Rocky rumble features loaded 119 class

All the talk heading into the 28th annual Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic this weekend is about one thing - the super talented 119-pound weight class.

"It's the toughest weight class in the tournament," said Flathead wrestling coach Jeff Thompson.

"That weight class will be an absolute dogfight."

Flathead, the defending classic champs and top ranked AA team in the state, will have to go with just a sophomore junior varsity wrestler AJ Stoick at that division, which will have state champions and a national placer entered. Still, the competition there, and at several other weights, had Thompson calling this the premier event once again.

"This will be the toughest tournament we attend this year," said Thompson.

"University High (of Spokane) is ranked No. 1 in 4A (in Washington). Northwestern Montana wrestling this year is top notch. It's loaded."

Besides Flathead and University High, Polson, ranked No. 3 in Class A, Butte, and Clarkston, Wash., are the teams to beat.

Columbia Falls, Libby and Whitefish, ranked Nos. 6-9-10, respectively, are also in attendance.

Over 20 schools from three states are at the tourney.

Flathead won its first classic title since 1987 last year by demolishing the field. Clarkston was second and 40-plus points behind.

Wrestling gets under way today at 11 a.m. Saturday's championship matches will begin at 6 p.m.

Aric Tarr, a two-time Rocky champ and two-time undefeated state Class A champ, is one of those headliners at 119 that Thompson was talking about.

Tarr came into the classic with a 17-0 record a year ago and decisioned Cory Fish of University High of Spokane 3-2 in the final at 112.

Fish and Tarr have met in the finals of the classic the last two years with Tarr prevailing both times.

Fish, a two-time Washington state champ and cadet national champ, has also moved up to 119 for 2004-05.

Tarr takes a 16-2 mark to today's event. His two losses are to Brandon Stedman of Frenchtown, another state champion entered.

Also at 119, it will be two-time state champ Kody Tolliver of Great Falls High and TJ Rentz of Butte, a national placer.

"A lot of wrestling, a busy weekend," said Columbia Falls coach Wes Knutson.

And the Wildcats are already banged up.

Whitefish coach Pat Cheff says he will have 11 "solid wrestlers" on the mats.

"No superstars," he said.

"Just hard working kids."

Brad Watterud, 145, leads the Bulldogs with a 16-6 record. Not far behind him are Tim Lehner, 171, at 14-5 and Troy Parker, heavyweight, at 14-3.

Parker finished fifth here a year ago. He's ranked No. 2 in the state for Class A.

Thursday's Results

Columbia Falls 49, Hamilton 34

At Hamilton

98 - Clayton Patterson, CF, won by forfeit; 105 - Cody Kolodejchuk, CF, won by forfeit; 112 - Tyson Nelson, CF, won by forfeit; 119 - Aric Tarr, CF, won by forfeit; 125 - Cory Pete, CF, won by forfeit; 130 - David Love, H, pinned Bo Hader, 1:29; 135 - Dalvin Averill, CF, pinned Alex Martin, 2:49; 140 - Mike Lewis, H, pinned Bobby Opp, 3:57; 145 - Ryan Buck, CF, dec. Brock Anderson, 17-4; 152 - Chris Fuller, H, won by forfeit; 160 - Travis Neff, H, dec. Derek Wolf, 19-5; 171 - Orrin Stephans, H, won by forfeit; 189 - Nick Caron, CF, dec. Jarrett Weigle, 13-9; 215 - Garrett Koppes, H, pinned A.J. Taylor, 1:08; Hwt - Tommy Church, CF, won by forfeit.

Columbia Falls 54, Corvallis 24

At Corvallis

98 - Clayton Patterson, CF won by forfeit; 105 - Landon DellaSilva, Cor, dec. Cody Kolodejchuk, 16-11; 112 - Tyson Nelson, CF, pinned Danny Powers, 1:14; 119 - Aric Tarr, CF, pinned Jaris Bierer, 1:58; 125 - Taylor Nagel, Cor, dec. Cory Pete, 4-3; 130 - Bo Hader, CF, pinned Danny Gates, 4:50; 135 - Dalvin Averill, CF, pinned Chase Jessop, 1:35; 140 - Bobby Opp, CF, pinned Dan DuBose, 5:07; 145 - double forfeit; 152 - Ryan Buck, CF, pinned Bo Davenport, 3:19; 160 - Caleb Cousins, Cor, won by forfeit; 171 - Gordy Jessop, Cor, won by forfeit; 189 - Nick Caron, CF, pinned Josh Wood, 5:15; 215 - Kenny Jessop, Cor, pinned AJ Taylor, 1:46; Hwt - Tommy Church, CF, pinned Blake Cranmore, 1:26.

