Eureka in the hunt for its first state mat championship

BILLINGS — Fresh off a second straight divisional championship, Eureka has its sights set on the biggest prize of all — the school’s first ever state wrestling championship — as the Class B/C state wrestling tournament gets underway today at MetraPark in Billings.

The Lions ranked second in Class B behind only Colstrip in the final coaches poll, released earlier this week. Eureka enters Rimrock Auto Arena on the strength of four divisional champions among 10 total wrestlers in the field.

Class B counterparts Libby and Bigfork will also be hoping to make some noise at the tournament. The Greenchain qualified five wrestlers, including two at 103 pounds, and the Vikings have four grapplers entered.

Eureka, meanwhile, will be relying on strong finishes from its stop wrestlers. Seven Lions come into the tournament with at least 30 wins under their belts, and all six have state title aspirations.

At 120 pounds, junior Kahden Bakkila (39-5) won the divisional title last weekend in Florence and is looking to improve upon a sixth-place finish at 113 pounds in last year’s state tournament. Bakkila was ranked third in the final coaches poll.

Jonathan Schmidt finished fourth at 120 pounds in 2015 and bumps up to 126 pounds this year. Just a sophomore, Schmidt owns the divisional title and a team-best 42 match wins. He ranks fifth in the state.

Garrett Graves at 170 is highest-ranked Eureka wrestler, coming into the state tournament at No. 2 behind only Choteau’s Taner Stone. Graves, too, won at the divisional and has earned a top seed. The sophomore won twice a season ago at the state championships.

The Lions’ final divisional champ, junior Joe Fehr, was the sixth-place finisher at 182 pounds last year. He enters the state tournament ranked fourth at 205.

Cannan Smith (6th at 145) and Kaelan Yanak (5th at 285) were also ranked in the final coaches poll.

Libby’s Buddy Doolin is one of two Greenchain wrestlers ranked at their weight, checking in fifth at 103 pounds. Doolin was second at last weekend’s divisional tournament. His teammate, Laine Young, is sixth at 138 pounds.

Bigfork’s Matt Farrier, ranked sixth at 160 pounds, is the second seed out of the west after losing in the championship at last weekend’s divisional.

The All-Class state wrestling tournament at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark in Billings kicks off at 10:20 a.m. today. Gates open at 8 a.m., and wrestling concludes with the championship matches Saturday evening.

CLASS B/C WRESTLING

At Billings

First round matchups

Thursday

BIGFORK

126 — Castor Conley, Bigfork (25-11) vs. Trevor Moore, CHOT, Sr. (32-7)

132 — Connor Meyer, Bigfork (26-16) vs. Michael Sherwood, COLM, Sr. (15-18)

160 — Matt Farrier, Bigfork (17-10) vs. Kyle Spritzer, BROA, So. (23-17)

205 — Drayson Hengertner, Bigfork (3-1) vs. Ben Fujimori, BAKR, Sr .(23-16)

EUREKA

120 — Kahden Bakkila, Eureka, Jr. (39-5) vs. Connor Schnabel, FOR, Jr. (19-21)

126 — Jonathan Schmidt, Eureka, So. (42-4) vs. Kolton Bishop, HARL, Fr. (15-9)

138 — Josh Schmidt, Eureka, Sr. (38-4) vs. Doug DiAngelis, CSCD, Jr. (19-8)

145 — Cannan Smith, Eureka, Jr. (40-11) vs. Cole Bergstad, BROA (18-19)

152 — Jarrett Pecora, Eureka, Sr. (31-11) vs. Billy Raville, COLM, Sr. (23-5)

160 — Levi Garcia, Eureka, Jr. (18-14) vs. Nate Brunett, JEFF, So. (32-14)

170 — Garrett Graves, Eureka, So. (40-5) vs. Sonny Cochran, SHPH, So. (33-15)

182 — Austin Sherwood, Eureka, Jr. (15-10) vs. Thayne Hage, CLST, Sr. (31-6)

205 — Joe Fehr, Eureka, Jr. (23-11) vs. Ty Nygard, WOLF, Jr. (18-20)

285 — Kaelan Yanak, Eureka, Jr. (32-11) vs. O’shon Oldmouse, CLST, Jr. (28-11)

LIBBY

103 — Buddy Doolin, Libby (10-3) vs. Dean Kellogg, CNRD, Fr. (8-23)

103 — Colten Clemens, Libby, Fr. (1-3) vs. Gabe Hallock, GLSG, Jr. (30-9)

132 — Reed Christensen, Libby (11-7) vs. Jacob Travis, JEFF, So. (38-13)

138 — Laine Young, Libby (10-7) vs. Mike Roach, CSCD, Jr. (18-7)

205 — Clancy Gout, Libby (9-3) vs. Harley Yoder, PWDR, Jr. (14-10)