Rush, Flathead champs at Rocky
The Daily Inter Lake
MISSOULA — Led by individual champion Hunter Rush (103) and runners-up Trae Vasquez (132), Payton Hume (152) and Tucker Nadeau (170), Flathead easily captured the team title on Saturday at the 40th annual Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic wrestling tournament at Missoula Sentinel High School.
The Braves rolled up a 202 1/2-point total to finish well ahead of second-place Mead High School of Spokane with a 167 score.
Havre, 159 1/2, was third.
Rounding out the top five were Helena High, 150 1/2, and Bozeman, 138.
The last time Flathead won this tournament was 2008. The Braves went on to capture the AA state championship that season.
Current Flathead head coach Jeff Thompson retired at the end of the 2008 season before rejoining the program for the 2016-17 campaign.
Flathead gained some measure of revenge at this event, beating Havre, which it lost to at the Mining City Duals in the semifinals in December, and Mead, which won the Pacific Northwest Classic last weekend in Spokane. Flathead finished second at Spokane.
“We beat two teams that beat us earlier in the year,” Thompson said.
“That shows we’re improving.”
Rush went 4-0 in the two-day event. He decisioned Quin Reno of Havre in the final, 8-2. Rush posted a major decision over Trevin Welzien of Missoula Big Sky in the semifinals, 12-3.
On Friday, he won by major decision and pin.
“He wrestled a real smart match,” Thompson said of Rush in the final.
“I think he kind of dominated the 103-pound class and showed he will be the man to beat at the state tournament.”
Vasquez, the defending champ at Rocky, lost to Riley Gurr of Frenchtown in the title round 7-0.
“He lost some big scrambles,” Thompson said of Vasquez.
“He couldn’t overcome the first 5-0 scramble in the first period. He fought through, did the best he could.”
Vasquez, a junior, was third at this event his freshman season.
Nadeau came up short 6-4 against Chase Short of Great Falls High in his final, 6-4.
“He (Nadeau) won a takedown at the end of the match, but they reversed the call,” Thompson said.
“It was a battle between him and Short. It as a misfortune (for Nadeau). I feel like we can get him (Short) later on at state.”
Hume, a runner-up last year, lost in his final, 5-4 to Jordan Komac of Great Falls High.
“Very close match, a lot of calls on the line,” Thompson said.
“He really opened up his offense this weekend and had his best wrestling of the year.”
Flathead had eight of its 13 wrestlers place in the top six. Placing fourth were Cody DeVall (120) and Matt Gash-Gilder (205).
“I was really impressed with Cody DeVall at 120,” Thompson said.
“That was the toughest weight in the tournament. He wrestled out of his mind, was on a mission to place.”
Polson’s Parker Adler (138) was third and Libby’s Buddy Doolin (103) and Ronan’s Hunter Peterson (126) were both fourth.
40th annual Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic
Saturday
At Missoula Sentinel
Team Totals
1, Flathead 202.5; 2, Mead 167; 3, Havre 159.5; 4, Helena 150.5; 5, Bozeman 138; 6, Helena Capital 124; 7, Great Falls 115; 8, Missoula Big Sky; 9, Powell 105.5; 10, Butte 98.5; 11, Coeur d’Alene 92.5; 12, Fergus County 89; 13, Ronan 85; 14, Frenchtown 82.5; 15, Central Valley 81; 16, Hamilton 76; 17, University 75.5; 18, Belgrade 65.6; 19, Columbia Falls 65; 20, Clarkston 60.5; 21, Polson 57; t-22, Ferris 53; t-22, Lake City 53; 24, Missoula Sentinel 52; 25, Corvallis 44; 26, Nampa 42; 27, Libby 31; 28, Lewiston 28; t-29, Great Falls CMR 24; t-29, Glacier 24; 31, Superior 21; 32, Missoula Hellgate 11.
Matches
103 pounds
Semifinals – Hunter Rush, FLT, maj. dec. Trevin Welzien, MBS, 12-3; Quin Reno, HAV, dec. Buddy Doolin, LIB, 3-0.
Championship – Rush, FTL, dec. Reno, HAV, 8-2.
Third place -- Isaac Romero, HEL, dec. Doolin, LIB, 8-3.
