Passion for the sport

Beyond the Class B-C ranks, where Trae Thilmony has racked up a majority of his 152 wrestling wins, there stands potentially better wrestlers.

Since steel sharpens steel as the saying goes, Thilmony, a two-time state champion from Thompson Falls, seeks it out.

Missoula Big Sky has a defending AA champion in Izzy Moreno, and counting a junior high match Thilmony is 2-1 against the Eagle, though Moreno is the only blemish on his 39-1 record in 2021-22.

In the Flathead Valley there is Columbia Falls standout Justin Windauer, a junior who twice this season moved up a weight (to 145 pounds) to battle Thilmony. The Bluehawk won both, including a 9-8 verdict at the Whitefish Duals on Jan. 27.

“I remember at the beginning I was winning the takedown battle,” Thilmony said. “And toward the end he was winning the takedown battle. That’s how it went the first time we met, too.”

An escape in the final 15 seconds decided it.

“You always look forward to those matches,” Thilmony said. “Just looking for the best competition, and to get yourself better. You get better from those matches that are one point or go into overtime — and you look forward to seeing where you’re at in the other classes, too.”

A week later, Thilmony won a Western B-C Divisional title for a fourth time. A third State B-C title is in sight at Billings’ First Interstate Arena this weekend.

“What I'd say about Trae is hs followed my passion for the sport,” Mike Thilmony, Trae’s dad and Thompson Falls’ third-year head coach, said. “He’s grown up around it. He spent a lot of time in the wrestling room as a kid. And he’s grown in his passion for it.”

Thilmony is a Sidney High graduate who was on the 1992 State A champion Eagles team, and went on to wrestle at the University of Mary. A banker, he moved his family from Brush, Colo., to Thompson Falls when Trae was 7. He got involved in the local wrestling scene right away..

The Bluehawks have had some good ones: Ben Conover, a transplant from New Jersey, won a state title in 2012; Kaleb Frank, who grew up in the Bluehawk Wrestling Club, won one in 2018.

Through it all the elder Thilmony has sought big tournaments, including in the “offseason” that follows the high school campaign.

It’s to the potential benefit of all: The Bluehawks’ Eli Ratliff won the Western B-C at 152, and Shane Reishes (160) and Max Hannum (170) took second. “Trae has a long history with Justin Windauer,” his dad noted. “They grew up wrestling each other as little kids, and now they meet in high school. CMR, Polson, Cut Bank, Choteau — we’re trying to make sure we have those events so we can find that kind of competition.”

Thilmony, meanwhile, has just nine losses in his prep career..

“His work ethic and passion to be great is just there,” his dad said. “He’s relentless in pursuit of his goals.”

The original goal was four state titles, a rare feat. His freshman year Thilmony suffered both a back injury and a loss in the 113-pound semifinals to Tanner Cook of Columbus-Absarokee — though he felt well enough to win two more matches and place third.

His winning streak at state sits at 10: He won the 120-pound title in 2020 and the 132 crown last February. There won’t be many pushovers in his 145-pound bracket this weekend, with wrestlers like Matt Larson of Cut Bank, Brady Ellerson of Cut Bank.

“One guy I want to mention for sure is John Armstrong of Boulder,” Trae Thilmony said. “ He’s a younger kid who’s wrestling tough with us.”

Another goal is to wrestle in college, and Thilmony has visited North Dakota State, Mary and Providence in Great Falls. He hopes for more visits, as well as more competition.

“We’re not done with wrestling at the end of the high school season, either,” he said.