Picard, Torgison state champions for Polson

Ronan finishes 2nd in Class A at wrestling tournament

BILLINGS - A scary moment turned into a triumphant memory for Brock Picard and the rest of the Polson Pirate wrestling team.

Picard and Havre's Phillip Sutherland were tied at two-all late in the first period when Picard was slammed to the mat.

It looked bad.

"I thought his neck was broken," said his dad, Steve, who raced to the floor of the MetraPark.

"I was afraid of that, too," agreed Pirate coach Bob Owen.

"That was a vicious slam he took. It scared me. That's when you don't care what the score is," he said.

The officials declared the illegal slam and were about to declare Picard the winner - he was told he had 10 seconds of injury time left.

He was having none of that. The sophomore suddenly popped up and raced back onto the mat.

"He just jumped up and bolted back to the middle," Owen said.

"He gained the respect of everybody in here. That's one of the guttier things I've seen an athlete do. That's as stand-up as it gets," he said.

"Win or lose, I had to finish," Picard said.

"They said they were going to forfeit. I wasn't going to win that way. That's not fair to (Sutherland). It's not like he did it purposely."

But he did win it.

Picard bounced back and beat Sutherland, 7-3 to claim his first state championship.

But on the Class A team front, the day, the weekend and the year belonged to Havre.

The Blue Ponies scored 282.5 points. Ronan was second with 167.5 and Sidney placed third with 164. Libby was 11th overall with 83 points, Columbia Falls was 12th with 82.5 and Polson was 13th with 80 points.

Joining Picard on the medal stand as the only other Northwestern A wrestler to win a state title was 145-pound senior Logan Torgison, also of Polson.

Torgison became a four-time state placer and a two-time champion with his 4-3 win over Alex Martin of Hamilton.

"He's strong. He's probably one of the tougher kids I've ever wrestled," Torgison said.

"I tried to relax until right before the match. Then I went out there and tried to do my best."

But for the rest of the Pirates, it was a disappointing weekend.

"A lot of the kids didn't wrestle to their potential, lot of bad luck, bad draws. But I'm sure next year they'll be back in it," Torgison said.

The Northwestern A team headed home with hardware, despite the lack of a state champion, is Ronan.

The Chiefs entered the tournament ranked No. 2 in Class A. They backed that up with strong performances in the wrestlebacks Saturday morning and held off third place Sidney by 3 1/2 points.

"I've said all year … we win and lose tournaments in the wrestlebacks. With seven kids in the wrestlebacks, and all doing well, we were able to place second. That's great," said Ronan coahc Ryan Fisher.

"That was a battle with (Sidney) all the way to the end," Fisher said.

"Sidney kept coming. They had good days of wrestling.

But we had good days of wrestling, too," he said.

"I was very pleased with our kids. We didn't lose any unexpected matches. Everyone contributed and everyone on the team scored points," he said.

In Fisher's four years of coaching, Ronan has improved from 16th to 8th to 6th last year and now second.

"Our goal last year was to be in the top five. We missed it by two points," the coach said.

That led to several discussions and some education on how tournaments are scored.

The Chiefs now know how important each point is, he said.

"They'll be looking at the scoreboard … that shows a lot of team dedication that's coming around," he said.

"I would have liked to have placed another one in the finals. But I lose two seniors that placed. They're looking good, they're feeling good and we're already looking forward to next year," Fisher said.

Class A

Team Totals

Havre (HAV) 282 1/2, Ronan (RON) 167 1/2, Sidney (SID) 164, Frenchtown (FTN) 131 1/2, Corvallis (COR) 118 1/2, Belgrade (BEL) 113 1/2, Miles City (MCY) 107, Lewistown (LEW) 97 1/2, Hamilton (HAM) 92 1/2, Hardin (HAR) 89, Libby (LIB) 83, Columbia Falls (CFS) 82 1/2, Polson (POL) 80, Dillon (DIL) 66 1/2, Laurel (LAU) 58, Anaconda (ANA) 57, Glendive (GLE) 47 1/2, Browning (BRW) 31, Billings Central (CEN) 26, Livingston (LIV) 19, Whitefish (WFH) 11 1/2.

