Flathead, Libby rock at Rocky

The Daily Inter Lake

MISSOULA - The Flathead Braves were riding high after wrestling to a first-place finish at the Rocky Mountain Classic at Sentinel High School Saturday. Flathead finished with 244 points, 18 ahead of second-place Butte.

With three former Rocky champions on the Braves' coaching staff, the win was a big boost for the team.

"We're very excited," Flathead coach Jeff Thompson said. "There's a lot of pride here. This was a great stepping stone for us."

The Libby Loggers were also a force to be reckoned with, placing third with 180.5 points. Libby put four wrestlers into the finals and won three of those matches - all at Flathead's expense.

The combination of Steve Bertelsen (second), Jake Spencer (first), Jake Graham (first) and Travis Hjort (first) is nearly unbeatable. These four practically guarantee Libby will have a strong showing at any dual or tournament. Graham avenged an earlier loss against Polson's Bryce Picard by beating him Saturday in a tough 7-6 battle

The normally dominant University High from Spokane, Wash., finished in fourth place with 170 points. U-High is the reigning 4A state champions in Washington and were undefeated in duals and tournaments this year until traveling to Missoula.

"That says a lot for the Montana schools and the wrestlers here," Thompson said.

After the first day, the Braves were set to run away with the tournament. The team had 10 wrestlers reach the semifinals. Six of them went on to compete for a championship, but only Mikey Kuehne pulled out a win.

"You know, we had six in the finals - a huge number," Thompson said. "We wrestled well and fought hard in the finals."

Kuehne faced Ted Morigeau from Polson and did what he does best - run a takedown clinic. He went on to win by major decision, 17-6. This was Kuehne's second straight Rocky title.

"He had an awesome tournament," Thompson said. "It was the best he's wrestled all year."

The Braves' Dan Ogden lost his first match of the season against a tough Butte wrestler, 7-1. Ogden was down 2-1 with 30 seconds left and tried a risky move for the win. He got caught and lost near fall points.

Flathead's strong showing throughout this season convinced Sentinel's coach and athletic director to open up some extra spots that allowed the Braves to bring six extra wrestlers. Many other teams also brought one or two JV wrestlers to compete. Of the five JV wrestlers to place at the Rocky, four of them were Braves, including a third-place finish by Tyler Wells.

The success did bring one unintended consequence. Damien Farrier beat his varsity teammate Casey Poier in a semifinal match at 215. Farrier fell to Libby's Hjort in the finals, and Poier pinned his opponent from Butte to place third.

Polson (8), Whitefish (15) and Columbia Falls (20) all fell in the standings compared to last year. Each team did have wrestlers on the podium, however, and area wrestlers managed to place in every weight class.

"This was another total team effort," Thompson said. "We have different guys stepping up every week. But it's back to the drawing board Monday."

Team scores

Kalispell 244, Butte 226, Libby 180.5, University High (Spokane) 170, Great Falls High 162, Central Valley (Spokane) 149, Frenchtown 105, Polson 102, Mead (Spokane) 99, Missoula Sentinel 94, Great Falls Russell 92, Corvallis 89, Ronan 86, Hamilton 79, Whitefish 78, Clarkston 62, Missoula Big Sky 60, Ferris (Spokane) 60, Anaconda 54, Columbia Falls 52, Missoula Hellgate 30, Superior 11.

98 lbs

Championship - Chad Hansen, Ftn, dec. Jake Love, Sent, 3-2.

Third-fourth - Pat Belknap, UHi, md. Kelly Olds, CMR, 13-4.

Fifth-sixth - Zach Hettick, But, pinned Phillip Murphy, Wf, 4:12.

105 lbs

Championship - Josh Stedman, Ftn, tech fall Nick Cambron, CV, 15-0, 4:50.

Third-fourth - Brian Ham, Kal, dec. Zach Mendenhall, GF, 5-1.

Fifth-sixth - Tyler McLaughlin, But, pinned Austin Bailey, CMR, 2:46.

