Braves aim for perfect weekend on mats
Flathead's goal - qualifying all 30 wrestlers for state
The Daily Inter Lake
The bar has been set pretty high.
A team title, 17 state placers, seven state runners-up … it might be difficult for the Flathead Brave wrestling team to match its own performance from a year ago.
That's not at all the way the Braves see it as they head into this weekend's Western AA seeding tournament in Butte.
The top eight in each weight class qualify for the state tournament Feb. 9-10 in Billings.
"One more stepping stone," said Flathead head coach Jeff Thompson in describing how the Braves (17-1 in duals this season) are looking at this weekend.
Weigh-ins begin at 2 p.m. today. The first two rounds of wrestling start at 4 p.m. Wrestling begins at 9 a.m. Saturday with the finals estimated to start at about 3 p.m.
"Our goal as a program has always been to bring 30 guys to the state tournament. We've never achieved that goal. But you've got to set your sights high," Thompson said.
Flathead came close to that goal last year - 29 of 30 wrestlers advanced to the state tournament.
"Our goal is 30. We like our chances," Thompson said. "We like where we're at right now. This is the time to peak, right here. This is the big show, as we like to call it. We hope our troops are ready."
The seeding tournament is different than all the others Flathead has attended this season in that every other tournament has included one wrestler at each of 15 weight classes.
Now Flathead can bring in its JV. That's an extra wrestler at each weight.
"We're very happy and excited to see those other 15 guys step on that mat," Thompson said.
"It's going to be fun. It's a completely different tournament," he said. "We're one varsity team with 30 guys."
The Braves have three wrestlers who have yet to be defeated at the Class AA level.
Freshman Shawn Lau is 16-0 at 98 pounds (32-3 overall), junior Brian Ham is 19-0 (29-3 overall) and senior heavyweight Dan Ogden is 4-0 (8-0 overall in an injury-shortened season).
Despite the success of the season, Flathead has had no trouble at all maintaining intensity, Thompson said.
"These guys just have that internal motivation," he said. "They go after it. Overall, this group of young men, they're just focused on their goals. It's been a great week of practice.
"Overall, the kids are wrestling hard and going after it still. But then again, we're tapering and making sure our legs are fresh," the coach said.
"We're giving guys rest that need it," he added.
Flathead Wrestling
2007 Divisional team
Overall AA
Weight Name Record Record
98 Shawn Lau 32-3 16-0
Zach Reimnitz 23-2 9-2
105 Dan Jenkins 22-12 9-5
Ryan Swelland 14-8 1-1
112 Tanner Beaman 28-13 12-9
Joaquin Calderon 19-3 2-1
119 Brian Ham 29-5 19-0
Jesse Morritt 10-8 1-1
125 Ricky Janes 29-9 12-4
Jordan Nelson 17-9 5-2
130 Austin Zapata 29-6 13-1
Steven Mantel 21-5 1-0
135 TC Decker 23-6 11-2
Ryan Thiel 18-9 9-2
140 Caleb Allen-Schmid 16-6 3-1
AJ Stoick 12-4 0-2
145 Bryce Stacy 27-7 13-3
Ian Damon 15-6 1-1
152 Tyler Wells 27-6 12-3
Tucker Hankinson 15-8 0-3
160 David Lau 27-10 11-3
Jonah Franchi 16-4 1-1
171 Luke Fischer 23-4 12-3
Duncan Aylor 12-6 6-6
189 Drew Watkins 21-11 8-2
Nick Barkley 14-8 1-2
215 Mark Svenson 15-14 4-4
Justin Waverek 23-4 7-1
Hwt Dan Ogden 8-0 4-0
Tyler Thomas 14-6 1-2
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Flathead High School Category Leaders
Jan. 30
Most team points: 1. Shawn Lau, 181; 2. Brian Ham, 165; 3. David Lau, 157; 4. Tanner Beaman, 141; 5. Tyler Wells, 138.
Most takedowns: 1. Austin Zapata, 70; 2. Tyler Wells, 56; 3. David Lau, 46; 4. Drew Watkins, 45; 5. Ricky Janes, 41.
Most falls: 1. Brian Ham, 21; 2. Shawn Lau, 20; 3. Justin Waverek, 19; 4. Tanner Beaman,18; 5. David Lau, 18.
Most major decisions: 1. Tyler Wells, 4; 2. Austin Zapata, 4; 3. Dan Jenkins, 4; 4. Brian Ham, 3; 5. Ricky Janes, 3.
Most defaults: 1. Shawn Lau, 6; 2. Zach Reimnitz, 5; 3. David Lau, 4; 4. Ryan Swelland, 3; 5. Ryan Thiel, 3.
Most 3-point near falls: 1. Dan Jenkins, 23; 2. Tyler Wells, 18; 3. Jonah Franchi, 16; 4. Tanner Beaman, 15; 5. Shawn Lau, 15.
Most 2-point near falls: 1. Tyler Wells, 13; 2. Luke Fischer, 12; 3. TC Decker, 11; 4. Drew Watkins, 8; 5. Tanner Beaman, 7.
Most wins: 1. Shawn Lau, 33; 2. Brian Ham, 29; 3. Ricky Janes, 29; 4. Austin Zapata, 29; 5. Tanner Beaman, 28.
Most decisions: 1. Austin Zapata, 14; 2. Ricky Janes, 13; 3. Bryce Stacy, 12; 4. Tanner Beaman, 8; 5. Drew Watkins.
Most tech falls: 1. Zach Reimnitz, 2; 2. Drew Watkins, 2; 3. Jonah Franchi, 2; 4. Dan Jenkins, 2; 5. Ryan Swelland, 1.
Most forfeits: 1. Ian Damon, 1; 2. Brian Ham, 1; 3. David Lau, 1; 4. Jesse Morritt, 1; 5. Drew Watkins, 1.
Most reversals: 1. Tanner Beaman, 24; 2. Tyler Wells, 22; 3. Drew Watkins, 16; 4. Dan Jenkins, 16; 5. TC Decker, 15.
Most escapes: 1. Dan Jenkins, 35; 2. Tanner Beaman, 27; 3. Ryan Thiel, 27; 4. Ricky Janes, 27; 5. Drew Watkins, 24.