Braves eyeing fifth-straight Class AA mat title; Wolfpack in the chase
There promises to be plenty of drama on the mats this weekend at the All-Class State Wrestling Tournament in Billings.
Wrestling will get under way Friday at 10 a.m. and will go through the quarterfinal round.
Wrestling concludes Saturday.
Here are a few things of note regarding individuals and teams from the Flathead Valley and Northwestern A going into the two-day event:
-- Flathead will be looking to capture the Class AA state championship for a fifth straight season. The Braves were ranked No. 2 in the last coaches poll, but were No. 1 for the majority of the season. During its heyday, Butte won 13 straight AA titles (1980-92).
-- Glacier not only set a school record with 23 qualifiers for state, but it’s the most of all 14 AA schools this year. “We’re excited about that,” Glacier coach Mark Fischer said. “It’s a feather in our cap. It kind of shows you have a program where we have more than just a varsity team.” Four teams are sending 22 — Flathead, Billings Skyview, Bozeman and Great Falls High. The Wolfpack, in its third season of competition, is unranked but held the No. 3 slot in the coaches poll for much of the season.
-- Polson’s last state championship in Class A were back-to-back efforts (1995-96). Libby has also won back-to-back state championships (1987-88). Ronan won five straight titles (1978-82), with its last coming in 1991. Columbia Falls’ last state championship was in 1990.
-- Polson has never had an individual win four state titles. It does have one three-time state champ — Pat Owen, who graduated in 1999. Owen was a four-time finalist, finishing second as a freshman. Brock Picard could match Owen this weekend. The 171-pound senior, who is a four-time Northwestern A divisional champion, is 31-1 this season and has not lost to a Montana wrestler. Picard won state last year (171) and the year before (160). “His freshman year he didn’t place,” coach Bob Owen said. “He won divisional, but had a tough state tournament. He should have been a placer.” Picard’s career record is 138-13. As impressive at that may sound, the school record for career wins is 150, which is held by Kevin Owen, who graduated in 2005. Pat and Kevin Owen are sons of coach Owen. “Brock is an excellent college prospect,” coach Owen said. “He’s a really dedicated kid. He’s one of the best I’ve coached.”
-- Cameron Neiss (130) of Ronan is undefeated after 36 matches. He was a state champ last year (125), placed third in 2008 (112) and second in 2007 (98).
-- Kelly Houle (215), a senior at Columbia Falls, is 34-2 on the season. He has won 28 matches by pin, which is three short of the school’s season record held by current Mat Cat coach Jesse Schaeffer set in 2001. Houle was a runner-up last year (215), and the year before (189). If Houle pins his way through the tournament — four matches — he would break the record.
-- Also winning state titles a year ago and back for another go are Flathead’s Shawn Lau (130) and Ronan’s Micky Cheff (145).
Class AA
Glacier
23 State Qualifiers
Overall Records
98 — Kaleb Mitchell (9) seeding champ, 27-2; Alek Mitchell (9), 2nd at seeding, 14-8
105 — Zach Barber (10) third at seeding, 16-7; Christian Knopp (9) 7th at seeding, 9-5 )
112 — Grant Tafoya (9) 4th at seeding,13-21; Jackson Barber (9) 5th at seeding, 12-15
119 — Lucas Mantel (9), 2nd at seeding, 24-17
130 — Cooper Sipe (10) 2nd at seeding, 21-9
135 — Nick Iavicolli (9) 7th at seeding, 8-14
140 — Shane St. Onge (10) 3rd at seeding, 27-8
145 — Stormy Day (11) 4th at seeding, 8-5
152 — Lucas Cummings (12) 2nd at seeding, 8-8; Dawson Day (9) 4th at seeding, 11-6
160 — Travis Woodland (12) 4th at seeding,15-23; Dayne Sandelin (12) 8th at seeding, 2-5
171 — Logan Clay (12) 2nd at seeding, 18-14; Lane Armstrong (10) 7th at seeding, 11-12
189 — Boyce Ballard (11) 2nd at seeding, 21-16; Randy Martin (12) 4th at seeding, 17-11
215 — Jake Criner (12) 5th at seeding, 11-17; Mack Sutherland (10) 6th at seeding, 12-11
285 — Dan Gilbert (12) 3rd at seeding, 30-9; Joel Horn (11) 5th at seeding, 14-6
—————
Most Team points — Dan Gilbert 163; Most Wins — Dan Gilbert 30; Most Takedowns — Lucas Mantel 49; Most Escapes — Travis Woodland 58; Most Reversals — Lucas Mantel 19; Most Near Fall — Cooper Sipe 33; Most Pins — Dan Gilbert 24
Flathead
22 State Qualifiers
Records for Class AA competition only
105 — Jake Kinkel, 4th at seeding, 9-5; 105 — Kaileb Liehr, 8th at seeding, 0-4,
