COLUMN: A second chance, then third place, second and fourth
The goal, coming off an appearance in the 2021 State AA finals, was a state championship in 2022.
Flathead’s Asher Kemppainen had it in sight and reasons to believe: In January he beat Billings West’s Jesse Aarness and Billings Senior’s Idren Peak in back-to-back matches at the AA Duals in Great Falls.
Kemppainen finished fourth at last weekend’s state tournament, at 138 pounds. It was another near-miss, certainly. But the young man — he turns 18 in 16 days — also had some makes.
“It’s actually kind of funny that this is the second straight year the state titlist at my weight was someone I beat earlier in the year,” Kemppainen said Wednesday. Then he added: ”It’s kind of annoying to think about.”
Last year, when the regular season was made up of 14 duals, Kemppainen beat Missoula Big Sky’s Izzy Moreno leading up to state. There — the AA tournament was at Flathead — Moreno prevailed 10-3 in the 132-pound championship.
This year it was Aarness who won at 138: the West wrestler beat Capital’s Carson DesRosier in the upset of the tournament in the semifinals; then he got Jalen Vladic of Senior, who’d dropped down from 145 (Peak dropped to 132 and was pinned by Glacier’s Teegan Vasquez in the finals).
Kemppainen lost to Vladic in the semis, then did what Coach Jeff Thompson wants every Brave Brawler to do. He got it going in the blood rounds. He won his consolation semifinal — and his reward was another match with DesRosier, the defending champ at 138, for third and fourth.
DeRosier. Aarness. Kemppainen lost to Bozeman’s Avery Allen in the 2020 semifinals at 132, before finishing third. Allen now has three state titles.
“I even tried to cut down to wrestle Teegan (at 132),” he said. “And it was a tough cut. I couldn’t make it happen.”
Add it up and Kemppainen battled dudes, including Vasquez, with nine state titles between them. That he didn’t break through is no crime.
“He had an incredible high school career,” Thompson said. “Three-time state placer, one-time finalist. Team captain. Stepping back, that’s a great high school career.”
Kemppainen tends to agree, and especially after the way it began at Flathead.
“Freshman year I didn’t wrestle at state because I got kicked off the team,” he said. “I got into some trouble in school.”
The comeback began when Thompson told a story of a teammate he’d wrestled with at Minnesota.
“That kind of related to me,” Kemppainen said. “It kind of helped me figure my stuff out.”
In three years since he’s scored 52.5 points at state while the Brawlers were second, first and first.
“Now I’m excited about doing the offseason wrestling and continuing to work all the way up until I leave for college,” he said. Providence in Great Falls is an option; so is North Idaho JC.
Thompson will tell you that second chances are what coaching is all about. Kemppainen has had some serious highlights since.
“I beat RJ Lowdog, who’d beat me three times (sophomore year, when Kemppainen took third),” he said. “State finalist junior year — I can’t complain about that. This last weekend you could say I had the toughest weight, and I finished top four.
“I can be proud of that.”
Fritz Neighbor can be reached at 758-4463 or fneighbor@dailyinterlake.com.