Ballard victorious

GREAT FALLS - Boyce Ballard had his moment on Saturday night.

And he shared it with the rest of the Glacier Wolfpack, the Wolfpack coaches and all of the Glacier fans.

The senior won a 3-2 decision over CMR's Ryan Otto in the Class AA 189-pound wrestling championship. As long as there is a Glacier High School, Ballard will be its first state champion wrestler.

"I went up (into the stands at CMR High School) and told my boys ‘we broke the code!'" Ballard said.

"We always have these things that I hate on our sweatpants. It says ‘zero zero 19. That's zero state champs, 19 state placers. I broke the code," he said.

"It feels awesome. I lost to that kid last year in the consolation quarters. To come back and beat him this year is really big. It's huge for our program, huge for me.

"I've been dreaming about this since I was four," he said. 

"There's probably not a person who deserves to be the first state champion more than him. He just works hard," said Glacier coach Mark Fischer.

"There's a kid that I saw four years ago, a little boy freshman, little bit cocky. I knew we had a gem there. I've watched him mature for four years and I'm so proud of the man he's become. He's become a leader for our team."

Ballard did all of his scoring in the second period. He got an escape, then caught Otto in a double leg right next to the scorer's table.

"I saw it open up and I thought I gotta hit it. I've got to take this chance. I had to keep my toes in just to make sure I got the takedown," he said.

"He went out and did what he needed to do. He hit a beautiful double leg," Fischer said.

"Then he stayed in solid position, kept moving and he just finished the match," the coach said. "It could be different every time we wrestle," Ballard said of the rivalry he and Otto have shared.

"I won this one and it's when it matters. I can't even explain it."