Fast, if not furious

The Flathead Brave Brawlers wrestling program has been blessed with many Thompsons through the years, including veteran coach Jeff and his recently graduated sons, Anders and Gunnar. 

To this list we add Diesel Thompson, a senior co-captain wrestling at 126 pounds who intends to place at state for a fourth straight season.

No, he is not related. 

“I get asked that every weekend,” Jeff Thompson said, as his team prepared for Thursday’s Crosstown Duals at Flathead High. “I don’t mind. It’s a great name. He’s the only Diesel I know, besides ‘Fast and Furious.’ “ 

Unlike the actor Vin Diesel, who was born Mark Sinclair, Diesel Thompson did not adopt a new name. Somewhere around Post Falls, Idaho, his mother decided on it. 

“My mom was stopped at a red light and looked up and saw a gas station,” he said. “I wish I had a cool story. Maybe I need to make one up.” 

Since his family moved from Idaho to Kalispell his freshman year, he’s become a mainstay for the Brawlers: 16-5 this season, 101-31 for his career. He was sixth at state as a freshman, fifth as a sophomore and third last year at 126. 

Which is where he’s wrestling again this season. 

“The big thing is he’s such a team player,” said Jeff Thompson, whose last three teams have finished first, second and second at the State AA meet. “One of those guys that puts the team before himself.  

“Three of our big dogs weigh about the same: Diesel, Hunter (Arriaga) and Daniel Evert. Diesel knew it would be tough every week to cut to 126, but it meant a lot to the coaches and also to the team that he made that sacrifice.” 

Arriaga is wrestling at 132 and Evert 138. Thompson is cutting some to stay at 26. 

“It’s mostly me and Hunter,” Diesel Thompson noted. “We’re around the same weight. It just seemed better for me to go lower because I was a little lighter than him. Just what was best for the team, honestly.” 

As for his wrestling style, it’s a lot about quickness. 

“The way I’ve been told is mostly just, fast,” he said. “I wrestle quick. My speed kind of carries me a little bit. I can get to the legs pretty quickly.” 

He’s coming off an 8-4 loss to Missoula Sentinel’s Jayce Kolendich Tuesday, and Kolendish sits just ahead of Thompson in the AA rankings. At last weekend’s LeProwse Invitational in Bozeman, he went 4-2 there, but fell to Kalendich in overtime in the blood rounds and didn’t place. 

“I had a tough tournament,” he said. “I was wrestling bad, honestly.” 

In December he finished second at the CMR Holiday Classic, falling 2-0 to Great Falls High’s Cael Floerchinger in the final. The week before, Floerchinger, a state champion at 112 last year, took a 1-0 decision over Thompson. 

“Sometimes that happens,” Jeff Thompson said of the LeProwse tournament. “He was doing great before that. Cael Floerchinger is arguably one of the toughest wrestlers in the state. Diesel is right there.” 

Now comes Crosstown. Flathead has a gaudy 80-dual win streak, but the Wolfpack have a handful of excellent wrestlers, led by Nikola Coles (165), Aiden Sweat (110) Mark Ahner (190).  

While Diesel Thompson notes that among the Crosstown battles Flathead does its best work on the mat, he added the Pack is not to be overlooked. “They’ve got some tough kids,” he said. 

Then there’s Thompson himself, whom his coach says constantly strives to complement that speed with knowledge and technique, and who has already done enough to draw attention from the college programs at Providence in Great Falls and MSU-Northern.  

He likes facing the Floerchingers of the sport. 

“It’s fun to chase competition,” he said. “It’s really fun to face those tough guys from Montana and out of state. It’s good to wrestle them and have close matches. Eventually you can beat them. That’s going to be the best part.”

 EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been corrected to reflect Jayce Kolendich's win over Thompson in a dual Tuesday evening.