Vasquez victorious, Flathead takes 2nd

BILLINGS – While Flathead’s Brave Brawlers were sweating out a second-place finish in the team race at the State AA wrestling tournament, one of their crosstown rivals kind of just breezed on through.

Freshman Teegan Vasquez was the lone Kalispell wrestler to win an individual crown Saturday at MetraPark, and did it in impressive fashion: It took him 96 seconds to pin his semifinal opponent and 63 to dispatch fellow freshman Carter Schmidt of Belgrade in the 113-pound finals.

“Head and arm,” Vasquez said of what gave him his second win over Schmidt in three meetings. In fact Schmidt is the only blemish on a 27-1 record.

“Lost the first one – I was like, just not in my mojo,” Vasquez said. “But I’ve wrestled him a lot out of season – like almost every single tournament in middle school. I usually win.”

“Teegan’s good at all the positions and one of them is upper body,” Glacier coach Ross Dankers said. “He had a great upper body move and put him on his back.”

Vasquez was one of two placers for the Pack – Camryn Vergeront was sixth at 205.

Flathead, meanwhile, had 10. That added up to 197 points, or one half-point more than third-place Billings Senior (Great Falls led the way with 242.5).

Helping Flathead out was Helena Capital’s Noah Kovick, who scored a 5-2 decision over Senior’s Peyton Morgan in the 182 finals. That kept a couple points off the Broncs’ total.

But there were many Brawlers that can be thanked for that half-point. Chase Youso (160) and Zaybin Stewart (205) wrestled back to fifth place after losing first-round matches. Early Saturday Cade Troupe was down to Irish Furthmyre before getting a takedown and a near fall – all in the last 14 seconds – for his first win over the Great Falls wrestler.

All of this helps take the edge of Flathead’s three finalists dropping their matches. Sophomore Tanner Russell couldn’t solve Missoula Big Sky’s Bridger Hall at 170; Brendan Barnes ran into Bozeman’s Leif Schroeder, who became the 36th Montanan with four state titles with a technical fall at 138.

Fin Nadeau lost an ultimate tie breaker to Bozeman’s Brock Rodrigues – the match going through several overtimes before Nadeau was forced to score an escape from the down position, or lose. Rodrigues held on. Nadeau was state runner-up for the second straight year.

“Fin can get away from just about anybody on the planet in a 30-second overtime, but just not today,” Flathead coach Jeff Thompson said.

“Could’ve gone either way,” Barnes said. “They were 1-1 against each other coming in. He’ll use that pain to try and come back and win a couple championships.”

Flathead returned five place-winners from a team that fell to seventh last year after five straight state titles.

“We all worked hard and put in the extra time,” Barnes said. “We all hoped we’d be first but it’s nice to be second and get some hardware.”

Freshman Noah Poe-Hatten was third at 152, as were Asher Kemppainen at 132 and Garett Rieke at 170. Troupe ended up fourth at 132, as was Paxton Boyce at 182.

Six of those 10 state placers return.

“I’m just so proud of those seniors in Paxton Boyce, Tanner Russell, Brandon Barnes and Garett Rieke,” Thompson said. “These men have given their heart and soul to the program.”

Class A

Sidney scored a record 310.5 points last year and surpassed that total by the end of wrestlebacks. The Eagles won their third consecutive state crown and 11th overall.

They had eight in the finals and seven of them won, including two-time champions Aden Graves, Jett Jones and Riley Waters. Sidney ended with 340 points and Frenchtown was next with 158.5.

Columbia Falls was eighth at 72. Justin Windauer took third at 113 for the Matcats, as did Braydon Stone at 182. Lucas Thacker added a fifth at 152 and Josh Bertrand was sixth at 170.

The championship matches began at 132 pounds so fans could end the night with a showdown between Frenchtown’s three-time champion, Jake “The Toothache” Bibler and Lewistown’s two-time champion Cooper Birdwell at 126. The unbeaten Birdwell won 15-2.

Libby’s Xander Spady lasted 4:32 with Birdwell in the semifinals and ended up fourth at 126.