112 lbs

Championship - Nash Hallfrisch, CMR, dec. T.C. Decker, Kal, 5-0.

Third-fourth - Shane Ludwick, Pol, dec. Seth Clary, Ron, 5-3.

Fifth-sixth - Ryan Thiel, Kal, dec. Kyle Richie, Sen, 9-7.

119 lbs

Championship - Brandon Stedman, Ftn, dec. Mike Malsam, UHi, 5-3.

Third-fourth - Landon DellaSilva, Cor, pinnned Conlin Benson, Pol, 4:18.

Fifth-sixth - Ian Matson, Mead, dec. Chris Bick, Ftn, 10-5.

125 lbs

Championship - Chase Fish, UHi, pinned Ben Spencer, GF, 5:04.

Third-fourth - Boomer Peek, Lib, dec. Logan Torgison, Pol, 5-3.

Fifth-sixth - Tyler Johnston, But, dec. Austin Zapata, Kal, 4-1.

130 lbs

Championship - Taylor Yonago, Fer, dec. TJ Renz, But, 1-0.

Third-fourth - Zach Gregoire, GF, dec. Taylor Nagel, Cor, 3-2.

Fifth-sixth - Corey Pete, CF, dec. Jeremy Savage, CV, 6-3.

135 lbs

Championship - Cole Dallaserra, But, major dec. Jeff Croskrey, CV, 11-0.

Third-fourth - Duran Flaget, Kal, pinned Spencer Bailey, CMR, 3:53.

Fifth-sixth - Andy Love, Sen, dec. Matt Roberts, Lib, 9-5 OT.

140 lbs

Championship - Lucas Chesher, CV, dec. Brody Verrall, But, 3-1.

Third-fourth - Bobby Vinson, GF, dec. Michael Hader, CF, 5-1.

Fifth-sixth - Jason Fairley, Ckn, inj. default over Elliott Nay, UHi.

145 lbs

Championship - Nick Haynes, But, dec. Mike Lewis, Ham, 5-2.

Third-fourth - Seth Cummings, Lib, dec. Luke Fischer, Kal, 11-4.

Fifth-sixth - Mike Walker, BSH, dec. Ryan Peck, Mead, 6-5.

152 lbs

Championship - Mikey Kuehne, Kal, major dec. Ted Morigeau, Pol, 17-6.

Third-fourth - Tyler Wells, Kal, dec. Brock Anderson, Ham, 9-8.

Fifth-sixth - Brandon Penrose, But, inj. default over Toby Bender, GF.

160 lbs

Championship - Camren Ebat, CV, dec. Steve Bertelsen, Lib, 5-2.

Third-fourth - Ty Vinson, GF, dec. Brad Watterud, Wtf, 7-3.

Fifth-sixth - Nick Zumwalt, UHi, dec. Josiah Nelson, Kal, 9-6.

171 lbs

Championship - Jake Spencer, Lib, dec. Levi Holt, Kal, 12-4.

Third-fourth - Andrew Peterson, UHi, pinned Tyler Espinosa, Ron, 4:17.

Fifth-sixth - Nick Severns, CV, dec. Tim Lehner, Wtf, 6-5.

189 lbs

Championship - Jake Graham, Lib, pinned Scott Cassel, Kal, 2:46.

Third-fourth - Bryce Picard, Pol, pinned Cameron Prinzing, GF, 2:12.

Fifth-sixth - Wes Braun, Ckn, pinned Nick Weller, Ftn, 2:38.

215 lbs

Championship - Travis Hjort, Lib, pinned Damian Farrier, Kal, 3:26.

Third-fourth - Casey Poier, Kal, pinned Cory Tallon, But, 1:47.

Fifth-sixth - Roy Pritchett, Hgt, pinned Alex Storud, BSH, 3:11.

Hwt

Championship - Trever Hass, But, dec. Dan Ogden, Kal, 7-1.

Third-fourth - Dono Totten, UHi, dec. Mike Magee, Mead, 4-0.

Fifth-sixth - Blake Cranmore, Cor, pinned Tyler Goff, Lib, 2:38.