Second season of girls wrestling starts Saturday

The second season of Montana girls wrestling kicks off Saturday with the Flathead Invite, which is looking like it will have a huge turnout.

Around 17 teams from across the state and more than 150 wrestlers will hit the mats at Flathead High School. Matches get going at 10 a.m.

“It’ll give everybody a pretty good look for what’s out there and who they’re gonna be up against a little bit,” Flathead co-head girls coach Amber Downing said.

There’s a full slate of competitions for Flathead and Glacier this season, a significant improvement from the inaugural year of the sport in Montana. Neither school had full schedules, but that is no longer an issue.

“It was really hard last year with the lack of matches,” Glacier head coach Ross Dankers said. “This will be really beneficial. It’s just a great opportunity for a lot of girls.”

Flathead won a state championship with its girls last year and has 12 wrestlers returning from that team, including four state placers: Lucille Libby, Trinity Bolvin, Boston Howell and Hania Halverson. McKenna McCarthy, who wrestled for Glacier last year, is a new addition, as well as Lily McMahon, who was third at state in Oregon last year.

Interest remains high — there are about 30 girls who have turned out for practices thus far, some trying out the sport for the first time as seniors or because of cuts from other sports.

“Our calendar is quite full and so our girls have their work cut out for them as far as trying to learn the techniques and quickly go apply it,” Downing said. “But they’re excited for that challenge as well.”

Glacier placed 15th at state and though no state placers return, there are 17 wrestlers coming back from last year.

“A ton of girls hit it really hard during the summer and put in the mat time,” Dankers said. “I’m looking forward to watching them hit their stride this year. It’s a vastly different experience this first week than it was all of last year.”

After this weekend, both schools head to the CMR Holiday Tournament on Dec. 18 before winter break. Flathead has the Rollie Lane Tournament in Boise Jan. 7 and Glacier hosts Missoula Hellgate on Jan. 4.

“I’m just excited to get this season started and to see how all of the teams come out to see really, quite frankly, the growth that girls wrestling is making here in Montana,” Downing said. “Making sure that everybody’s needs are being met is always an adventure. But we’re up for the challenge and it kind of makes this sport fun and quite unique for the competitors, as well as the coaches.”