First Place

98 - Tyler Stedman, FTN def. Brennan Gorder, SID, pin, 3:25

105 - Chris Recio, HAV def. Zach Robinson, RON, tfall, 15-0

112 - Levi Johnson, SID def. Ryan Hardy, RON, tfall, 21-4

119 - Kylan Zumpf, MCY def. Chad Hansen, FTN, dec, 5-4

119 - Derick Singleton, MCY def. Ryan Shelstad, HAV, pin, 1:06

125 - Casey Makor, MCY def. Lorren Mack, HAV, dec, 3-1

130 - Myles Mazurkiewicz, HAV def. Shane Cooley, MCY, pin, 3:53

135 - Ryan Martin, LEW def. Brenden Leischner, LAU, dec, 8-1

140 - Bill Olsen, LAU def. Cody Kolodejchuk, CFS, dec, 10-3

145 - Logan Torgison, POL def. Alex Martin, HAM, dec, 4-3

152 - Ethan Hinebauch, HAV def. Marcus Lussy, ANA, pin, 1:39

160 - Brock Picard, POL def. Phillip Sutherland, HAV, dec, 7-3

171 - Josh Moore, SID, def. Danny Gates, COR, pin, 1:32

189 - Beau Melby, SID def. Kelley Houle, CFS, dec, 11-4

215 - Mitch Ritchey, LEW def. William Wells, BRW, dec, 3-1

Hwt - Rider Warren, HAR def. Wes Shermam, HAM, pin, 1:30

Third place

98 - Duell Stadel, HAV def. Zach Damby, LEW, dec, 8-3.

105 - Brandon Gifford, HAR def. Clay Armstrong, FTN, pin, 1:28.

112 - Cameron Neiss, RON def. Brett Normandy, HAV, pin, 1:38.

119 - Tate Lucas, BEL def. Clayton Patterson, CFS, dec, 7-2.

125 - Kaf Stoddard, DIL def. Brad Nordahl, FTN, dec, 2-1.

130 - Mick Cheff, RON def. Garret Tennant, GLE, dec, 7-3.

135 - Kent Pattison, HAV def. Landon DellaSilva, COR, dec, 5-3.

140 - Toby Cheff, RON def. Ross Wolfe, DIL, dec, 4-2.

145 - Aaron Olsen, HAV def. Luke Jesson, LIV, dec, 5-3.

152 - Michael Hader, CFS def. Seth Wright, LIB, mdec, 13-4.

160 - Clark Hensley, ANA def. Mac Collins, SID, pin, 2:48.

171 - Josh Krantz, RON def. Cody Way, FTN, dec, 10-4.

189 - Justin Graham, LIB def. Brady Anderson, HAM, pin, 2:32.

215 - Bryce Vigorsen, SID def. Frank Swan, RON, dec, 5-0.

Hwt - Mitch Schnittgen, HAV def. Keith Brant, FTN, pin, 3:42.

Fifth place

98 - Jess Griffith, GLE def. Levi Gingrich, COR, pin, 4:18.

105 - Tanner Hollenback, DIL def. Scott Sturgis, SID, pin, 1:22.

112 - Levi Johnson, SID def. Dexter Trask, LEW, pin, 2:47.

119 - Steven Jessop, COR def. Troy Haake, HAM, idef, :25.

125 - Desmond Frklic, BEL def. Tyson Noyes, RON, tfall, 17-0.

130 - Taylor Allen, COR def. Logun Norris, DIL, dec, 7-2.

135 - Cole McArthur, RON def. Justin Ricker, BEL, pin, 5:27.

140 - Tucker Taylor, BEL def. Chad Ranes, HAV, pin, 2:45.

145 - Andy Jessop, COR def. Connor Malone, LEW, dec, 9-4.

152 - Tyler Frohlich, CEN def. Chad Dunn, SID, dec, 8-4.

160 - Steve Gary, LIB def. Colton Weigle, HAM, pin, 4:00.

171 - Curtis Shandorf, HAV def. Philip Prickett, BEL, dec, 4-2.

189 - Justin Clevidence, BEL def. Aleksei, CEN, pin, 2:41.