Class B/C

Eureka didn’t have the depth but they did have the horses to finish third in the team standings with 126 points. Glasgow won with 154, followed by Huntley Project at 126.

“We’ve got the Fantastic Four,” said Gunnar Smith, who won his third individual title with a victory at 126. “Me, Kyle (Durden), Nathan (Schmidt) and Hank (Dunn). Unfortunately Kyle had a tough run but we were all pleased to make it to the finals.”

Schmidt won at 138, Dunn won at 152 and Durden fell at 132 to two-time champion Colton Fast of Glasgow.

Smith’s run was made more impressive by his December knee surgery.

“I tore a meniscus during football season,” he said. “I wrestled the first two tournaments of this season and tore it right along the same place. I had surgery and came back just in time.”

Smith pinned Conrad’s Roper Mycke in 1:02 for his title. Dunn pinned Whitehall’s Riley Forcella in 5:59 for his. Schmidt earned a 9-4 decision over Forrest Fairbanks of Manhattan.

“I honestly wasn’t expecting us to do this much as a team,” Schmidt said. “We’re pretty new. But we put four of our big guns through to the finals.”

In addition Pancho Ibenez was fourth at 103 for Eureka.

Mission-Charlo’s Isaiah Allik capped a 42-0 season with a pin of defending champion Tanner Cook of Columbus-Absarokee.

All-Class State

Wrestling Tournament

at Billings MetraPark

Saturday

Class AA

Team scores – Great Falls 242.5, Flathead 197, Billings Senior 196.5, Bozeman 186, Butte 160.5, Billings West 153, Missoula Big Sky 120.5, Helena Capital 112, Billings Skyview 102, Glacier 73, Great Falls CMR 48, Missoula Sentinel 45, Belgrade 34, Helena 14, Missoula Hellgate 6.

103

Championship – Hunter Ketcham (Skyview) dec. Jas Van Pelt (Billings West), 5-1.

113

Championship – Teegan Vasquez (Glacier) pinned Carter Schmidt (Belgrade), 1:03.

Semifinal – Vasquez (Glacier) pinned Jalen Vladic (Senior), 1:36.

Wrestlebacks – Austin Phatavong (Great Falls) pinned Cade Gardner (Flathead), 3:58.

120

Championship – Jesse Aarness (West) pinned Keagan Gransbery (Butte), 4:18.

126

Championship – Matthew Dewitt (Senior) sudden victory over Drake Rhodes (West).

Third-fourth – Jayden Ramirez (Senior) pinned Cade Troupe (Flathead), 2:51.

Wrestlebacks –Troupe (Flathead) won by inj. Default over Tayt Rogers (Bozeman); Troupe (Flathead) dec. Irish Furthmyre (Great Falls), 7-5.

132

Championship – Avery Allen (Bozeman) dec. Carson DesRosier (Capital), 4-0.

Third-fourth – Asher Kemppainen (Flathead) dec. R.J. Lowdog (West), 1-0.

Semifinals – Allen (Bozeman) pinned Kemppainen (Flathead), 3:37.

Wrestlebacks – Kemppainen (Flathead) dec. Carteer Johnson (Big Sky), 8-1.

138

Championship – Leif Schroeder (Bozemann) tech. fall over Brendan Barnes (Flathead), 4:53.

Semifinals – Barnes (Flathead) pinned Idren Peak (Senior), 1:57.

145

Championship – Brock Rodrigues (Bozeman) ultimate tie breaker over Fin Nadeau (Flathead), 3-2.

Semifinals – Nadeau (Flathead) dec. Cache Hilliard (Great Falls), 3-1.

152

Championship – Hunter Meinzen (Big Sky) dec. Paolo Salminen (Skyview), 11-5.

Third-fourth – Noah Poe-Hatten (Flathead) dec. AJ Lafurge (Great Falls), 11-9.

Semifinals – Meinzen (Big Sky) maj. dec. Poe-Hatten (Flathead), 9-1.

Wrestlebacks – Poe-Hatten (Flathead) pinned Jace Mannix (Sentinel), 1:00.