Fifth place – Welzien, MBS, dec. Walker Dyer, FTN, 1-0.
113 pounds
Semifinals – Chase Tebbets, MED, dec. Ryan Stewart, HAV, 2-0; Leif Schroeder, BOZ, pin Jake Bibler, FTN, 2:42.
Championship -- Schroeder, BOZ, dec. Tebbets, MED, 6-3.
Third place – Bibler, FTN, dec. Stewart, HAV, 5-3.
Fifth place – Tyler Coddington, CAP, dec. Spencer Stagg, RON, 5-3.
120 pounds
Semifinals – Chance McLane, BOZ, dec. John Mears, BEL, 5-2; Nick Kunz, CAP, pin Lane Paulson, HAV, 5:00.
Championship -- Kunz, CAP, dec. McLane, BOZ, 7-0.
Third place – Mears, BEL, dec. Cody DeVall, FLT, 7-0.
Fifth place – Klayten Babino, CLK, dec. Paulson, HAV, 4-0.
126 pounds
Semifinals – Martin Wilkie, HAV, tech fall Reece Eckley, MSN, 18-1; Spencer Clegg, CLK, dec. Douglas Swanson, MBS, 4-0.
Championship -- Wilkie, HAV, dec. Clegg, CLK, 3-0.
Third place – Swanson, MBS, dec. Hunter Peterson, RON, 5-3.
Fifth place – Max Clark, UHI, dec. Eckley, MSN, 6-3.
132 pounds
Semifinals – Trae Vasquez, FLT, pin Brad Wiggs, CV, 4:43; Riley Gurr, FTN, pin Caleb Birdwell, FRG, :59.
Championship -- Gurr, FTN, dec. Vasquez, FLT, 7-0.
Third place – Birdwell, FRG, dec. Reese Karst, POW, 5-3.
Fifth place – Wiggs, CV, def. Cam Hegel, MSN, ff.
138 pounds
Semifinals -- Sawyer Degen, BEL, dec. Parker Adler, POL, 4-0; Kyle Gordon, MBS, dec. Bridger Beard, CV, 6-4.
Championship -- Degen, BEL, dec. Gordon, MBS, 7-2.
Third place -- Adler, POL, dec. Kyle Tabbert, HEL, 6-0.
Fifth place -- Beard, CV, dec. Yunadi Bogatyrev, MED, 5-2.
145 pounds
Semifinals -- Parker Filius, HAV, tech fall KJ Swanson, MBS, 17-1 (3:03); Braedon Orrino, CV, dec. Devante Goodman, MED, 15-9.
Championship -- Filius, HAV, maj. dec. Orrino, CV, 12-2.
Third place -- Swanson, MBS, dec. Goodman, MED, 9-5.
Fifth place -- Tyler Loch, GFH, dec. Kadin Schonsberg, BUT, 9-5.
152 pounds
Semifinals -- Jordan Komac, GFH, dec. Keegan Mulhill, BOZ, 6-0; Payton Hume, FLT, dec. Mason Fetters, CFS, 6-3.
Championship -- Komac, GFH, dec. Hume, FLT, 5-4.
Third place -- Mulhill, BOZ, dec. Cameron Crawford, MED, 4-2.
Fifth place -- Fetters, CFS, pin Manolo Tamez, NAM, 1:45.
160 pounds
Semifinals -- Dane Flammond, HAV, pin Griffin Schoch, LCH, 1:52; Noah Manibusan, HEL, dec. Alex Wickens, FRG, 8-6.
Championship -- Manibusan, HEL, dec. Flammond, HAV, 5-4.
Third place -- Wickens, FRG, dec. CJ Snyder, CAP, injury.
Fifth place -- Garett Rieke, FLT, dec. Schoch, LCH, 6-2.
170 pounds
Semifinals -- Chase Short, GFH, tech fall Ty Dearcorn, POW, 20-5 (5:16); Tucker Nadeau, FLT, dec. Brandon Cooper, BOZ, 2-1.
Championship -- Short, GFH, dec. Nadeau, FLT, 6-4.
Third place -- Cooper, BOZ, dec. Manny Rivera, HAM, 6-3.
