Banner day for Kalispell wrestling
BUTTE — It was a memorable day for Kalispell wrestling on Saturday at the Mining City Duals.
Four-time state champ Flathead took the team title for the first time since 2007, and Glacier had its best showing ever by placing third.
“One thing that is kind of neat about this tournament, this is by far the toughest dual tournament to win,” Glacier coach Mark Fischer said.
“To have Flathead finish first and Glacier finish third, that’s a huge thing for the city of Kalispell. We have two of the top three dual teams in the state.”
Flathead edged Havre 35-34 in the championship dual match.
“It was a barnburner,” Flathead coach Matt Owen said.
“Joaquin Calderon (125) needed at least a major decision to win it for us and he did that.”
Calderon, a senior, won 14-2.
“He’s a good one to have at the end,” Owen said.
“He definitely stepped it up when we needed him.”
Calderon, Caleb Piasecki (112) and Shawn Lau (140) were undefeated at the two-day event.
“All three of those guys wrestled fantastic all weekend,” Owen said.
“It’s a very good feeling (to win it), especially after last year’s performance,” he added.
“The big difference, this is my second year with them. They are a little more comfortable (with me) at this point of the season than they were with me last year at this time.”
Owen said he was not surprised by his team’s performance.
“They finally wrestled up to their potential,” he said.
“I’m really proud of them. We beat four really good teams today to win it.”
Flathead, in order, downed Billings Skyview 53-26, Bozeman 50-19 and Glacier (in the semifinals) 68-15.
“They were on a roll,” Fischer said of Glacier’s loss to Flathead.
Glacier rebounded from that setback to top Great Falls High 38-34 in the battle for third place.
Glacier started the final day with a thrilling 37-28 win over Missoula Sentinel and then stopped Huntley Project 48-26.
In the win over Sentinel, it came down to the final match — Alex Mitchell at 105. With the Wolfpack in front by three, Mitchell responded with a pin.
“Jackson Barber (119) beat a (Sentinel) kid that finished third at state last year 9-7,” Fischer said.
“That kind of got the momentum going for us.
“That was a pretty emotional match for us,” Fischer added.
“Sentinel has a great dual team.”