160

Championship – Tucker Klepps (Senior) dec. Dougie Swanson (Big Sky), 5-3.

Fifth-sixth – Chase Youso (Flathead) pinned Payton Gonser (Great Falls), 4:20.

Wrestlebacks – Youso (Flathead) pinned Caden Gilmond (Glacier), 1:17; Quinn Sullivan (Butte) pinned Youso (Flathead), 2:01.

170

Championship – Bridger Hall (Big Sky) pinned Tanner Russell (Flathead), 3:49.

Third-fourth – Garett Rieke (Flathead) dec. Tyson Krahe (Great Falls), 8-3.

Semifinals – Hall (Big Sky) maj. dec. Rieke (Flathead), 11-2; Russell (Flathead) pinned Tyson Krahe (West), 3:55.

Wrestlebacks – Dominik Scown (Butte) pinned Thomas Crofts (Glacier), 2:53; Rieke (Flathead) pinned Scown (Butte), :26.

182

Championship – Noah Kovick (Capital) dec. Peyton Morton (Senior), 5-2.

Third-fourth – Liam Swanson (Great Falls) pinned Paxton Boyce (Flathead), 4:09.

Semifinals – Morton (Senior) dec. Boyce (Flathead), 7-1.

Wrestlebacks – Boyce (Flathead) dec. Bradden Rowles-Ortiz (Bozeman), 10-4.

205

Championship – Elijah Davis (Great Falls) dec. Zane McCormick (Capital), 5-3.

Fifth-sixth – Zaybin Stewart (Flathead) pinned McCade O’Reilly (Bozeman), 3:53.

Wrestlebacks – Steward (Flathead), pinned Hunter Morse (West), 2:12; Brenner Bushfield (Skyview) pinned Stewart (Flathead), 4:40.

285

Championship – Ethan Deroche (Great Falls) dec. Tom Walkup (Bozeman), 8-1.

Fifth-sixth – Zac Malcolm (West) dec. Camryn Vergeront (Glacier), 6-1.

Wrestlebacks – Vergeront (Glacier) pinned Camren Spencer (Bozeman), 4:09; Kobe Moreno (Butte) maj. dec. Vergeront (Glacier), 10-2.

Class A

Team scores — Sidney 340.0; Frenchtown 156.5; Miles City 145.5; Havre/Box Elder 142.5; Laurel 141.0; Fergus (Lewistown) 134.5; Dawson County 73.5; Columbia Falls 72.0; Livingston 69.0; Corvallis 63.0; Hamilton/Darby 53.5; Hardin 50.0; Libby/Troy 50.0; Browning 46.0; Polson 43.0; Beaverhead Co. (Dillon)/Twin Bridges / Sheridan 42.5; Billings Central/Joilet 23.0; Ronan 21.0; Stevensville/Victor 18.0; Whitefish 17.0; East Helena 3.0; Lockwood (Billings) 3.0; Butte Central 0.0.

Individual Results

113

Semifinal — Zander Dean (Sidney/Fairview) pinned Justin Windauer (Columbia Falls), 5:25.

Wrestlebacks — Justin Windauer (Columbia Falls) pinned Braxton Scheeler (Miles City), 4:22.

3rd Place Match — Justin Windauer (Columbia Falls) pinned Mick Chagnon (Havre/Box Elder), 2:58.

126

Semifinal — Cooper Birdwell (Lewistown) pinned Xander Spady (Libby/Troy), 4:32).

Wrestlebacks — Xander Spady (Libby/Troy) pinned Sean Mehling (Hardin), 2:16; Kedrick Baker (Polson) maj. dec. Jackson Carson (Whitefish), 9-0; Currey Brown (Miles City) tech fall Kedrick Baker (Polson), 16-0.

5th Place Match — Kedrick Baker (Polson) pinned Sean Mehling (Hardin), 3:10.

3rd Place Match — Currey Brown (Miles City) maj. dec. Xander Spady (Libby/Troy), 12-0.