Libby 63, Ronan 15

At Ronan

98 - Seth Clary, R, won by forfeit; 105 - Loran Nelson, L, won by forfeit; 112 - double forfeit; 119 - Kyle Ames, L, won by forfeit; 125 - Matt Roberts, L, dec. Chris Starkel, 9-4; 130 - Boomer Peek, L, won by forfeit; 135 - Seth Cummings, L, pinned Josh Krantz, :35; 140 - Hunter Dragert, L, pinned Joe McCarthy, 1:05; 145 - Dion Brown, R, dec. Steve Bertelsen, 10-7; 152 - RJ Olsen, R, pinned Tim Spencer, 2:31; 160 - Nils Unger, L, pinned Ben White, :43; 171 - Jake Spencer, L, pinned Curtis Flesch, 1:25; 189 - Jake Graham, L, pinned TC Garcia, :56; 215 - Travis Hjort, L, pinned Dan Brown, :36. Hwt - Tyler Goff, L, pinned Mike Trosper, 2:17.

Whitefish 52, Frenchtown 30

At Frenchtown

98 - Josh Stedman, F, pinned Phillip Murphy, 1:06; 105 - Beau. Nordahl, F, pinned Cody Morris, :51; 112 - Chris Bick, F, won by forfeit; 119 - Brandon Stedman, F, won by forfeit; 125 - Kevin Kaltschmidt, W, dec. Josh Henderson, 4-2 OT; 130 - Matt Starr, W, pinned Jamie Spurlock, 3:11; 135 - Pete Starr, W, pinned Isaac Houston, 1:17; 140 - Cody Mikesell, W, major dec. Cody Way, 9-0; 145 - Brad Watterud, W, pinned Colin Dilworth, 3:34; 152 - Brad Kuntz, W, dec. Brandon Madland, 7-5; 160 - Dave Lautaret, W, pinned Brent Deihl, :59; 171 - Tim Lehner, W, pinned Nick Weller, 3:19; 189 - Matt Mangold, W, pinned Lyle Martinez, 3:39; 215 - Tommy Domingo, F, won by forfeit; Hwt - Troy Parker, W, won by forfeit.

28th annual Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic

Flathead's Lineup

98 - Brian Ham, fr., 20-6; 105 - T.C. Decker, fr., 21-3; 112 - Austin Zapata, so., 13-12; 119 - AJ Stoick, so., 19-7 (JV); 125 - Brandon Mitchell, sr., 16-8; 130 - Duran Flaget, jr., 15-6; 135 - Ryan Nelson, jr., 17-8; 140 - Tyler Wells, fr., 15-3 (JV); 145 - Mikey Kuehne, jr., 23-1; 152 - David Lau, fr., 18-6; 160 - Josiah Nelson, jr., 10-11; 171 - Levi Holt, sr., 20-4; 189 - Chris Thompson, sr., 20-4; 215 - Garrett Woodson, sr., 15-9; Hwt - Brandon Hoffenbacker, sr., 19-2.

Most wins - 1. Mikey Kuehne 23. 2. (tie) Brian Ham and Levi Holt, 22 each. 4. T.C. Decker and Chris Thompson, 20 each.

Most decisions - 1. Mikey Kuehne 13. 2. Levi Holt 7. 3. (tie) David Lau and Austin Zapata, 6 each. 5. Brian Ham 5.

Most tech falls - 1. (tie) Brandon Mitchell, Duran Flaget, T.C. Decker and Thomas Lamayr, 2 each. 5. Brian Ham 1.

Most takedowns - 1. Mikey Kuehne 92. 2. Chris Thompson 48. 3. Brian Ham 40. 4. Levi Holt 38. 5. Brandon Mitchell 36.

Most 3-point near falls - 1. T.C. Decker 18. 2. Brandon Mitchell 14. 3. (tie) Brian Ham and Chris Thompson 12 each. 5. Ryan Nelson 11.

Most 2-point near falls - 1. Brandon Mitchell 9. 2. Brian Ham 8. 3. Duran Flaget 7. 4. Tyler Wells 6. 5. Garrett Woodson 5.

Most reversals - 1. T.C. Decker 16. 2. Brandon Mitchell 14. 3. Justin Waverek 12. 4. Josiah Nelson 11. 5. Ryan Nelson 10.

Most team points - 1. Levi Holt 116. 2. Brian Ham 108. 3. T.C. Decker 106. 4. (tie) Chris Thompson and Brandon Hoffenbacker 103 each.

Most falls - 1. Garrett Woodson 15. 2. (tie) Chris Thompson and Levi Holt 14 each. 4. (tie) Tyler Wells and Drew Watkins 13 each.

