Glacier totals 5 mat champs; Flathead 1 at seeding tourney
<p>Flathead’s Suny Cheff (left) puts a move on Missoula Sentinel’s Joey Hiett in a 145-pound semifinal match at the Western AA Seeding Tournament Saturday morning at Flathead High School. Hiett won by decision, 3-2. Cheff finished third.</p>
<p>Glacier’s Kaleb Mitchell (top) controls Lawrence Lesofski of Helena Capital during a semifinal match at 130 pounds Saturday. Mitchell won by pin. Mitchell finished first.</p>
Saturday was a good wrestling day for both the Glacier Wolfpack and the Flathead Braves.
The Glacier Wolfpack has five Western AA champions and the Flathead Braves one after this weekend's Western AA Seeding Tournament at Flathead High School.
Glacier champions are Kaleb Mitchell (130), Lucas Mantel (135), Cooper Sipe (145), Shane St. Onge (160) and Lane Armstrong (189).
Larry Francis claimed the title at 171 for Flathead.
Helena High wound up with the best showing of anyone in Western AA, at least in terms of numbers qualified for state. The Bengals will send 23, including four champions.
Glacier was second with 19 qualifiers, followed by Missoula Sentinel with 17, Missoula Big Sky with 16, Flathead with 15, Capital with 14 and Missoula Hellgate with nine.
The top eight in each weight class qualify for state next weekend in Billings.
"Today was a great day for us," said Glacier coach Mark Fischer.
"We've had a lot of tournaments where we struggled in that last round, in getting the better places. Today was probably our best tournament for getting that one higher place.
"Hats off to our kids for wrestling until the end," he said.
"We're in pretty good shape with our seeds going into the (state) tournament. We have a great number of kids in the top three," he added.
"I think we have the crew that we need to make a run at (a title). And just like always, it's whoever shows up at the tournament," Fischer said.
That was the story Saturday for Flathead as well.
"We had quite a few other pretty high placers. It was a great day for us," said Flathead coach Matt Owen.
"We started off rolling right into it and won a lot of early matches. Then we pushed a lot of kids that lost earlier in the day into the third and fourth place matches. Any time you can come out with fairly high seeds, it's going to help when you get to state," Owen said.
"I feel really good. We had a great week of practice last week and it rolled right into this weekend," he said.
"I thought we were wrestling aggressively and doing all the right things to be peaking at the right time," Owen added.
Fischer complimented the efforts of all the Glacier champions.
Cooper Sipe trailed 5-0 early on in his championship match, but battled back to claim an 11-5 decision.
"He does get it done and he has shown great leadership this year. I'm proud of the kid. I'm proud of all those kids," he said.
Glacier 140-pounder Jackson Barber, injured in his first match on Friday, made it back for a couple of matches on Saturday. He got one pin, then lost a 12-7 decision. He will be a seventh seed next weekend.
"He's one of the toughest guys mentally that I know. He's just got a lot of heart. Even if he wasn't doing well, he wouldn't tell me that," Fischer smiled.
"We'll get him rested up and we'll see what we can do," he added.
Owen also complimented Flathead's three finalists - Coty Piasecki, Jacob Egley and Francis.
Western AA Seeding
Feb. 3-4
at Flathead High School
Place winners
98: 1. Demetri Koures, Hell; 2. Quinn Barber, G, 3. Dyan Guzman, F; 4. Emilio Romero, HH; 5. Alex Caldwell, HH.
105: Landon Bailey, HH; 2. Cody Decker, G; 3. Gavyn Wilson, F; 4. Jayden Moyes, HH; 5. Jaden LaBare, Hell.
112: 1. Dylan Schulte, Sen; 2. Grant Boggs, HH; 3. Justin Conklin, BS; 4. Trevor Ball, Cap; 5. Brodie Long, HH; 6. Daniel Devall, F; 7. Kelly Eller, Cap; 8. Dylan Lindsley, BS.
119: 1. Gabe Schroeck, HH; 2. Tucker Schmidt, BS; 3. Christian Knopp, G; 4. Tyler Davis, F; 5. Ryan Reed, HH; 6. Zach Burckhard, Sen; 7. Jake Marr, Sen; 8. Dylan Lewis, Hell.
125: 1. Alex Markle, Cap; 2. Matt West-Reed, HH; 3. Jordan Hegel, Sen; 4. Alek Mitchell, G; 5. Kalieb Liehr, F; 6. Sam Frank, Sen; 7. Ben Sheldahl, HH; 8. Chandon Hamel, Hell.
130: 1. Kaleb Mitchell, G; 2. Brandon Edwards, Sen; 3. Cooper Ryan, HH, 4. Lawrence Lesofski, Cap; 5. Jeremy Van Dyke, HH, 6. Kade Branson, BS, 7. James Donaldason, Cap; 8. Chane Momberg, Hell.
