State wrestling this weekend at Majestic Valley Arena

It’s a first for the Flathead Valley.

Kalispell will be hosting the Montana State Freestyle/Greco Championships this weekend at Majestic Valley Arena.

It’s only the second time this tournament has not been in Butte.

“We’ve been bidding it,” said Kalispell Wrestling Club coach Rich Vasquez.

But it turned out Butte wanted to take a year off, so Kalispell put in a letter last year. 

Weigh-ins are 5-9 p.m. tonight. Freestyle begins at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday with peewee, bantam and intermediate. Novice, schoolboy, cadet and junior begins at 1 p.m.

Greco will be Sunday. Weigh-ins are 6 a.m., with wrestling at 8:30 a.m.

Organizers are expecting somewhere in the vicinity of 850 competitors.

Last year, there were 550 for Freestyle and just over 300 for Greco, according to Vasquez.

“It would be nice if we get the same thing,” he said. 

Vasquez said a couple of fun things have been planned for the venue — two cameras will be filming matches to show on the jumbotron, plus organizers have set aside a play area inside Majestic Valley for little kids. But Vasquez points out families should have plenty of time to take their children out and about in the area.

“Hopefully, it will be a little boost for the local economy. It’s kind of nice for all the people who’ve supported Kalispell Wrestling Club through the years,” he added. 

Another great thing about this tournament is that it truly is a state tournament — with teams coming in from as far away as Sidney.

“It’ll be an opportunity to see what Montana has to showcase. It will be great competition for sure. We’ll have a lot more kids. We’re kind of excited for the local kids to come out and experience that,” Vasquez said. 

Plus, he pointed out Kalispell schools have won seven of the last 10 Class AA state championships, proving there is great competition here.

“I think people are getting excited to come over and I think it’s great for the other parts of the state to see our kids,” he said.