Fifth place -- Dearcorn, POW, pin Joel Clark, HEL, 1:31
182 pounds
Semifinals -- Trevor Senn, MED, dec. Olivera, LCH, 12-6; Casey Randles, CDA, dec. Hayden Schrull, HEL, 13-6.
Championship -- Randles, CDA, def. Senn, MED, forfeit.
Third place -- Schrull, HEL, tech fall Olivera, LCH, 18-3 (4:48).
Fifth place -- Eli Briggs, POW, pin Finn Vaghan-Kraska, BOZ, 2:13.
205 pounds
Semifinals -- Seth Jensen, CAP, dec. Zach Easum, POW, 9-8; Justin Hinson, HAM, dec. Matt Gash-Gilder, FLT, 12-5.
Championship -- Hinson, HAM, dec. Jensen, CAP, 8-2.
Third place -- Easum, POW, dec. Gash-Gilder, FLT, 6-4.
Fifth place -- Brady Boyce, FRG, pin Tanner Stack, MSN, :40.
285 pounds
Semifinals -- Jeff Queer, BUT, pin Michael Lee, FLT, 2:15; Alex Marshall, CDA, pin Zane Lettau, LCH, 1:08.
Championship -- Queer, BUT, dec. Marshall, CDA, 5-2.
Third place -- Collin Grosse, MED, dec. Manny Homen, FER, 5-1.
Fifth place -- Lee, FLT, pin Lettau, LCH, 1:45.
Choteau Classic
Saturday
At Choteau
Team Totals
1, Plains-Hot Springs 139; 2, Townsend 124.5; 3, Malta 106.5; 4, Shepherd 100; 5, Whitehall 96.5; 6, Thompson Falls 89; 7, Choteau 86.5; t-8, Conrad 80; t-8, Fairfield-Simms 80; 10, Anaconda 72; 11, Mission Charlo 69; 12, Columbus-Absarokee 67; 13, Valier 58; 14, Poplar 57; 15, Cut Bank 53; 16, Wolf Point 52; 17, Cascade 45.5; t-18, Chinook 41; t-18, Shelby 41; 20, Boulder 28; 21, Harlem 26; 22, Fort Benton 19; 23, Arlee 14; 24, Deer Lodge 6; t-25, Highwood 4; t-25, Drummond-Philipsburg 4; 27, Belt 3; t-28, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 0; t-28, Circle 0; t-28, Great Falls Central 0; t-28, Lone Peak 0.
Matches
103 pounds?
Semifinals -- Tanner Cook, SHP, maj. dec. Robert Dempsey, MC, 14-5; Walker Murphy, MC, pin Clancy Russel, WHL, 3:51.
Championship -- Cook, SHP, pin Murphy, MC, 4:10.
Third place -- Dempsey, MC, pin Matt Connelly, VAL, 3:24.
Fifth place -- Russel, WHL, pin Emma Belew, DL, :35.
113 pounds
Semifinals -- Colin Rogers, ANC, pin Terrence Caldwell, PHS, 5:18; Kaleb Frank, TFL, pin Easton Held, TOW, 1:27.
Championship -- Rogers, ANC, dec. Frank, TFL, 13-8.
Third place -- Held, TOW, dec. Caldwell, PHS, 7-6.
Fifth place -- Trisetan Kemp WPT, maj. dec. Mike Wilkinson, WHL, 12-1.
120 pounds
Semifinals -- Kolter Schipman, MAL, pin Darwyn Johnson, FFS, 2:13; Daniel Uli, PHS, maj. dec. Josh Pepos, CAS, 15-1.
Championship -- Uli, PHS, maj. dec. Schipman, MAL, 13-1.
Third place -- Pete Henderson, CHO, pin Connor Schnabel, FTB, 4:45.
Fifth place -- Pepos, CAS, pin Johnson, FFS, 2:19.
126 pounds
Semifinals -- Josiah Vanderwall, PHS, tech fall Ronnie Barnhill, CON, 15-0; Jack Dolan, TOW, dec. Isaac Ramos, VAL, 5-4.
Championship -- Vanderwall, PHS, pin Dolan, TOW, 5:17.
Third place -- Connor Johnson, WHL, dec. Ramos, VAL, 4-2.
