Flathead, Glacier wrestlers shine in tournament action

SPOKANE, Wash. — So far, so good for Flathead’s wrestlers.

The top-ranked AA team in Montana went 11-1 in opening-round action Friday at the Pacific Northwest Classic at University High School.

“It went great, we only lost one match,” Flathead coach Matt Owen said.

“They all wrestled really well.”

Eight Flathead wrestlers won by pin: Jake Kinkel (103), Caleb Piasecki (119), Cody Tally (125), Steel Hahn (135), Shawn Lau (140), Jeremiah Gaiser (145), Caleb Allen-Schmid (150) and Connor Thomas (285).

Flathead is open at 112 pounds.

“It was a great round,” Owen said.

“I thought we had a great day. All the guys went out there and wrestled hard.”

A full day of wrestling action starts today at 9 a.m. The semifinals are set for 3 p.m. with the finals at 5.

Glacier

NAMPA, Idaho — Glacier advanced nine of its wrestlers to the top 16 after Friday’s opening session at the Rollie Lane Invitational.

“Pretty good,” Glacier Mark Fischer said of his team’s performance.

“We stole some seeds from other kids.”

Advancing for Glacier, the third ranked AA team in Montana, were: Caleb Mitchell (103), Lucas Mantel (119), Cooper Sipe (130), Tyler Hendrickson (135), Shane St. Onge (140), Stormy Day (145), Riley Pisk (152), Logan Clay (171) and Dan Gilbert (285).

Fischer said Hendrickson beat the No. 5-seeded wrestler and everybody else, including a dominating 18-1 verdict over an Idaho wrestler who placed third at state last year. Mantel knocked off the No. 4 seed.

“It was pretty neat to see these guys come through,” Fischer said.

“Five kids were undefeated today. There was a lot of good wrestling there.”

Wrestling begins today at 9 a.m.

“It’s a great tournament,” Fischer said.

“One good thing about this tournament is they have no idea who these kids are. They can just go out and wrestle.”