112 — Caleb Piasecki, seeding champ, 15-1; Suny Cheff, 3rd at seeding, 7-1
119 — Jake Stueben, 5th at seeding, 3-2; Billy Allen, 8th at seeding, 2-3
125 — Cody Tally, seeding champ, 17-4; Jacob Egley, 3rd at seeding, 5-1
130 — Joaquin Calderon, seeding champ, 17-1; Coty Piasecki, 6th at seeding, 5-10
135 — Steel Hahn, 3rd at seeding, 12-5
140 — Shawn Lau, seeding champ, 9-0
145 — Jeremiah Gaiser, seeding champ, 13-4; Austin Bowen, 8th at seeding, 4-7
152 — Zack Deist, seeding champ, 17-2; Travis Lopes , 5th at seeding, 4-2
160 — Caleb Allen-Schmid, seeding champ, 19-4; Josh Erickson, 7th at seeding, 3-5
171 — Larry Francis, 3rd at seeding, 12-2
189 — Trevor Beaman, 3rd at seeding, 16-3
215 — Travis Ozegovich, 3rd at seeding, 12-7
285 — Connor Thomas, seeding champ,18-0
Class A
Columbia Falls
10 State Qualifiers
Overall Records
105 - Seth McCall (9) division champ, 23 - 11
112 - Sal Baccaro (11) divisional champ, 24 - 10
119 - Justin Whitman (10) divisional champ, 26 - 8
125 - Adam Richardson (10) 3rd at division, 12 - 22
135 - Cody Hader (10) 3rd at division, 12 - 25; Kohl Thompson (10) 4th at division, 13 - 25
140 - Shawn Whitman (12) division champ, 2 - 0
152 - Billy Gross (11) 3rd at division, 12 - 13
160 - Joe Gross (12) 3rd division, 20 - 16
215 - Kelly Houle (12) division champ, 34 - 2
Libby
13 State Qualifiers
Overall Records Do Not Include Divisional Matches
98 — Ian Edwards-Myslicki, 4th at division, 12-11
105 — Isaac King, 2nd at division, 7-16
119 — Aaron Seefeldt, 4th at division, 11-18
125 — Mike Roby, division champ, 25-7
130 — Mitch Haugen, 2nd at division, 20-7
135 — Kyle Leir, 2nd at division, 3rd at division, 16-6
140 — Cody Elliott, 3rd at division, 18-9
145 — Dylan Berget, division champ, 22-7
160 — Austin Bailey, 4th at division, 18-11
171 — Kyle Sweedman, 2nd at division, 27-2
189 — Kody Berget, 2nd at division, 22-9
215 — Rigo Ibarra, 4th at division, 6-6
285 — Lucas Puckett, 2nd at division, 8-14
Polson
16 State Qualifiers
Overall Records
98 — Craig Feistner (9), division champ, 32-3; Pat Sumner (9), 3rd at division, 19-16
105 — Lucas Polk (9), 3rd at division, 4-17
112 — Razz Walhood (9), 3rd at division, 11-12
119 — Jesse Alfiero (11), 2nd at division, 20-18; Drew Fouty (9), 3rd at division, 17-11
125 — Nick Howell (10), 2nd at division, 8-6
135 — Jacob Young (11), divison champ, 32-8
140 — Mike Devlin (9), 2nd at division, 20-15; Randy Kelley (12), 4th at division, 8-4
145 — Brock Bleazard (10), 2nd at division, 22-16
152 — Ty Fouty (12), 2nd at division, 26-13
171 — Brock Picard (12), division champ, 31-1
189 — Devin Kamarainen (12), 3rd at division, 11-13
215 — Josiah Clairmont (10), 2nd at division, 22-12
285 — Kaden Thomas (12), division champ, 22-4
Ronan
13 State Qualifiers
Overall Records
98 — Lukas Conklin, 2nd at division, 17-18
112 — Andrew Teigan, 2nd at division, 23-14
125 — Kyle Lawson, 4th at division, 11-19
130 — Cameron Neiss, division champ, 36-0; Shelby Grant, 3rd at division, 24-17
145 — Dustin Goldsby, 4th at division, 14-17
152 — Micky Cheff, division champ, 33-4; Quentin Denton, 4th at division, 8-6
160 — Cole McArthur, division champ, 31-6
171 — Tyler Wheeler, 3rd at division, 25-10
189 — Toby Cheff, division champ, 33-2
215 — Colby Roberts, 3rd at division, 17-18
285 — Aaron Yazzie-Whitworth, 3rd at divison, 10-20
Whitefish
5 State Qualifiers
Overall Records
130 — Dalton Rice (12) 4th at division, 16-17
145 — Nick O’Dell (12) 3rd at division, 13-18
160 — Tanner Benedict (12) 2nd at division, 16-6
171 — Geoff Streeter (12) 4th at division, 16-19
285 — Wolf Zinke (9) 4th at division, 5-22
Class B-C
Eureka
3 State Qualifiers
Overall Records
160 — Taylor Vaughn (11) division champ, 36-3, 25 pins, 112-25 career record
171 — Taylor Brown (12) 2nd at division, 33-8, 27 pins, 114-55 career record
189 — Michael Wilson (11) 3rd at division, 20-15, 15 pins, first year wrestling
All-Class State Wrestling Tournament
Friday/Saturday
MetraPark in Billings
Friday
8 a.m. — Official weigh-in time
9:40 a.m. — Parade of Athletes
10 a.m. — First round matches
2 p.m. — First round consolation and quarterfinal matches
30 minutes after last match of previous round — Second round consolation matches
Saturday
7:30 a.m. — Official weigh-in time
9 a.m. — Semifinal and consolation quarterfinal matches
Noon — Consolation semifinals
3 p.m. — Consolation finals (six mats)
5:45 p.m. — Parade of Finalists
6 p.m. — Championship finals