Braves split final mat duals of season
Flathead walked off the mats with a split in Western AA dual wrestling action on Saturday to close out the regular-season action at home.
The Braves opened with a 44-36 triumph over Helena Capital and closed with a 40-27 loss to Helena High.
"The first dual, it was nice to get a win," Flathead coach Matt Owen said.
"We had a slow start, down 24-0 going into the 135-pound match."
Coty Piasecki turned it around for FHS in that bout with a pin. It was his first action since suffering an injury at the Rocky Mountain Classic.
"He got two wins tonight," Owen said.
"That's a promising start for him. He got the tables turned in that dual. After that, we were able to string a few wins together, dug our way out of the hole. It was very promising to see them come back and win after being down like that."
Owen said the team wrestled better against Helena High, despite losing.
"Helena has a tough team this year," he said.
"We were competing with them in every match."
Nick Iavicoli (160) also looked sharp in his return from injury. He won by decision twice.
Larry Francis (171/189) had a first-period pin against Capital and won by forfeit versus Helena High.
Flathead's Suny Cheff (140) was 2-0 on the day, winning by tech fall and a decision.
Flathead's next action is the Western AA seeding tournament Friday and Saturday at Flathead.
State follows Feb. 10-11 in Billings.
Flathead 44, Helena Capital 36
Match started 112
98 - Dyan Guzman, F, won by forfiet; 105 - Gavyn Wilson, F, won by forfeit; 112 - Trevor Ball, C, pinned Daniel Devall, :47; 119 - Eric Emge, C, pinned Haze Bell, 3:51; 125 - Alex Markle, C, won by forfeit; 130 - Lawrence Lesofski, C, pinned Kalieb Liehr, :41; 135 - Coty Piasecki, F, pinned Sam Asay, 3:23; 140 - Suny Cheff, F, tech fall Lane Clark, 15-0; 145 - Jackson Haider, C, dec. Jess Beaman, 11-5; 152 - Jacob Egley, F, pinned Ben Clark, 2:49; 160 - Nick Iavicoli, F, dec. Chaz McGurn, 5-2; 171 - Larry Francis, F, pinned Dillon Koffman, :46; 189 - Allen Schmitz, C, won by forfeit; 215 - Jake Bernard, C, dec. Conner Hagel, 6-5; Hwt -Bowen Smith, F, won by forfeit.
Helena High 40, Flathead 27
Match started at 119
98 - Guzman, F, dec. Alex Caldwell, 7-6; 105 - Landon Bailey, HH, dec. Wilson, 6-0; 112 - Brodie Long, HH, pinned Devall, 5:39; 119 - Ryan Reed, HH, dec. Bell, 9-3; 125 - Gabe Schroeck, HH, won by forfeit; 130 - Cooper Ryan, HH, maj. dec. Liehr, 11-3; 135 - Piasecki, F, pinned Brady Bertagnolli, :56; 140 - Cheff, F, def. Noah Rivers, 6-2; 145 - Jacob Van Dyke, HH, dec. Beaman, 8-2; 152 - Jonaathan Mandy, HH, dec. Egley, 5-4; 160 - Iavicoli, F, dec. Chase Thurston, 5-3; 171 - Brock Steller, F, won by forfeit; 189 - Francis, F, won by forfeit; 215 - Nate Caldwell, HH, pinned Hagel, 3:06; Hwt - Tucker Erickson, HH, pinned Smith, 1:06.