135: 1. Lucas Mantel, G; 2. Coty Piasecki, F; 3. Zach Barber, G; 4. Brady Bertagnolli, HH; 5. Gunnar Hilborn, HH; 6. Sam Asay, Cap; 7. Evan Eickert, F; 8. Cody Thomas, Sen.
140: 1. Luke Davenport, Sen; 2. Luke Entzel, BS; 3. Gabe Lacroix, Sen; 4. Noah Rivers, HH; 5. Jacob Van Dyke, HH; 6. Tanner Stupak, G; 7. Jackson Barber, G; 8. Keon Gallagher, BS.
145: 1. Cooper Sipe, G; 2. Joey Hiett, Sen; 3. Suny Cheff, F; 4. Grant Tafoya, G; 5. Jackson Haider, Cap; 6. Matt Merritt, BS; 7. Jason Riekena, BS; 8. Jess Beaman, F.152: 1. Jonathan Mandy, HH; 2. Jacob Egley, F; 3. Michael Cloud, Sen; 4. Ethan Cheff, Hell; 5. Ben Clark, Cap; 6. Chase Thurston, HH; 7. Chase Linton, BS, 8. Gavin Greaney, Cap.
160: 1. Shane St. Onge, G; 2. Erik Dewing, Hell; 3. Nick Iavicoli, F; 4. Andrew Wheeler, G; 5. Robert Thomas, BS; 6. Chaz McGurn, Cap; 7. Shig Hilborn, HH; 8. Addison Boyer, Cap.
171: 1. Larry Francis, F; 2. Riley Pisk, G; 3. Dawson Day, G; 4. Bryce Dahl, Sen; 5. Dillon Koffman, Cap; 6. Josh Diaz, HH; 7. Jack Riekena, BS; 8. Justin Duffy, BS.
189: 1. Lane Armstrong, G; 2. Sawyer Depee, Sen; 3. Nate Caldwell, HH; 4. Alan Schmitz, Cap; 5. Zach Bauer, Hell; 6. TJ Borndner, Sen; 7. Tyler Brewer, BS; 8. Connor Gordon, BS.
215: 1.Darby Maier, BS; 2. Jaydn Wilson, Sen; 3. Jake Tudahl, G; 4. Jake Bernard, Cap; 5. Conner Hagel, F; 6. Tanner Price, Sen; 7. Zach Dennehy, G; 8. Ryan Wozniak, Hell.
Hwt: 1. Tucker Erickson, HH; 2. Mack Sutherland, G; 3. Matt Brownlow, Sen; 4. Bowen Smith, F; 5. Axel Bladholm, F; 6. Derek Petrie, HH; 7. Colter Miller, BS; 8. Garrett Schild, Sen.
Finals
98: Demetri Koures, Hell, p. Quinn Barber, G, 3:32.
105:Landon Bailey, HH, maj. dec. Cody Decker, G, 11-3.
112: Dylan Schulte, Sen, dec. Grant Boggs, HH, 2-0.
119: Gabe Schroeck, HH, p. Tucker Schmidt, BS, 4:55.
125: Alex Markle, Cap, dec. Matt West-Reed, HH, 6-4.
130: Kaleb Mitchell, G, dec. Brandon Edwards, Sen, 7-2.
135: Lucas Mantel, G, p. Coty Piasecki, 3:48.
140: Luke Davenport, Sen, dec. Luke Entzel, BS, 2-0.
145: Cooper Sipe, G, dec. Joey Hiett, Sen, 11-5.
152: Jonathan Mandy, HH, dec. Jacob Egley, F, 3-2.
160: Shane St. Onge, p. Erik Dewing, Hell, 1:21.
171: Larry Francis, F, dec. Riley Pisk, G, 6-2.
189: Lane Armstrong, G, p. Sawyer Depee, Sen, 3:52.
215: Darby Maier, BS, dec. Jaydn Wilson, Sen, 10-3
Hwt: Tucker Erickson, HH, p. Mack Sutherland, G, 1:40.
Semifinals
98: Demetri Koures, Hell, p. Alex Caldwell, HH, :54; Quinn Barber, G, p. Dyan Guzman, F, :32.
105: Landon Bailey, HH, p. Jayden Moyes, HH, :15; Cody Decker, G, dec. Gavyn Wilson, F, 7-0.
112: Grant Boggs, HH, tech fall Trevor Ball, Cap, 16-1; Dylan Schulte, Sen, dec. Justin Conklin, BS, 9-4.
119: Gabe Schroeck, HH, p. Tyler Davis, F, :37; Tucker Schmidt, BS, dec. Christian Knopp, G, 6-4.