Most major decisions - 1. Mikey Kuehne 5. 2. Ryan Nelson 4. 3. (tie) Brent Turman and Austin Zapata 2 each. 5. Brian Ham 1.

Most escapes - 1. Mikey Kuehne 32. 2. Brandon Mitchell 27. 3. Drew Watkins 20. 4. Colter Lane 17. 5. Levi Holt 13.

Class A Poll

Team

1. Havre. 2. Sidney. 3. Polson. 4. Anaconda. 5. Hardin. 6. Columbia Falls. 7. Frenchtown. 8. Corvallis. 9. Libby. 10. Whitefish.

Individual

98 - 1. Josh Stedman, Frenchtown. 2. Shane Ludwick, Polson. 3. John Patterson, Anaconda. 4. Chad Ranes, Havre. 5. Seth Clary, Ronan. 6. Clayton Patterson, Columbia Falls.

105 - 1. Jesse Obergfell, Sidney. 2. Dustin Hanson, Anaconda. 3. Breau Nordahl, Frenchtown. 4. Billy Wagner, Havre. 5. Logan Torgison, Polson. 6. Landon Dellasilva, Corvallis.

112 - 1. Brandon Uffelman, Hardin. 2. Kevin Fischer, Anaconda. 3. Matt Cellmer, Laurel. 4. Chris Bick, Frenchtown. 5. Lance Kuylen, Sidney. 6. Colin Benson, Polson.

119 - 1. Brandon Stedman, Frenchtown. 2. Aric Tarr, Columbia Falls. 3. Joe Carlson, Glendive. 4. Nate Harada, Havre. 5. Greg Smith, Anaconda. 6. Steve Feistner, Polson.

125 - 1. Ryan Hecker, Sidney. 2. Colby Wolfenden, Polson. 3. Jeryd Richman, Anaconda. 4. Josh Henderson, Frenchtown. 5. Beau LaSalle, Havre. 6. Talor Nagel, Corvallis.

130 - 1. Byron Kuylen, Sidney. 2. Kane Zetterburg, Polson. 3. Derek Solan, Anaconda. 4. Mike Hipple, Havre. 5. Matt Starr, Whitefish. 6. Sol Dubose, Corvallis.

135 - 1. Doug Copeland, Sidney. 2. Seth Cummings, Libby. 3. Jason French, Lewistown. 4. Tyler Tennant, Glendive. 5. Tucker Vizina, Dillon. 6. Leo Pluhar, Miles City.

140 - 1. Derek Fritz, Sidney. 2. Cody Mikesell, Whitefish. 3. Mike Lewis, Hamilton. 4. Dustin Leman, Lewistown. 5. Bobby Opp, Columbia Falls. 6. Brooks Kmetz, Miles City.

145 - 1. Dustin Scotten, Lewistown. 2. Matt Dow, Glendive. 3. Ryan Buck, Columbia Falls. 4. Brock Anderson, Hamilton. 5. Brad Kuntz, Whitefish. 6. Josh Moore, Sidney.

152 - 1. Jeff Brokaw, Hardin. 2. Steve Bertelsen, Libby. 3. Dan Collins, Sidney. 4. Trevor Thomas, Belgrade. 5. Chris Forsman, Anaconda. 6. Brad Watterud, Whitefish.

160 - 1. Evan Hinebaugh, Havre. 2. Gresh Melby, Sidney. 3. Logan Kugler, Polson. 4. Caleb Cousins, Corvallis. 5. Gordy Jessop, Corvallis. 6. Max Maxwell, Hardin.

171 - 1. Dustin Haukenberry, Havre. 2. James Muhlbeier, Hardin. 3. Jake Spencer, Libby. 4. Tim Lehner, Whitefish. 5. C. Seely, Havre. 6. Nick Weller, Frenchtown.

189 - 1. Kevin Owen, Polson. 2. Chad Seeley, Havre. 3. Jake Graham, Libby. 4. Matt Mangold, Whitefish. 5. Matt Belon, Anaconda. 6. Jarrett Weigle, Hamilton.

215 - 1. Travis Hjort, Libby. 2. Bill Zuelke, Havre. 3. Mike Weidow, Corvallis. 4. Dan Brown, Ronan. 5. Trevor Getchell, Sidney. 6. Anthony Boyce, Browning.

Hwt - 1. Matt Schnittgen, Havre. 2. Troy Parker, Whitefish. 3. Chris Latray, Anaconda. 4. Tommy Church, Columbia Falls. 5. Blake Cranmore, Corvallis. 6. Dustin Merritt, Sidney.