, but Chris showed a lot of heart to come back and take third after that."

Chris Thompson dispatched his next two opponents with familiar pins.

"Overall a lot of fun, a great ride, a great journey," the coach said. "We've got a little tradition now in the Flathead Valley - third two years

ago, then first and now second - to come with a trophy every year."

The Braves will bring that trophy back to Kalispell today after spending the night in Bozeman.

Class AA

Saturday

Team Totals

Billings Skyview 308, Flathead 277, Billings Senior 235.5, Butte 207, Great Falls 161.5, Bozeman 124.5, Great Falls Russell 105.5, Helena Capital 104.5, Billings West 97, Missoula Big Sky 92, Helena 62, Missoula Sentinel 46, Missoula Hellgate 38.

Finals

98 - Zach Mendenhall, Great Falls, p. Brian Ham, Flathead, 5:56. 105 - T.C. Decker, Flathead, d. Kallen Klienschmidt, Capital, 5-3. 112 - Ben Spencer, Great Falls, m.d. Austin Zapata, Flathead, 11-1. 119 - Trent Sprenkle, Senior, d. Kody Tolliver, Great Falls, 7-6. 125 - Craig Moline, West, d. Brody Verrall, Butte, 9-4. 130 - Cole Dallaserra, Butte, d. Duran Flaget, Flathead, 9-2. 135 - Vince Salminen, Skyview, p. Will Cusker, Big Sky, 2:54. 140 - Josh Beeman, Senior, d. Jordan Duffield, Skyview, 1-0. 145 - Danny Whitby, Senior, d. Mikey Kuehen, Flathead, 8-7. 152 - Tom Daniels, CMR, d. Drake Lemm, Sentinel, 3-1. 160 - Kirk Devore, Bozeman, p. Derek Maciel, 2:50. 171 - Chase Gazzerro, CMR, d. Ryan Shilhanek, Senior, 6-4. 189 - Mike Keyser, Bozeman, d. Zach Jones, Skyview, 9-5. 215 - Kevin Klaboe, West, d. William Wine, Senior, 3-1. Hwt. - Brandon Hoffenbacker, Flathead, m.d. Preston Lyles, Senior, 12-4.

Third place

98 - T. McLaughlin, BUT, p. S. Goodell, BSV, 0:42. 105 - D. Pulver, BSH, d. M. Pfaff, MBS, 8-2. 112 - R. Janes, KAL, p. L. Plotner, BWH, 3:44. 119 - J. Jones, BSV, d. T. Renz, BUT, 1-0. 125 - B. Mitchell, KAL, d. Z. Gregoire, GFH, 3-2. 130 - M. Schieno, BWH, d. M. Haynes, BUT, 5-3. 135 - B. Vinson, GFH, md. A. Kohn, BSV, 11-3. 140 - J. Binkoski, BSV, d. T. Todd, BOZ, 3-2. 145 - T. Todd, BOZ, d. K. Halcro, CAP, 4-1. 152 - C. Shilhanek, BSH, d. M. Hitt, BSV, 8-2. 160 - A. Ouelette, MHG, d. R. McCraken, CMR, 10-4. 171 - L. Holt, KAL, d. S. Cassel, KAL, 3-2. 89 - C. Thompson, KAL, p. D. Matule, BUT, 2:08. 215 - B. Schmidt, BUT, d. B. Bouchee, BSH, 3-1. Hwt - T. Hass, BUT, d. P. Pitman, BSV, 6-2.

