Grapplers roll out the mats for new season

Wrestling season begins today for most of the valley’s high schools as Glacier and Flathead both open their seasons in Butte while Whitefish hosts a dual against Columbia Falls.

Glacier won its first state title a year ago and looks to maintain that level of success this season, while Flathead, winner of five of the last seven state titles, hopes to climb back to the top under new coach Scot Davis.

While Glacier graduated eight state placers from last year’s title-winning team, including 160-pound champion Shane St. Onge, coach Mark Fischer said his team has plenty of talent returning.

“We had a great senior class last year, but I’m pretty impressed with what we have back,” Fischer said. “Our younger kids are stepping up and are wanting people to know they’re still here and not to forget about them. I’ve been impressed watching our challenge matches and feel pretty good about where we’re at right now.”

Sophomores Quinn Barber and Cody Decker are among several wrestlers Fischer expects to help fill the void left by last year’s senior class.

“There are a lot of different names I could throw out there that are going to step up and take on a little bit more of a leadership role than they have in the past,” Fischer said.

Lucas Mantel is Glacier’s top returning wrestler after placing second at 135 pounds last year and third at 130 the year before. Senior Kaleb Mitchell is a three-time state placer, taking third at 98 pounds as a freshman, sixth at 105 as a sophomore and fifth at 130 a year ago. Jackson Barber and Alek Mitchell return as two-time state placers and Grant Tafoya and Dawson Day each placed last season.

Fischer said he’s looking for that group to provide leadership to the rest of the team.

“They have, in some ways, gotten it done before, and maybe they can lead the rest of the team and pick up where we left off last year.”

Fischer has freshman Ryder Day penciled into the 125-pound slot and said the youngster should make an impact in his first high school season, but the Wolfpack is thin at most of the lighter weight classes.

“We just don’t have a lot of little kids,” Fischer said. “We have some fairly green kids in there, and they’re going to have a bit of work ahead of them, but once we get to 119 pounds and up we’re pretty seasoned.”

After winning five straight titles from 2006 to 2010, Flathead finished fifth in 2011 and 10th at last year’s state tournament, but its new coach is one of the most accomplished high school wrestling coaches in the country.

Davis came to Kalispell from Owatonna, Minn., and has amassed a record of 984-149-4 during his high school coaching career.

Davis said he doesn’t think it will take long to get the Braves back to their winning ways.

“I can see the enthusiasm that wrestling has here,” he said. “I don’t think it will take long to get it back on track.”

Flathead returns two state placers in seniors Jake Egley, third at 152 pounds, and Nick Iavicoli, fifth at 160 pounds.

“Jacob’s a more wide-open funk-type wrestler,” Davis said. “I’m sure he’s exciting for the crowd. Nick’s more controlled.”

Flathead also returns senior Suny Cheff, who placed fourth at 112 pounds as a freshman.

While most of the rest of the team is untested, Davis said he likes what he’s seen in practice.

“We have some freshmen and sophomores that need to learn some technique, but they work hard and don’t back down when they’re up against upperclassmen,” Davis said. “I think that’s a bright sign for the future.”

Egley said two things make Davis stand out compared to former coach Mark Owen. The first is the tempo of practice, which focuses more on technique and less on conditioning.

“We’re not as well-conditioned, but we’re way better at wrestling,” Egley said.

The second is the amount of time Davis spends instructing the junior varsity wrestlers.

“He’s focused on the beginners and building a team.”

Polson opens its season Saturday with its home invitational tournament, which will be attended by 13 schools from all three classes including Glacier, Columbia Falls, Whitefish and Eureka.

The Pirates return three state placers from last year’s team, which finished seventh in Class A, and coach Bob Owen said he’s looking forward to his team’s home tournament.

“I think it will be a real competitive tournament as always,” Owen said. “It’s a great opener. The coaches really enjoy it because it’s not too high pressure, but it’s great competition.”

Owen said Glacier, Missoula Sentinel and Corvallis, last year’s Class A state champion, should be the toughest teams at the tournament.

Glacier won the Polson Invitational last year, and Fischer said it's good to take on some of the smaller schools that attend the event.

“You just find a lot of kids that are really tough at those A and B schools, and it’s a good test for us to see where we’re at early in the season,” Fischer said.

Libby opens its season at the Havre Invitational today and Saturday.