Braves stick it to Hellgate

The Flathead wrestling team tallied five pins and three wins by decision in a 63-15 rout of Missoula Hellgate in its first home dual of the season Tuesday.

All five pins came in the first period. Flathead 130-pounder Tyler Davis needed just 52 seconds to pin Hellgate’s Jack Lewis while Jon LeGassey, 145, Kole Ehrhardt, 140, and Tanner Fletcher, 135, each pinned their Hellgate opponents in under 1:45.

Heavyweight Axel Bladholm had Flathead’s fifth pin, forcing Hellgate’s Skylar Nowlen’s left shoulder to the mat 1:01 into the first period, then securing the right shoulder with 5.2 seconds left in the round.

“I thought we had good aggressiveness, and that’s what we want,” Flathead coach Scot Davis said.

Flathead 112-pounder Dyan Guzman returned from a concussion that kept him sidelined over the weekend to win a 5-1 decision over Demetri Koures, who placed fourth at the Holiday Wrestling Classic in Great Falls.

Guzman was pinned by Koures last season in their only previous meeting, but led wire-to-wire on Tuesday.

“I just took what he did against me last year and capitalized off it,” Guzman said. “I knew what he was going to do. I knew I had to avoid certain moves that he had, avoid cradles, and just do what I do best.”

Guzman scored the first takedown 1:28 into the first period and rode out the final 32 seconds to take a 2-0 lead into the break.

Brimming with confidence, Guzman scored a reverse 24 seconds into the second period, but Koures escaped a minute later.

Guzman scored an escape in the third period and finished the match in a neutral position.

“Dyan was out last week, so we thought he might be a little rusty,” Davis said. “And he was a little bit, but he’s really got great determination and that can make up for a lot of other stuff.”

Guzman said getting the initial takedown gave him a huge confidence boost after missing the Holiday Wrestling Classic over the weekend.

“That bumped it up to a whole new level honestly,” Guzman said. “It completely sent my confidence to a higher standard.”

Wrestling at 152 pounds, one slot above his normal weight, Flathead’s Suny Cheff won a 6-3 decision over his third cousin Ethan Cheff.

Suny had never wrestled his cousin, but knew he had to avoid the fireman’s carry takedown to be successful.

“Caleb Piasecki wrestled for us two years ago, and he was big on fireman’s carries,” Suny said. “I wrestled him a lot and got really good at defending fireman’s.”

Suny scored a takedown in each period, but was unable to turn Ethan onto his back. Ethan scored a first-period escape and a second-period reverse, but failed to bring Suny down from a neutral position.

“My favorite spot to be is on defense,” Suny said. “That’s where I’m really comfortable. It was kind of disappointing that I wasn’t on the offensive more. It would’ve been more exciting if I was on offense, but getting that head start to secure the win for my team was the most important for my match.”

Davis also said he’d like to see Suny be more aggressive.

“I’d like to see him open up and score more,” Davis said. “I think he’s going to have to if he wants to beat the best kids.

“He’s got a defense, but you’ve got to create an offense, and we’re trying to work on that. Once he can get that going he’ll have everything.”

Flathead’s Gavyn Wilson, 119 pounds, won a 4-3 decision over Shawn Olson, Anthony Wright, 160, won by injury default and Jed Cheff, 98, Lukas DeCock, 105, and Jake Egley, 171, won by forfeit.

Hellgate won three of the 15 bouts. Ryan Wozniack, 215, pinned Wyatt Pehling, Zach Bauer, 189, won an 8-6 decision over Mitch Stivers and Derek Baker, 125, received a forfeit win.

While Pehling was pinned in under a minute and a half, Stivers nearly fought off his back to force overtime. Bauer scored a takedown and pinned Stivers’ left shoulder with 45 seconds remaining in the first period, but Stivers arched his back and held out until the buzzer.

Stivers scored an escape and takedown in the second period before Bauer answered with a reversal to make the score 7-3 at the second intermission.

Stivers picked up three back points early in the second period, but Bauer escaped to make the score 8-6. With 15 seconds remaining, Stivers forced Bauer to the mat, but couldn’t break his left leg free of Bauer’s grip.

“That’s a great example to the rest of the kids,” Davis said of Stivers’ effort. “He never gives up. Most people would’ve got pinned where he was. You see him fighting, he’s so close to the mat and he just never gave up. I really admire him.”

Flathead, 9-6 in duals, returns to the mat Thursday for a dual against defending Class AA state champion Glacier at Glacier High School.

98 - Jed Cheff, Flathead, win by forfeit. 105 - Lukas DeCock, Flathead, win by forfeit. 112 - Dyan Guzman, Flathead, dec. Demetri Koures, 5-1. 119 - Gavyn Wilson, Flathead, dec. Shawn Olson, 4-3. 125 - Derek Baker, Hellgate, win by forfeit. 130 - Tyler Davis, Flathead, p. Jack Lewis, :52. 135 - Tanner Fletcher, Flathead, p. Dylan Lewis, 1:44. 140 - Kole Ehrhardt, Flathead, p. Dylan Clark, 1:38. 145 - Jon LeGassey, Flathead, p. Kody Keenan, 1:32. 152 - Suny Cheff, Flathead, dec. Ethan Cheff, 6-3. 160 - Anthony Wright, Flathead, def. Drake Pruitt, injury default. 171 - Jake Egley, Flathead, win by forfeit. 189 - Zach Bauer, Hellgate, dec. Mitch Stivers, 8-6. 215 - Ryan Wozniack, Hellgate, p. Wyatt Pehling, 1:24. Hwt- Axel Bladholm, Flathead, p. Skylar Nowlen, 1:55.