Poe-Hatten siblings give Flathead wrestling a 1-2 punch

If one Poe-Hatten wasn’t enough for Flathead wrestling foes to deal with, now there are two.

At Friday’s crosstown wrestling duals set for Flathead High, the Brave Brawlers will put talented sophomore Noah Poe-Hatten on the mat at 160 pounds against Glacier.

But before that, there’s a girls’ dual between the Bravettes and Wolfpack – and there might be no better grappler than 103-pound senior Alyssa Poe-Hatten.

Back in the wrestling room with the addition of girls’ wrestling as a Montana High School Association-sanctioned sport, she has won her two matches this year. This should be no surprise: She competed in her younger years, both inside youth wrestling and out.

“I didn’t have a sister for nine years,” Alyssa Poe-Hatten said. “I had younger brothers. So we would kind of play around and wrestle at the house. I guess I would say my brothers really helped me in that aspect.”

Noah Poe-Hatten has one loss on the season, to two-time state champion Hunter Meinzen of Missoula Big Sky. He has wrestled for 10 years; it would be 11 but he suffered a broken leg in Kindergarten.

Alyssa jumped from gymnastics into Little Guy Wrestling as a sixth grader, with impressive results over three years. She finished third at two tournaments and second at the 2017 Western Montana Little Guy championships, in a bracket filled with boys.

So we’re talking some pretty tough kids, born to a wrestling dad (Jason competed at Flathead, graduating in 1992) and also having two wrestling uncles (Jeff and Jim Poe).

“I’ve kind of been around the sport my whole life,” Alyssa said. “I just wanted to change it up and try something new (as a sixth grader). Then I didn’t want to wrestle boys anymore.

“Then when they instituted girls’ wrestling I thought it’d be something fun to do my senior year.”

“I think it’s pretty cool,” said Noah. “She stopped those two years because she didn’t want to wrestle guys, but she’d go to tournaments here and there. Yeah, she’s pretty good.“

Jeff Thompson, the veteran wrestling coach at Flathead, knew her talent. Her brother, meanwhile, was third at 152 pounds at last year’s state tournament as a freshman.

“The one thing that stands out is how they never show fear,” Thompson said. “They are always so calm, even during the toughest moments. They never freeze up during tough matches. That comes in handy, in this sport.”

Amber Downing, co-coach of the Flathead girls along with Sully Sullivan, notes that Alyssa’s gymnastics background has helped her in tight spots, along with technique. It explains her success against male wrestlers in grades 6-8.

“She has a lot of flexibility and is able to maneuver out of situations,” Downing said. “Being a multi-sport athlete and having body knowledge is so beneficial. That’s something that came rather naturally to her.”

Noah, meanwhile, is a combo of knowledge, strength and endurance. His father lost count of his youth wrestling titles.

“He’s a heck of a technician,” Jason Hatten said. “You can learn from somebody who’s really good.”

“They both have gas tanks,” Thompson added, noting their endurance. That may come in handy as the season winds down. The girls will compete in an all-class tournament at a yet to be determined site March 5-6; the State AA boys’ championships haven’t found a host site yet. More should be known by the end of this month.

Both Flathead teams are young and potent. Alyssa feels Sidney, Glendive and the Billings AA schools have the numbers to compete. Noah knows defending champion Great Falls and Billings Senior are formidable.

“I think we’re actually pretty good this year,” said Noah. “Our varsity lineup is pretty solid, and our B team has 4-5 guys that I think can make it to state, and possibly place.”

In December Alyssa got her season off to an early start, competing at 102 pounds at the Covid Crush tournament in Utah. She won it.

“It was my first step back into the game,” she said. “My first tournament back since my freshman year.”

It went swimmingly. Now she’s aiming for a state title, and living room roll arounds paved the way.

“I’ve been bugging her for years for many years to get on the mat,” said Downing, a youth wrestler herself growing up in East Helena. “She knows so much about wrestling. I was really excited for her to make that decision.”