Glacier, Flathead grapplers to start season today

And they’re on the mats.

The high school wrestling teams of Flathead and Glacier will get an early start on winter sports with a dual today at Glacier High School. The junior varsities wrestles at noon and the boys’ and girls' varsity duals follows at about 1 p.m.

Flathead’s boys would be the varsity favorite on paper, based on its second-place finish at the State AA wrestling meet and a 24-4 dual record in 2019-20. Glacier was 13-9 in duals a year ago before finishing 10th at state.

The Brave Brawlers have a smallish senior class but found an advantage in the delay to the start of the season – two-time state placer Zaybin Stewart, injured during fall football camp, has had more time to get healthy, though he won’t wrestle today.

Glacier coach Ross Dankers’ group is led by returning state champion Teegan Vasquez, who won at 113 pounds as a freshman. The Wolfpack’s other state placer graduated, leaving a handful of state qualifiers and many underclassmen to pick up the slack.

Lance Fretwell (145), Kael Willis (182), Connor Crock (205) and Rocco Beccari (heavyweight) are the seniors. Juniors Royce Conklin (160) and Kyle McCollam (152) are juniors, as is 126-pounder Thomas Putnam.

Freshmen Garrett Bosch (103), Kaleb Shine (138) and TJ Gannon (170) fill out the varsity roster, along with sophomores Vasquez, Seth Doolan (132) and Josh Melton (113).

Melton had a strong freshman year and is among four Glacier athletes in the preseason rankings, along with Vasquez, Willis and Putnam..

Flathead is similarly young, and lost four state-placers off last year’s squad.

“There are a lot of underclassmen in our starting lineup for the Braves, but these wrestlers have grown up on the mat,” Thompson said.

Promising freshmen include Will Barnes and David Naldret at 103, Aden Kleinhenz and Wyatt Dugan at 113, Logan Stansbery at 120 and Gunnar Thomspon at 123 and his twin Anders Thompson at 138.

The sophomore class is dotted with state tournament wrestlers: Dylan Kratofil, Ethan Freund, Cade Gardner, Aaron Gatin, Gabe Lake and Zarek Lee, along with state-placers Cade Troupe, and Noah Poe-Hatten.

Thompson also has liked the work of 205-pound sophomore Forest Howell.

The juniors are led by two-time state finalist Fin Nadeau (152), while Chase Youso (170) and Asher Kemppainen (132) are returning placers.

That leaves the seniors: Stewart (182) placed twice at state, and Ryan Nelson (182) will push him. Heavyweight Timber Reihberg and 205-pounder Gaige Winter made it to state last year as well.

“They have high goals for this team and want to bring home a state championship trophy,” said Thompson, who has 13 wrestlers in the preseason rankings. “This team has the potential to win the championship but it might come down to our depth.”

Defending state champion Great Falls High remains a favorite; Billings Senior, which finished a closed third to Flathead, also is a threat.

Glacier turned in a roster of 21 for its girls’ varsity team, none of which are seniors.

Thompson singled out junior Jania Halverson (113) and senior Aleeya Derlatka (152) as two of

the leading’s Bravettes (or Brave Brawlettes).

This is the first year girls’ wrestling is an MHSA-sanctioned sport.

Class AA, facing COVID-19 restrictions, is doing only in-conference duals during the regular season. The site of the state meet, which has been pushed back to March 5-6, has yet to be determined.

Attendance at today’s dual is limited to two people per participant.

Wrestling Preseason Rankings

Here are the Class AA preseason wrestling rankings compiled by Ken Stuker:

103 - 1, Forshee, Billings Senior; 2, T. Whitlock, Butte; 3, R. Whitlock, Butte.

113 - 1, Ketchem, Skyview; 2, Van Pelt, West; 3, Howe, Billings Senior; 4, Melton, Glacier; 5, Gutenberger, Belgrade; 6, Kratofil, Flathead.

120 - 1, Vasquez, Glacier; 2, Vladic, Billings Senior; 3, Raiha, Butte;; 4, Rahn, Capital; 5, Gardner, Flathead; 6, Crawford, Gallatin.

126 - 1, Aarness, West; 2, Gransbery, Butte; 3, Liscum, Great Falls; 4, Ayers, Big Sky; 5, Putnam, Glacier; 6, Danzinger, Sentinel.

132 - 1, Schmidt, Belgrade; 2, Peak, Billings Senior; 3, Kemppainen, Flathead; 4, Moreno, Big Sky; 5, Thomas, Sentinel; 6, Throckmorton, Great Falls.

138 - 1, DesRosier, Capital; 2, Lowdog, West; 3, Huber, Great Falls; 4, Bakken, Sentinel; 5, Konda, Butte; 6, Roan, Billings Senior.

145 - 1, Allen, Bozeman; 2, Troupe, Flathead; 3, Furthmyre, Great Falls; 4, Stodtmeister, West; 5, Johnson, Big Sky; 6, Lake, Flathead.

152 - 1, Rhodes, West; 2, Nadeau, Flathead; 3, Hilliard, Great FAlls; 4, Savaria, Skyview; 5, Peterson, Gallatin; 6, Jolma, Sentinel.

160 - 1, Meinzen, Big Sky; 2, Salminen, Skyview; 3, Poe-Hatten, Flathead; 4, Mahoney, Great Falls; 5, Murch, Billings Senior; 5, Kovick, Capital.

170 - 1, Klepps, Senior; 2, Lockart, Great FAlls; 3, Graham, Capital; 4, Youso, Flathead; 5, Scown, Butte; 6, Kojetten, Skyview.

182 - 1, Morton, BillingsSenior; 2, Swanson, Great Falls; 3, Nelson, Flathead; 4, Willis, Glacier; 5, Barrington, Skyview; 6, Isaacson, Capital.

205 - 1, Davis, Great Falls; 2, Kovick, Capital; 3, Stewart, Flathead; 4, Desmarais, Billings Senior; 5, Winter, Flathead; 6, Cunningham, Belgrade.

Heavyweight - 1, DeRoche, Great Falls; 2, Hoff, WEst; 3, Malcolm, West; 4, Spencer, Bozeman; 5, Tierney, Butte; 6, Richberg, Flathead.

Team rankings

Great Falls

Billings Senior

Flathead

Billings West

Butte

Capital