215 - Dennis Jessop, COR def. Mike Barnaud, HAR, forfeit.

Hwt - Brandin Mills, LIB def. Clint Robinson, BEL, pin, 3:59.

Semifinals

98 - Tyler Stedman, FTN def. Zach Damby, LEW, pin, 2:57; Brennan Gorder, SID def. Duell Stadel, HAV, dec, 3-1.

105 - Chris Recio, HAV def. Clay Armstrong, FTN, pin, :36; Zach Robinson, RON def. Brandon Gifford, HAR, dec, 11-10.

112 - Chad Hansen, FTN def. Brett Normandy, HAV, tfall, 20-4; Kylan Zumpf, MCY def. Cameron Neiss, RON, dec, 4-2.

119 - Ryan Shelstad, HAV def. Steven Jessop, COR, dec, 9-5; Derick Singleton, MCY def. Clayton Patterson, CFS, mdec, 14-2.

125 - Lorren Mack, HAV def. Brett Nordahl, FTN, pin, :54; Casey Makor, MCY def. Kai Stoddard, DIL, dec, 5-0.

130 - Shane Cooley, MCY def. Taylor Allen, COR, pin, 4:27; Myles Masurkiewicz, HAV def. Mick Cheff, RON, mdec, 14-6.

135 - Brenden Leischner, LAU def. Landon DellaSilva, COR, dec, 9-7; Ryan Martin, LEW def. Cole McArthur, RON, mdec, 12-2.

140 - Bill Olson, LAU def. Ross Wolfe, DIL, dec, 16-12; Cody Kolodejchuck, CFS def. Tucker Taylor, BEL, dec, 6-4.

145 - Alex Martin, HAM def. Luke Jesson, LIV, pin, 4:06; Logan Torgison, POL def. Aaron Olsen, HAV, dec, 8-1.

152 - Marcus Lussy, ANA def. Seth Wright, LIB, pin, 5:28; Ethan Hinebauch, HAV def. Michael Hader, CFS, pin, 5:46.

160 - Brock Picard, POL def. Clark Hensley, ANA, dec, 13-12; Phillip Sutherland, HAV def. Mac Collins, SID, pin, 1:55.

171 - Danny Gates, COR def. Curtis Shandorf, HAV, dec, 11-4; Josh Moore, SID def. Philip Prickett, BEL, pin, 1:53.

189 - Kelly Houle, CFS def. Brady Anderson, HAM, dec, 5-3; Beau Melby, SID def. Justin Graham, LIB, mdec, 16-6.

215 - Mitch Ritchey, LEW def. Mike Barnaud, HAR, pin, 2:54; William Wells, BRW def. Bryce Vigoren, SID, pin, 1:04.

Hwt - Wes Sharman, HAM def. Brandin Mills, LIB, dec, 9-3; Rider Warren, HAR def. Mitch Schnittgen, HAV, pin, 7:17.

Consolation quarterfinals

98 - Levi Gingrich, COR def. Brice Miklovich, HAR, pin, 2:20; Jess Griffith, GLE def. Luke Robinson, GLE, pin, 2:02.

105 - Tanner Hollenback, DIL def. Vlade Joyner, COR, pin, 1:44; Scott Strugis, SID, def. Ryan Salacinski, LAU, pin, 3:29.

112 - Dexter Trask, LEW def. Kelby Dorn, HAR, dec, 7-5; Levi Johnson, SID, def. Ryan Hardy, RON, tfall, 21-4.

119 - Tate Lucas, BEL def. Ryan Guenther, BEL, pin, 2:55; Troy Haake, HAM def. Jacob Young, POL, forf.

125 -Tyson Noyes, RON def. Cole Schram, BEL, dec, 8-2; Desmond Frklic, BEL def. Cole Perrigo, LAU, pin, 3:34.

130 - Garret Tennant, GLE def. Trae Fouty, POL, dec, 5-2; Logun Norris, DIL def. Ryan Weyer, FTN, pin, 2:00.

135 - Justin Ricker, BEL def. Cody Tocher, ANA, dec, 9-7; Kent Pattison, HAV def. Kyle Sweedman, LIB, pin, 4:04.

