Thrice is nice: DeShazer wins 3rd state title
BILLINGS — Libby’s Jace DeShazer picked up his third state championship and finished off a perfect 47-0 season on Saturday, defeating Miles City’s Easton DeJong.
No surprise there.
DeShazer earned a 12-0 major decision in the final after picking up a 7-0 decision over Lockwood’s Seth Meyer in the semifinal.
The championship is DeShazer’s second at 205 pounds, with his other title coming at 182 as a sophomore.
Meanwhile at 113 pounds, Columbia Falls’ Traic Fainter earned his first state championship defeating Sidney’s Gordon Knapp. That manner in which it happened might have been a surprise.
Fainter earned his fourth pin of the tournament 25 seconds into the second round to claim the title.
“I was in shock,” Fainter said of the moment he pinned Knapp. “I wasn’t really expecting to go out and dominate like that, but it was something I knew I could do.”
His was the lone title for Columbia Falls, which put four in the finals. Teammate Blaise Cronk fell in the 160 final to Hardin’s Miles Wells, 15-14 in overtime. MatCat Rowdy Crump dropped a 6-2 decision at 182 to Lewistown’s Wyatt Elam as well.
Browning’s Tahj Wells won the state championship at 145, defeating Dylan Delorme of Columbia Falls.
Ronan’s Landon Bishop also picked up a state title at 170 pounds with a decision over Glendive’s Jaden Silha. Chiefs teammate Koda King lost the 152 final in a 3-2 decision to Laurel’s Kade Wersland.
The Locomotives won the State title with 192 points. Sidney was second and Lockwood, third. Columbia Falls, the defending champion, placed fifth with 131 points.
In Class B/C Eureka put three wrestlers into the finals, and had some heartbreakers.
Timothy Schmidt at 120 pounds dropped a 1-0 decision to Baylor Burton of three-time team champion Huntley Project.
Caden Pecora lost to Conrad’s Christopher Graham at 170 via pin while leading 4-0 in the third round.
Wes Banks also dropped his 205 final to Boulder’s Brady Armstrong, who finished the season 42-1.
The good news is the Lions took home the second-place team trophy. They scored 124 points, while Project piled up 206. Conrad was third at 103.5.
Thompson Falls’ Max Hannum made the final at 182 losing to Fairfield’s McCoy Banner in a 6-3 decision.
On the girls side, Ronan’s Tirza TwoTeeth picked up her second state championship victory at 235 pounds with a first-round pin of Cut Bank’s Haylee Fetters.
“I just knew that I was going to win,” said TwoTeeth. “My team had confidence in me and my coaches did too.”
TwoTeeth finishes her high school career with 11 pins in 12 matches at the state tournament and an 11-1 record. Her lone loss came in the 2022 final at 205 pounds.
Joining TwoTeeth as a state champion is Maiden teammate River Cote at 100 pounds. She stuck Manhattan’s Dani Larson with a first-round pin.
The Maidens successfully defended their team A-B/C championship with 160.5 points. Only Billings Senior scored more points overall with 236.
“They showed an insane amount of grit and determination,” said Maidens coach Cameron Neiss. “They just wrestled their butts off, I’m proud of them.”