Fifth place -- Barnhill, CON, dec. Ethan Mishler, FFS, 8-5.
132 pounds
Semifinals -- Quinn Whitmus, WPT, pin Kameron Rauser, TOW, 1:45; Hunter Reum, POP, dec. Kaden Moore, MAL, 4-2.
Championship -- Whitmus, WPT, pin Reum, POP, 2:36.
Third place -- Moore, MAL, pin Rauser, TOW, 2:50.
Fifth place -- Riley Forcella, WHL, pin Nate Goddard, CA, 1:22.
138 pounds
Semifinals -- Trey Simanton, MAL, pin Brodey White, SHE, 1:54; Cole Giles, FFS, dec. Brandon Bisch, ANC, 9-3.
Championship -- Simanton, MAL, dec. Giles, FFS, 6-4.
Third place -- Ostwald, TFL, pin Sam White, SHE, 12-4.
Fifth place -- Bisch, ANC, maj. dec. Nathan Gallegos, TOW, 14-5.
145 pounds
Semifinals -- Tate Niederegger, CHI, pin Luke Lile, PHS, 3:35; Robbie Coleman, CA, dec. Barrett Hansen, SHE, 8-4.
Championship -- Niederegger, CHI, pin Coleman, CA, 1:54.
Third place -- Lile, PHS, dec. Hansen, SHE, 6-4.
Fifth place -- Braxtyn Armstrong, WHL, pin Jayden Johnson, SHP, 2:48.
152 pounds
Semifinals -- Dawson Peterman, FFS, maj. dec. Cody Garrison, TFL, 11-1; James Detienne, PHS, pin David Vinley, CHO, :58.
Championship -- Peterman, FFS, dec. Detienne, PHS, 14-8.
Third place -- Finley, CHO, pin Cody Garrison, TFL, :47.
Fifth place -- Powell, SHP, dec. Trever VandenBos, VAL, 6-1.
160 pounds
Semifinals -- Tanner Stone, CHO, pin JR Seewald, CUT, :58; Kane Lawson, PHS, dec. Spencer Dougherty, SHP, 3-1.
Championship -- Stone, CHO, maj. dec. Lawson, PHS, 9-0.
Third place -- Seewald, CUT, pin Derek Neel, TOW, :22.
Fifth place -- Brevlin Thompson, ANC, def. Dougherty, SHP, injury.
170 pounds
Semifinals -- Ben Rauscher, CON, maj. dec. Jacob Anderson, FFS, 10-1; Jase Sorenson, TFL, pin Sonny Cochran, SHP, 3:50.
Championship -- Rauscher, CON, dec. Sorenson, TFL, 5-2.
Third place -- Cochran, SHP, dec. Gustav Wenz, SHP, 5-3.
Fifth place -- George Shick, ARL, dec. Anderson, FFS, 8-4.
182 pounds
Semifinals -- Gus Bosley, MC, pin Tyson Sutherland, POP, 5:03; Justin Large, TOW, pin Andres Lopez, MAL, 4:57.
Championship -- Bosley, MC, pin Large, TOW, :58.
Third place -- Taylor Johnson, SHP, dec. Brett Monroe, VAL, 6-4.
Fifth place -- Sutherland, POP, pin Lopez, MAL, 2:28.
205 pounds
Semifinals -- Hunter Mycke, CON, pin Nick Workman, BOU, :50; Reece Utton, HAR, maj. dec. Dakota Daley, CHO, 10-2.
Championship -- Mycke, CON, maj. dec. Hutton, HAR, 13-5.
Third place -- Christian Pfeifer, SHP, pin Dustin Stepper, CA, 4:07.
Fifth place -- Workman, BOU, pin Daley, CHO, 2:31.
285 pounds
Semifinals -- Justin Pfeifer, CUT, pin Trey Pribbernow, POP, 1:19; Dawson Hoerauf, WHL, pin Glen Ferguson, CAS, 2:14.
Championship -- Pfeifer, CUT, pin Hoerauf, WHL, 2:57.
Third place -- Ferguson, CAS, pin Pribbernow, POP, :34.
Fifth place -- Chris Anderson, MC, def. Alex Cline, CAS, injury.