Flathead's Francis breaks through with Beck title
MISSOULA - The Flathead Braves have a Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic champion.
Senior Larry Francis defeated Sam Voigtlaender of Spokane's Mead High School 6-5 in the final of the 171-pound weight class on Saturday night.
It is Francis' first big tournament championship. He's been second on a number of occasions, including twice in the Class AA state finals.
"Really exciting. It was a very close match. Larry got a big takedown at the end to win it," said Flathead coach Matt Owen.
Voigtlaender won the 170-pound weight class at the 2011 Tri-State Tournament Dec. 16 in Coeur d'Alene. Francis placed third in the 160-pound weight class at that tournament.
When you beat a Tri-State championship, "you did something special," Owen said.
"He's been wanting to win one of these big ones. It was nice to see him make that breakthrough," the coach said.
Team-wise, the Glacier Wolfpack scored 179 points to place third out of 30 teams in the tournament.
It was the closest team finish since 2005 as Great Falls High scored 222 points to 215 for Mead. Havre was fourth at 152 and Corvallis was fifth at 148.
Among individuals, Mead's Jordan Rogers was named the Outstanding Wrestler and Mead's Chandler Rogers got the Quick Pin award. Great Falls' Cole Mendenhall and Havre's Eli Hinebauch both won their fourth individual Rocky titles.
Among local teams, Polson was 15th with 72.5 points, Columbia Falls was 16th with 70 points, Libby 19th with 66 and Flathead 20th with 64.
The Wolfpack finished the weekend with 11 placers "which is really great for us," said Glacier coach Mark Fischer.
But it was tough to take Saturday morning when all six of the Wolfpack's semifinalists lost.
"It was just a tough round for us. We lost some close matches and you want those back. But (state) is still four weeks away. We have some things to work on," he said.
Some of those semifinalists got dropped to the fifth place match. Points-wise, that "makes a big difference," the coach said.
"When you get to the end, it's just tough.
"But it was a good tournament for us. Not necessarily our best, but a good tournament for us," he added.
Fischer complimented freshman Cody Decker, who placed fourth at 105.
"He had a tremendous tournament here. He wrestled a really solid tournament. He was going after it and he didn't back down from any of the kids," the coach said.
Local individuals who placed among the top eight are: Columbia Falls' Shonn Roberts, second at 98 and Jacob Babcock, seventh at 215; Polson's Josiah Clairmont, second at 285, Carlos Quinones, eighth at 112, Craig Feistner, fifth at 125; Libby's Kyle Leir, second at 145, Zach Crace, fifth at 119, Mitch Haugen, seventh at 130; Glacier's Cody Decker, fourth at 105, Alek Mitchell, fourth at 125, Kaleb Mitchell, fourth at 130, Zach Barber, eighth at 135, Lucas Mantel, fourth at 140, Cooper Sipe, fifth at 145, Shane St. Onge, fifth at 160, Riley Pisk, fifth at 171, Lane Armstrong, fifth at 189, Jake Tudahl, fifth at 215, Mack Sutherland, sixth at 285; and Flathead's Tyler Davis, eighth at 119.
Owen was pleased with Davis' effort.
"He's a freshman. I'm really proud of his performance as well."
The Braves had a rough go before they even got to the Rocky, as illness and injury took out several wrestlers.
"That's quite a few points we didn't have with us," Owen said.
On top of that, they lost Coty Piasecki (130) to a shoulder injury in the quarters.
But Owen found solace in that they still finished among the top 20.
"We definitely wanted a little more, but any time you come out with a champion, it's always fun. (Francis) wrestled a bunch of tough kids, this weekend," he said.
Next up for Glacier is the AA duals next weekend in Bozeman. Flathead will dual Polson on Thursday, then head to the duals as well.
Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic
At Sentinel High School
Saturday
Team scores - Great Falls High 222, Mead 215, Kalispell Glacier 179, Havre 152, Corvallis 148, Bozeman 142, University High 140.5, Central Valley 128, Missoula Sentinel 119, Helena High 114, Butte 106.5, Belgrade 101, Coeur d'Alene High 90, Bonners Ferry 80, Polson 72.5, Columbia Falls 70, Missoula Big Sky 69, Helena Capital 68.5, Libby 66, Kalispell Flathead 64, Frenchtown 63, Lake City 58, Clarkston 44, Lewistown 43, Ronan 43, Great Falls CMR 36, Ferris 33, Missoula Hellgate 25, Hamilton 15.5, Superior 14.
Individuals
Championship finals
98 - Vito Degidio, Boz, dec. Shonn Roberts, CF, 5-2;
105 - Casey Dobson, GFH, dec. Bryan Armstrong, But, 4-2;
112 - Josh Smart, GFH, dec. Dylan Schulte, Sent, 4-0;
119 - Gabe Schroeck, HH, pinned Kessler Leonard, GFH, 3:08;
125 - Bryce Weatherston, Bel, dec. Alex Markle, Cap, 4-2, OT;
130 - Blaine Invernon, BF, dec. Colton Orrino, CV, 5-3;
135 - Josh Morin, GFH, dec. Ryan Gabel, UHi, 3-1;
140 - Cole Mendenhall, GFH, pinned Travis Davis, Cor, 1:38;
145 - Jeremy Golding, Md, dec. Kyle Leir, Lib, 7-4;
152 - Eli Hinebauch, Hav, dec. Adrian Orndorff, UHi, 4-0;
160 - Chandler Rogers, Md, dec. Tanner Davis, CV, 8-3;
171 - Larry Francis, Flat, dec. Sam Voigtlaender, Md, 6-5;
189 - Jordan Rogers, Md, pinned Garrett Demers, CDA, 5:00;
215 - Jaydn Wilson, Sent, dec. Andreas Geranios, GFH, 8-3;
Hwt - Tucker Erickson, HH, dec. Josiah Clairmont, Pol, 5-2.