140 - Chad Ranes, HAV def. Nathan DuBose, COR, dec, 6-1; Toby Cheff, RON def. Ty Fouty, POL, dec, 6-2.

145 - Andy Jessop, COR def. Richard Heckler, SID, dec, 6-1; Connor Malone, LEW def. Ethan Burt, COR, dec, 4-1.

152 - Tyler Frohlich, CEN def. Derek Nelson, FTN, dec, 6-4; Chad Dunn, SID def. Sheldon Fisher, POL, dec, 5-3.

160 - Steve Gary, LIB def. Levi Cade, BEL, pin, 2:23; Colton Weigle, HAM def. Leo Wells, BRW, dec, 9-6.

171 - Cody Way, FTN def. Brock Anderson, HAM, mdec, 9-0; Josh Krantz, RON def. Derek Silva, LIB, pin, 2:21.

189 - Justin Clevidence, BEL def. Marcus Schiele, RON, dec, 4-3; Aleksei Grosulak, CEN def. Brennan Fisher, FTN, dec, 9-6.

215 - Frank Swan, RON def. Jake Scheel, WFH, pin, :51; Dennis Jessop, COR def. Cody Rustad, ANA, pin, :42.

Hwt - Keith Brant, FTN def. Tommy Parker, RON, pin, 6-3; Clint Robinson, BEL def. Turner Daines, CEN, pin, 4:52.

Consolation semifinals

98 - Zach Damby, LEW def. Levi Gingrich, COR, dec, 4-3; Duell Stadel, HAV def. Jess Griffith, GLE, dec, 6-2.

105 - Clay Armstrong, FTN def. Tanner Hollenback, DIL, pin, :38; Brandon Gifford, HAR def. Scott Sturgis, SID, pin, 2:11.

112 - Brett Normandy, HAV def. Dexter Trask, LEW, dec, 8-6; Cameron Neiss, RON def. Levi Johnson, SID, mdec, 13-2.

119 - Tate Lucas, BEL def. Steven Jessop, COR, dec, 8-3; Clayton Patterson, CFS def. Troy Haake, HAM, mdec, 9-1.

125 - Brad Nordahl, FTN def. Tyson Noyes, RON, pin, 2:04; Kal Stoddard, DIL def. Desmond Frklic, BEL, dec, 9-2.

130 - Garret Tennant, GLE def. Taylor Allen, COR, mdec, 12-0; Mick Cheff, RON def. Logun Norris, DIL, dec, 10-4.

135 - Kent Pattison, HAV def. Cole McArthur, RON, dec, 11-4; Landon DellaSilva, COR def. Justin Ricker, BEL, mdec, 9-1.

140 - Ross Wolfe, DIL def. Chad Ranes, HAV, dec, 2-0; Toby Cheff, RON def. Tucker Taylor, BEL, pin, 2:49.

145 - Luke Jesson, LIV def. Andy Jessop, COR, dec, 9-6; Aaron Olsen, HAV def. Connor Malone, LEW, dec, 8-3.

152 - Seth Wright, LIB def. Tyler Frohlich, CEN, pin, :41; Michael Hader, CFS def. Chad Dunn, SID, mdec, 11-2.

160 - Clark Hensley, ANA def. Seve Gary, LIB, dec, 6-0; Mac Collins, SID def. Colton Weigle, HAM, pin, 1:32.

171 - Cody Way, FTN def. Curtis Shandorf, HAV, dec, 5-4; Josh Krantz, RON def. Philip Prickett, BEL, pin, 1:59.

189 - Brady Anderson, HAM def. Justin Clevidence, BEL, tfall, 15-0; Justin Graham, LIB def. Aleksei Grosulak, CEN, pin, :59.

215 - Frank Swan, RON def. Mike Barnaud, HAR, idef, ; Bryce Vigoren, SID def. Dennis Jessop, COR, pin, 2:45.

Hwt - Keith Brant, FTN def. Brandin Mills, LIB, dec, 2-0; Mitch Schnittgen, HAV def. Clint Robinson, BEL, pin, 2:36.