125: Matt West-Reed, HH, p. Jordan Hegel, Sen, :56; Alex Markle, Cap, dec. Alek Mitchell, G, 3-2.
130: Kaleb Mitchell, G, p. Lawrence Lesofski, Cap, 5:00; Brandon Edwards, Sen, dec. Cooper Ryan, HH, 9-3.
135: Coty Piasecki, F, p. Brady Bertagnolli, HH, 1:38; Lucas Mantel, G, dec. Zach Barber, G, 8-5.
140: Luke Davenport, Sen, dec. Noah Rivers, HH, 5-1; Luke Entzel, BS, dec. Gabe Lacrois, Sen, 4-2.
145: Cooper Sipe, G, dec. Grant Tafoya, G, 2-0; Joey Hiett, Sen, dec. Suny Cheff, 3-2.
152: Jonathan Mandy, HH, dec. Ethan Cheff, Hell, 7-2; Jacob Egley, F, dec. Michael Cloud, Sen, 8-2.
160: Shane St. Onge, G, p. Chaz McGurn, Cap, 1:55; Erik Dewing, Hell, p. Robert Thomas, BS, 1:35.
171: Larry Francis, F, p. Bryce Dahl, Sen, 3:34; Riley Pisk, G, dec. Dawson Day, G, 7-6.
189: Lane Armstrong, G, p. Alan Schmitz, Cap, 1:45; Sawyer Depee, Sen, dec. Nate Caldwell, HH, 5-2.
215: Darby Maier, BS, p. Jake Bernard, Cap, 2:54; Jaydn Wilson, Sen, maj. dec. Jake Tudahl, G, 12-4.
Hwt: 1. Tucker Erickson, G, p. Bowen Smith, F, 1:02; Mack Sutherland, G, dec. Matt Brownlow, Sen, 4-2.
Consolation
Third/Fourth
98: Dyan Guzman, F, dec. Emilo Romero, HH, 3-0.
105: Gavyn Wilson, F, p. Jayden Moyes, HH, :23.
112: Justin Conklin, p. Trevor Ball, Cap, 2:45.
119: Christian Knopp, G, dec. Tyler Davis, F, 6-0.
125: Jordan Hegel, Sen, dec. Alek Mitchell, G, 9-2.
130: Cooper Ryan, HH, tech fall Lawrence Lesofski, Cap, 17-1.
135: Zach Barber,G, p. Brady Bertanolli, HH, :57
140: Gabe Lacroix, Sen, p. Noah Rivers, HH, :55.
145: Suny Cheff, F, dec. Grant Tafoya, 8-4.
152: Michael Cloud, Sen, p. Ethan Cheff, Sen, 3:45.
160: Nick Iavicoli, F, p. Andrew Wheeler, G, 3:30
171: Dawson Day, G, maj. dec. Bryce Dahl, Sen, 12-1.
189: Nate Caldwell, HH, maj. dec. Alan Schmitz, Cap, 10-0.
215: Jake Tudahl, G, dec. Jake Bernard, Cap, 8-2.
Hwt: Matt Brownlow, Sen, p. Bowen Smith, F, 2:22.
Fifth/Sixth
112: Brodie Long, HH, p. Daniel Devall, F, 3:24.
119: Ryan Reed, p. Zach Burckhard, Sen, :58.
125: Kalieb Liehr, F, p. Sam Frank, Sen, 2:11.
130: Jeremy Van Dyke, HH, p. Kade Branson, BS, 3:30
135: Gunnar Hilborn, HH, p. Sam Asay, Cap, :59
140: Jacob Van Dyke, HH, dec. Tanner Stupak, G, 6-5
145: Jackson Haider, Cap, p. Matt Merritt, BS, 1:20.
152: Ben Clark, Cap, dec. Chase Thurston, HH, 8-5.
160: Robert Thomas, BS, won by default.
171: Dillon Koffman, Cap, p. Josh Diaz, HH, 2:40.
189: Zach Bauer, Hell, p. TJ Borndner, Sen, 2:57
215: Conner Hagel, F, dec. Tanner Price, Sen, 8-5
Hwt: Axel Bladholm, F, p. Derek Petrie, HH, 4:39.
Seventh/Eighth
119: Kelly Eller, Cap, p. Dylan Lindsley, BS, 4:45
125: Jake Marr, Sen, p. Dylan Lewis, Hell, 3:41
130: James Donaldason, Cap, p. Chance Momberg, Hell, 2:03.
135: Evan Eickert, F, maj. dec. Cody Thomas, Sen, 10-2.
140: Jackson Barber, G, p. Keon Gallagher, 1:25.
145: Jason Riekena, BS, won by default.
152: Chase Linton, BS, p. Gavin Greaney, Cap, 2:21.
