AA wrestling: Glacier, Flathead grapplers open season with wins

BUTTE — Glacier and Flathead each came away with season-opening wins in their duals at Butte on Friday night.

Glacier, the defending Class AA state champions, ran away with the victory, earning seven pins in the process to top the Bulldogs 51-26. The Wolfpack got strong performances across the board, including victories from Kaleb and Alek Mitchell over two of Butte’s top grapplers.

“We had a couple kids wrestle their tougher kids and dominate,” Glacier coach Mark Fischer said. “The Mitchell kids faced some of their tougher kids and looked really good in their matches.

“Our kids were pretty dominant in matches we won. Some of our kids realized they’re not quite where they want to be at this time of year. That’s why these early matches are good for all of our kids.”

Flathead also came out with a decisive victory, 45-30, with Suny Cheff clinching the win for the Braves with a 3-1 victory over Butte’s Tommy Challeen.

“With the score at the time, we needed to win one of those last two matches,” Flathead coach Scot Davis said. “He had to beat a state runner-up to clinch the match for us. That was huge.”

The Braves also got four pins in the match, dominating the upper weight classes, winning all six matches above 152 pounds.

“I was very pleased with the hustle and desire of our kids,” Davis said.

Glacier will compete in today’s Polson Invitational at Polson High School.

Glacier def. Butte High 51-26

98 — Ryan Danielson (G) def. Blake Bowen, pin at. :47; 105 — dual forfeit ; 112 — Kelly Merrick (B) def. Austin Cheney, pin at :21; 119 — Cody Decker (G) def. Braxton Henningson, pin at 1:37; 125 — Rider Day (G) def. Joey Blunt, pin at 1:56; 130 — Willy Shea (B) def. Quinn Barber, pin at 5:43; 135 — Gage Weston (B) win by default; 140 — Kaleb Mitchell (G) def. Levi Renz, pin at 1:28; 145 — Alek Mitchell (G) def. Jarrett Rowling, 12-8; 152 — Tommy Challeen (B) def. Grant Tafoya, 12-4; 160 — Jackson Barber (G) def. Andre Vialapondo, pin at 1:58; 171 — Lee Cannon (B) def. Adam Frandsen, 11-4; 189 — Dawson Day (G) def. Blake Krauss, pin at :58; 215 — AJ Robinson (G) win by default; 285 — Zach Dennehy (G) def. Billy Robinson, pin at 2:37.

Flathead def. Butte High 45-30

98 — Jed Cheff (F) def. Blake Bowen, pin at 2:30; 105 — Lucas DeCock (F) wins by default; 112 — Kelly Merrick (B) def. Dyan Guzman, 13-7; 119 — Braxton Henningson (B) def. Gavyn Wilson, 5-4; 125 — Joey Blunt (B) def. Easton Terry, pin at 3:16; 130 — Tyler Davis (F) def. Willy Shea, pin at 1:47; 135 — Gage Weston (B) def. Tanner Fletcher, pin at 1:20; 140 — Levi Renz (B) def. Logan Wilson, pin at :42; 145 — Jarrett Rowling (B) def. Cole DeLaughder (F), pin at 1:00; 152 — Suny Cheff (F) def. Tommy Challeen, 3-1; 160 — Nick Iavicolli (F) def. Andre Vialapondo, pin at 1:27; 171 — Jacob Egley (F) def. Lee Cannon, pin at 1:46.5; 189 — Mitchell Stivers (F) def. Blake Krauss, 7-2 (2OT); 215 — Jake Shaffer (F) wins by default; 285 — Axel Bladholm (F) def. Billy Robinson, 8-5.