Fifth place

98 - B. Boettcher, HEL, p. M. King, BSH, 3:44. 105 - K. Richie, MSN, d. B. Halston, BSV, 5-0. 112 - D. Hamilton, MSN, d. C. Berish, BSH, 5-4. 119 - C. Hurt, CAP, d. C. Kissell, BUT, 7-6. 125 - R. Gersbach, HEL, d. K. Knutson, CAP, 3-2. 130 - D. Jenkins, MBS, p. M. Kintzing, BSV, 1:36. 135 - N. Lang, BOZ, tf. D. Widdicombe, MBS, 19-2. 140 - N. Haynes, BUT, d. J. Oeleis, CMR, 9-3. 145 - M. Hart, BWH, d. M. Walker, MBS, 5-3. 152 - D. Williams, BSV, md. T. Vinson, GFH, 8-0. 160 - C. Scott, BSV, d. J. Lombardo, GFH, 6-5. 171 - R. Fetherston, HEL, d. C. Prinzing, GFH, 7-2. 189 - C. Sherley, CAP, p. D. Farrier, KAL, 2:26. 215 - C. Richardson, BSV, p. E. Meyer, BSV, 4:40. Hwt - R. Bouchee, BSH, p. B. Sternberg, HEL, 2:25.

Semifinals

98 - Z. Mendenhall, GFH, d. T. McLaughlin, BUT, 10-5; B. Ham, KAL, p. S. Goodell, BSV, 4:49.

105 - K. Klienschmidt, CAP, d. B. Halston, BSV, 8-5; T. Decker, KAL, d. D. Pulver, BSH, 3-1.

112 - A. Zapata, KAL, d. L. Plotner, BWH, 10-6; B. Spencer, GFH, d. R. Janes, KAL, 13-8.

119 - T. Sprenkle, BSH, d. T. Renz, BUT, 5-0; K. Tolliver, GFH, p. C. Hurt, CAP, 0:16.

125 - B. Verrall, BUT, d. B. Mitchell, KAL, 8-6; C. Moline, BWH, d. R. Gersbach, HEL, 10-4.

130 - C. Dallaserra, BUT, p. M. Kintzing, BSV, 1:24; D. Flaget, KAL, md. M. Schieno, BWH, 15-6.

135 - W. Cusker, MBS, d. N. Lang, BOZ, 2-1; V. Salminen, BSV, tf. B. Vinson, GFH, 16-1.

140 - J. Beeman, BSH, p. N. Haynes, BUT, 4:55; J. Duffield, BSV, p. J. Oeleis, CMR, 5:44.

145 - M. Kuehne, KAL, d. T. Todd, BOZ, 10-9; D. Whitby, BSH, p. K. Halcro, CAP, 2:58.

152 - D. Lemm, MSN, d. C. Shilhanek, BSH, 9-7; T. Daniels, CMR, d. M. Hitt, BSV, 4-1.

160 - D. Maciel, BSV, p. A. Ouelette, MHG, 3:35; K. Devore, BOZ, p. R. McCracken, CMR, 4:32.

171 - C. Gazzerro, CMR, d. C. Prinzing, GFH, 6-2; R. Shilhanek, BSH, p. L. Holt, KAL, 4:39.

189 - Z. Jones, BSV, p. C. Thompson, KAL, 2:25; M. Keyser, BOZ, p. D. Farrier, KAL, 3:24.

215 - K. Klaboe, BWH, d. B. Schmidt, BUT, 5-3; W. Wine, BSH, md. C. Richardson, BSV, 12-4.

Hwt. - B. Hoffenbacker, KAL, p. B. Sternberg, HEL, 3:03; P. Lyles, BSH, p. T. Hass, BUT, 2:26.

Consolation quarterfinals

98 - King, BSH, md. M. Snyder, GFH, 15-2; B. Boettcher, HEL, d. S. Fancher, BSH, d. 9-6.

105 - M. Pfaff, MBS, tf. J. Schwarz, BWH, 17-0; K. Richie, KAL, p. T. Starkey, CMR, 2:14.

112 - D. Hamiton, MSN, d. J. Cunningham, BSV, 8-7; C. Berish, BSH, p. C. Engle, BSV, 2:04.

119 - C. Kissell, BUT, d. Z. Bingham, MHG, 7-0; J. Jones, BSV, d. K. McCracken, CMR, 10-3.

125 - K. Knutson, CAP, p. K. Holden, MBS, 1:31; Z. Gregoire, GFH, md. C. Malia, BSV, 8-0.

