Flathead mat coach resigns

Flathead High School wrestling coach Scot Davis has resigned to return to Minnesota, where he will take over the Eden Prairie High School wrestling program.

Davis spent one year at Flathead, leading the Braves to a 12-11 dual record and a 13th-place finish at the Class AA state tournament, but he wanted be closer to his family.

“It really had nothing to do with Kalispell and Flathead, because the people were tremendous there,” Davis said. “As nice as can be. I can’t say one negative thing about Flathead.

“It was strictly a family decision. You come to a point where you’ve got to put your family first. I do feel bad about it, but there’s no doubt that Flathead wrestling is going to take off in the next couple years. There’s some good kids coming up and there’s a lot of good people at the wrestling club.”

Davis said he likely would’ve returned to Minnesota even if a coaching job hadn’t been available in the Gopher State.

“I wasn’t looking for another job,” he said. “I was actually contemplating staying in Minnesota and if a job opened up, fine. If not, I just had to do what was best for my family.”

Davis said he plans to keep in touch with the Kalispell wrestling community and will be in town June 23-28 for Flathead’s wrestling camp.

“I’m going to miss the people in Kalispell,” he said. “The kids, everybody. The high school staff was so supportive.”

Flathead activities director Bryce Wilson praised Davis’ work with the Flathead wrestling team.

“Scot was an amazing coach who did a great job building numbers, enthusiasm and creating a structure for further wrestling success,” Wilson said. “He was a mentor to many of our coaches during his brief time here at Flathead High School.”

Davis has spent most of his 40-year coaching career in Minnesota, including 25 years at Owatonna High School. He is the national leader in high school wrestling wins with 996 and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in April.