Semifinals
98 - Degidio, Boz, pinned Brenna, Hav, 1:35; Roberts, CF, dec. Komac, GFH, 7-2; 105 - Dobson, GFH, pinned Peterson, Md, 3:36; Armstrong, But, dec. Bailey, HH, 3-0; 112 - Schulte, Sent, pinned Hensley, Ftn, 4:16; Smart, GFH, dec. Conklin, 6-5; 119 - Schroeck, HH, dec. Beard, CV, 3-1; Leonard, GFH, pinned Crace, Lib, 1:14; 125 - Markle, Cap, dec. Feistner, Pol, 2-1; Weatherston, Bel, dec. A. Mitchell, Gla, 3-2;
130 - Invernon, BF, dec. K. Mitchell, Gla, 6-0; Orrino, CV, dec. Kolp, Boz, 8-2;135 - Gabel, UHi, dec. Staub, CDA, 6-1; Morin, GFH, dec. Johnston, Boz, 12-7; 140 - Mendenhall, GFH, pinned Challeen, But, 3:41; Davis, Cor, m. dec. Mantel, Gla, 12-2; 145 - Golding, Md, dec. Malone, Lew, 13-7; Leir, Lib, dec. Williams, Cor, 12-6; 152 - Hinebauch, Hav, pinned McGrath, But, 1:52; Orndorff, UHi, dec. Gilbertson, Md, 10-6; 160 - C. Rogers, Md, pinned Pribyl, Hav, 2:27; Davis, CV, dec. Gebhardt, Boz, 8-6;
171 - Francis, Flat, pinned Beeler, Clk, 6:27; Voigtlaender, Md, dec. Pisk, Gla, 3-0; 189 - J. Rogers, pinned Fortney, Ham, 1:10; Demers, CDA, pinned Schaub, Hav, 2:33; 215 - Geranios, GFH, pinned Tudahl, Gla, 4:41; Wilson, Sent, pinned Voltz, Md, :31; Hwt - Erickson, HH, pinned Schoultz, CV, 3:45; Clairmont, Pol, pinned Sutherland, Gla, :55.
Third-place match
98 - Grayson Brenna, Hav, dec. Jarren Komac, GFH, 8-6; 105 - Landon Bailey, HH, pinned Cody Decker, Gla, 2:39; 112 - Tyler Olsen, Cor, pinned AJ Konda, CDA, 1:51; 119 - Blake Beard, CV, dec. James DuBose, Cor, 5-4; 125 - Jordan Hegel, Sent, dec. Alek Mitchell, Gla, 1-0; 130 - Markus Kolp, Boz, pinned Kaleb Mitchell, Gla, 1:37; 135 - Hudson Staub, CDA, dec. Nick Wells, LC, 1-0; 140 - Tom Challeen, But, dec. Lucas Mantel, Gla, 7-4; 145 - Jim Malone, Lew, pinned Devan Williams, Cor, 2:17; 152 - Nate Partenfelder, LC, dec. Quincy Jessop, Cor, 7-0; 160 - Kameron Pribyl, Hav, dec. Riley Nagel, 6-3; 171 - Brock Beeler, Clk, dec. Grant Pattison, Hav, 5-0; 189 - Casey Schaub, Hav, pinned Keyten Andersen, Boz, :42; 215 - James Voltz, Md, dec. Darby Maier, BS, 10-8; Hwt - Dan Schoultz, CV, pinned Kyle Cosby, UHi, 3:31;
Fifth-place match
98 - Seth Dunn, UHi, dec. Demetri Koures, Hgt, 6-0; 105 - Max Peterson, Md, dec. Kwest Osborn, UHi, 7-4; 112 - Justin Conklin, BS, won by default over Glenn Hensley, Ftn; 119 - Zach Crace, Lib, pinned Tucker Schmidt, BS, 4:45; 125 - Craig Feistner, Pol, m. dec. Levi Renz, But, 8-0; 130 - Ethan Bristol, Bel, won by default over Brandon Edwards, Sent; 135 - Ty Johnston, Boz, dec. Cody Ishler, Ftn, 2-0; 140 - Luke Davenport, Sent, dec. Andrew Basinger, Md, 6-0; 145 - Cooper Sipe, Gla, dec. Dakota Schall, LC, 11-4; 152 - Derek McGrath, But, m. dec. Jake Gilbertson, Md, 10-2; 160 - Shane St. Onge, Gla, dec. Cole Gebhardt, Boz, 1-0; 171 - Riley Pisk, Gla, dec. Tyler Weaver, GFH, 1-0; 189 - Lane Armstrong, Gla, dec. Forest Fortney, Ham, 2-0; 215 - Jake Tudahl, Gla, pinned Jake Bernard, Cap, 2:13; Hwt - Drew Sharkey, Fer, dec. Mack Sutherland, Gla, 6-2.