130 - M. Haynes, BUT, p. C. Schlender, BOZ, 0:44; D. Jenkins, MBS, d. S. Bailey, CMR, 5-3.

135 - A. Kohn, BSV, md. R. Nelson, KAL, 8-0; D. Widdecombe, MBS, d. D. Sherley, CAP, 7-6.

140 - J. Binkoski, BSV, p. T. Wells, KAL, 4:14; T. Todd, BOZ, d. B. Penrose, BUT, 6-3.

145 - M. Hart, BWH, d. A. Davies, BSV, 3-0; M. Walker, MBS, p. R. Lashley, GFH, 1:56.

152 - T. Vinson, GFH, p. C. Gardner, CAP, 5:33; D. Williams, BSV, d. T. Bender, GFH, 2-0.

160 - J. Lombardo, GFH, p. K. Kelsey, BOZ, 4:47; C. Scott, BSV, d. K. West, HEL, 5-2.

171 - S. Cassel, KAL, d. J. Nay, CAP, 8-6; R. Fetherston, HEL, p. C. Scally, BSV, 2:29.

189 - C. Sherley, CAP, p. K. Landwehr, BSV, 0:44; D. Matule, BUT, d. Z. Deffinbaugh, GFH, 5-0.

215 - E. Meyer, BSV, d. C. Poier, KAL, 7-1; B. Bouchee, BSH, d. J. Kaiser, BOZ, 6-1.

Hwt. - P. Pitman, BSV, d. B. Schaeffer, BOZ, 4-1; R. Bouchee, BSH, p. A. Voorhees, CMR, 1:35.

Consolation semifinals

98 - T. McLaughlin, BUT, p. M. King, BSH, 4:42; S. Goodell, BSV, md. B. Boettcher, HEL, 16-2.

105 - M Pfaff, MBS, d. B. Halston, BSV, 5-3; D. Pulver, BSH, d. K. Richie, KAL, 9-2.

112 - L. Plotner, BWH, md. D. Hamilton, MSN, 11-3; R. Janes, KAL, d. C. Berish, BSH, 5-3.

119 - T. Renz, BUT, p. C. Kissell, BUT, 0:46; J. Jones, BSV, p. C. Hurt, CAP, 1:53.

125 - B. Mitchell, KAL, p. K. Knutson, CAP, 4:25; Z. Gregoire, GFH, d. R. Gersbach, HEL, 11-6.

130 - M. Haynes, BUT, d. M. Kintzing, BSV, 7-0; M. Schieno, BWH, d. D. Jenkins, MBS, 2-1.

135 - A. Kohn, BSV, d. N. Lang, BOZ, 3-2; B. Vinson, GFH, tf. D. Widdecombe, MBS, 15-0.

140 - J. Binkoski, BSV, d. N. Haynes, BUT, 11-10; T. Todd, BOZ, d. J.Oeleis, CMR, 6-3.

145 - T. Todd, BOZ, d. M. Hart, BWH, 2-1; K. Halcro, CAP, md. M. Walker, MBS, 8-0.

152 - C. Shilhanek, BSH, d. T. Vinson, GFH, 6-4; M. Hitt, BSV, p. D. Williams, BSV, 5:45.

160 - A. Ouelette, MHG, p. J. Lombardo, GFH, 4:17; R. McCracken, CMR, d. C. Scott, BSV, 8-1.

171 - S. Cassel, KAL, d. C. Prinzing, GFH, 5-4; L. Holt, KAL, d. R. Fetherston, HEL, 4-2.

189 - C. Thompson, KAL, p. C. Sherley, CAP, 2:30; D. Matule, BUT, p. D. Farrier, KAL, 4:48.

215 - B. Schmidt, BUT, p. E. Meyer, BSV, 2:40; B. Bouchee, BSH, d. C. Richardson, BSV, 8-3.

Hwt. - P. Pitman, BSV, d. B. Sternberg, HEL, 5-3; T. Hass, BUT, d. R. Bouchee, BSH, 7-5.