160: Shig Hilborn, HH, p. Addison Boyer, Cap, 2:37.
171: Jack Riekena, BS, p. Justin Duffy, BS, 4:25.
189: Tyler Brewer, BS, dec. Connor Gordon, BS, 3-2.
215: Zach Dennehy, G, p. Ryan Wozniak, Hell, 3:35.
Hwt: Colter Miller, BS, p. Garrett Schild, Sen, 2:14.
Third Round
98: Emilio Romero, HH, dec. Alex Caldwell, HH, 10-6.
112: Brodie Long, HH, p. Kelly Eller, Cap, 3:58; Daniel Devall, F, p. Dylan Lindsley, BS, 3:42.
119: Ryan Reed, HH, dec. Jake Marr, Sen, 8-2; Zach Burckhard, Sen, p. Dylan Lewis, Hell, 4:04
125: Sam Frank, Sen, maj. dec. Chandon Hamel, Hell, 15-7; Kalieb Liehr, F, tech fall Ben Sheldahl, HH, 17-2.
130: Kade Branson, BS, p. Chance Momberg, Hell, 3:41; Jeremy VanDyke, HH p. James Donaldason, 1:33.
135: Gunnar Hillborn, HH, p. Evan Eickert, F, 3:27; Sam Asay, Cap, tech fall, Cody Thomas, Sen, 16-0.
140: Jacob Van Dyke, HH, dec. Jackson Barber, G, 12-7; Tanner Stupak, G, dec. Keon Gallagher, BS, 10-3.
145: Jackson Haider, Cap, p. Jason Riekena, BS, 2:32; Matt Merritt, BS, won by default.
152: Chase Thurston, HH, dec. Chase Linton, BS, 10-5; Ben Clark, Cap, p. Gavin Greaney, Cap, :45.
160: Andrew Wheeler, G, dec. Shig Hilborn, HH, 19-13; Nick Iavicoli, F, p. Addison Boyer, Cap, 2:45.
171: Dillon Koffman, Cap, p. Justin Duffy, 1:53; Josh Diaz, HH, p. Jack Riekena, 4;58.
189: TJ Borndner, Sen, p. Tyler Brewer, BS, 2:04; Zach Bauer, Hell, dec. Connor Gordon, BS, 14-11.
215: Conner Hagel, F, p. Ryan Wozniak, Hell, 4:24; Tanner Price, Sen, p. Zach Dennehy, G, 5:30.
Hwt: Derek Petrie, HH, p. Colter Miller, BS, 1:40; Axel Bladholm, F, p. Garrett Schild, Sen, :20.
Fourth Round
105: Jayden Moyes, HH, p. Jaden La Bare, Hell, 2:25.
112: Trevor Ball, Cap, p. Brodie Long, HH, 2:45; Justin Conklin, BS, p. Daniel Devall, F, 2:39
119: Christian Knopp, G, p. Zach Burckhard, Sen, :48; Tyler Davis, F, p. Ryan Reed, HH, 4:21.
125: Jordan Hegel, Sen, p. Sam Frank, Sen, 2:55; Alek Mitchell, G, p. Kalieb Liehr, F, 3:00.
130: Lawrence Lesofski, Cap, dec. Kade Branson, BS, 6-5; Cooper Ryan, HH, p. Jeremy Van Dyke, HH, 1:45
135: Brady Bertagnolli, HH, p. Gunnar Hilborn, HH, :50; Zach Barber, G, p. Sam Asay, Cap, 2:14.
140: Noah Rivers, HH, maj. dec. Jacob Van Dyke, HH, 9-1; Gabe Lacroix, Sen, p. Tanner Stupak, G, 4:03.
145: Grant Tafoya, G, p. Jackson Haider, Cap, 1:25; Suny Cheff, F, maj. dec. Matt Merritt, BS, 10-1.
152: Ethan Cheff, Hell, dec. Chase Thurston, HH, 5-1; Michael Cloud, Sen, p. Ben Clark, Cap, 4:26.
160: Andrew Wheeler, G, dec. Chaz McGurn, Cap, 5-2; Nick Iavicoli, F, p. Robert Thomas, BS, 4:38.
171: Bryce Dahl, Sen, p. Dillon Koffman, Cap, 1;53; Dawson Day, G, maj. dec. Josh Diaz, HH, 21-7.
189: Alan Schmitz, Cap, p. TJ Borndner, 2:34; Nate Caldwell, HH, dec. Zach Bauer, Hell, 9-2.
215: Jake Bernard, Cap, dec. Conner Hagel, F, 4-2; Jake Tudahl, G, p. Tanner Price, Sen, :10.
Hwt: Bowen Smith, F, p. Derek Petrie, HH, 3:36; Matt Brownlow, Sen, dec. Axel Bladholm, F, 5-2.