Glacier matmen invite champs

Glacier High School captured its first-ever tournament wrestling title with a dominating performance at the Polson Invitational on Saturday.

“These kids wrestled really well,” Glacier coach Mark Fischer said.

“This is a first for our program, a tremendous way to start the year for our kids. I’m very proud of the way they performed.”

Glacier, sixth at this tournament a year ago, finished with 251 1/2 points. The Wolfpack had 13 of its wrestlers place.

Glacier, which had 10 wrestlers in the finals, wound up with three individual champions —  Kaleb Mitchell (98), Riley Pisk  (152) and Dan Gilbert (285).

Finishing second were: Alek Mitchell (105), Grant Tafoya (112), Lucas Mantel (125), Cooper Sipe (130), Shane St. Onge (140), Stormy Day (145) and Boyce Ballard (189).

Flathead, which had won this event six straight years, placed second with a 220 total. The Braves, however, were without two starters because of injuries — Shawn Lau (140) and Connor Thomas (285).

The Braves had three individual winners — Cody Tally (125), Joaquin Caldeson (130) and Larry Francis (171). Finishing second were Caleb Allen-Schmid (160) and Caleb Piasecki (119).

Flathead had 13 individuals competing, 12 earned places.

“I thought we wrestled fantastic,” Flathead coach Matt Owen said.

“It was a real promising start for our team.”

Owen said his three champions “stepped out on the mats and were ready to compete today. They looked good in all their matches.”

Team Totals

Glacier 251 1/2, Flathead 220, Missoula Sentinel 212, Polson 113, Corvallis 109, Frenchtown 102 1/2, Columbia Falls 71 1/2, St. Ingatius/Charlo 51, Hamilton 33, Eureka 31, Superior 29 1/2, Thompson Falls 29 1/2, Whitefish 23.

Championship

98 — Kaleb Mitchell, Gla, pinned Jordan Hegel, Sen, 1:00; 105 — Levi Gingerich, Corv, maj. dec. Alex Mitchell, 13-0; 112 — Brandon Edwards, Sen, dec. Grant Tafoya, Gla, 3-0; 119 — Tyler Stedman, Ftn, dec. Caleb Piasecki, Fla, 7-2;125 — Cody Tally, Fla, maj. dec. Lucas Mantel, Gla, 11-2; 130 — Joaquin Calderon, Fla, maj. dec. Cooper Sipe, Gla, 13-0; 135 — Jacob Young, Pol, dec. Garrett Stephens, Sup, 4-2; 140 — Riley Nagel, Corv, dec. Shane St. Onge, Gla, 9-2; 145 — Jame Peterson, SIC, dec. Stormy Day, Gla, 5-1; 152 — Riley Pisk, Gla; dec. Ty Fouty, Pol, overtime (no score listed);160 — Josh Hamilton, Sen, dec. Caleb Allen-Schmid, Fla, 7-5; 171 — Larry Francis, Fla, dec. Tanen Doty, Sen, 10-7; 189 — Jace Prideaux, Sen, maj. dec. Bryce Ballard, Gla, 10-2; 215 — Bentley Alsup, Sen, def. Kelly Houle, CF, overtime (no score listed); 285 — Dan Gilbert, Gla, pinned Jeff Markette, Corv, 3:44.

Third Place

98 — Christian Knapp, Gla JV, pinned Glen Hensley, Ftn, :41; 105 — Craig Feistner, Pol, dec. Jake Kinkle, Fla, 5-3; 112 — Clay Armstrong, Ftn, maj. dec. Sal Baccaro, CF, 10-1; 119 — Cliff Evans, Sen, dec. James DuBose, Corv, 6-2; 125 — Jeff Maier, Sen, dec. Scott Gilleard, SIC, 15-8; 130 — David Marne, Sen, dec. Josh Wright, Sup, 4-2; 135 — Steven Jessop, Corv, dec. Steel Hahn, Fla, 4-3; 140 — Zach Deist, Fla, pinned Ty Hendrick, Ftn, :49; 145 — Jeremiah Gaiser, F, def. Josh Seeberger, Sen, no score listed; 152 — Josh Erickson, Fla, def. Elly Enderland, Ftn, no score listed; 160 — Taylor Vaughn, Eur, def. Troy Capp, Ham, no score listed; 171 — Taylor Brown, Eur, dec. Tanner Benedict, Wfh, 15-8; 189 — Randy Martin, Gla, dec. Travis Ozegovich, Fla, 7-4; 215 — Trevor Beaman, Fla, pinned Brennan Fisher, Ftn, :35; 285 — Kaden Thomas, Pol, pinned Joel Horn, Glac JV, no time listed.