152

Semifinal — Connor Harris (Havre/Box Elder) pinned Lucas Thacker (Columbia Falls), 0:48; Trey Thompson (Libby/Troy) dec. Adin Gibson (Livingston), 3-2.

Wrestlebacks — Kade Graves (Sidney/Fairview) maj. dec. Lucas Thacker (Columbia Falls), 9-0.

5th Place Match — Lucas Thacker (Columbia Falls) dec. Tyler Emineth (Laurel), 12-5.

160

Wrestlebacks — Jacoby Mattern (Dawson County) dec. Tucker Masters (Libby/Troy), 12-5; Daniel Collins Bishop (Ronan), dec. Camren Ross (Whitefish), 6-3.

170

Semifinal — Nelson Crisafulli (Dawson County) tech fall Josh Bertram (Columbia Falls), 15-0.

Wrestlebacks — Easton Hopes (Sidney/Fairview) maj. dec. Josh Bertram (Columbia Falls) 10-0.

5th Place Match — Keaton Potter (Lewistown) pinned Josh Bertram (Columbia Falls), 1:53.

182

Wrestlebacks — Braydon Stone (Columbia Falls)pinned Charlie Bullcalf (Browning), 2:48; Braydon Stone (Columbia Falls) dec. Canyon Shope (Frenchtown), 4-2; Brayden Stadell (Havre/Box Elder) pinned Hunter Pittsley (Polson),1:37.

3rd Place Match — Braydon Stone (Columbia Falls) pinned Sahkaia Wehr (Stevensville/Victor), 1:42.

285

Wrestlebacks — Kirby Basta (Dawson County) pinned Alexander Mathewson (Polson), 0:25.

Class B/C

Team scores: Glasgow 154.0; Huntley Project 134.0; Eureka 126.0; Whitehall 117.0; Circle 102.5; Townsend 84.0; St. Ignatius/Charlo 84.0; Columbus/Absarokee/Park City 74.5; Cut Bank 66.5; Colstrip 66.0; Malta/Whitewater 60.0; Shepherd 58.5; Superior/Alberton 53.0; Manhattan 47.0; Poplar 47.0; Fairfield 42.0; Florence-Carlton 42.0; Fort Benton/Big Sandy 36.0; Thompson Falls 36.0 Jefferson (Boulder) 32.0; Anaconda 30.0; Shelby 30.0; Conrad 28.5; Baker 24.0; Chinook 22.0; Simms 18.5; Forsyth 18.0; Cascade 16.0; Arlee 14.0; Chester-Joplin-Inverness 11.0; Valier 11.0; Deer Lodge 10.0; Red Lodge 9.0; Three Forks 7.0; Plains/Hot Springs 6.0; White Sulphur Springs 4.0; Wolf Point 4.0; Harlem 3.0; Highwood 3.0; Bigfork 0.0; Great Falls Central 0.0.

Individual Scores

103

Wrestlebacks — Pancho Ibenez (Eureka) dec. Ryder Hansen (Superior/Alberton), 4-3); Pancho Ibenez (Eureka) pinned Trevor O Hara (Fort Benton/Big Sandy), 0:48.

3rd Place Match — Leo Anderson (Boulder) pinned Pancho Ibenez (Eureka) 2:16.

126

Semifinal — Gunnar Smith (Eureka) pinned Camron Reilly (Forsyth) 0:50.

1st Place Match — Gunnar Smith (Eureka) pinned Roper Mycke (Conrad) 1:02.

132

Championship — Colten Fast (Glasgow) dec. Kyle Durden, (Eureka), 7-0.

Semifinal — Kyle Durden (Eureka) dec. Brady Ellison (Columbus/Absarokee/Park City), 2-1.

138

Championship — Nathan Schmidt (Eureka) dec. Forrest Fairbanks (Manhattan), 9-4.

Semifinal — Nathan Schmidt (Eureka) pinned Zach Valdez (Colstrip, 5:35.

152

Championship - Hank Dunn, (Eureka) pinned Riley Forcella (Whitehall), 5:59.

Semifinal — Hank Dunn (Eureka) pinned Andrew Anderson (Cut Bank), 2:27.