Five county wrestlers place at state

Five of the 15 wrestlers Sanders County sent to the Montana State All Class Wrestling Tournament walked away from the Billings MetraPark Arena Saturday with medals around their necks.

Thompson Falls led the charge by having four of their eight wrestlers placing in the top six and finishing 11th place in the team standings. Plains-Hot Springs had one of its six wrestlers place and finished 28th in the team standings.

"We had a good tournament. We finished a half of a point out of the top 10," said Bluehawks' coach Colby Cline. The Bluehawks finished with 56 points, a half point behind the Boulder Panthers. Cline said he entered the two-day tournament hoping that three of his wrestlers could place. "They really exceeded my expectations," he said.

Three of the four Bluehawk wrestlers that placed were seniors. Heavyweight Jason Shaw's fourth place finish was the highest. The senior went 3-2 at the tournament, including a 2:45 pin of Baker's Michael Wiseman to get him into the third-place match, and was one point away from taking home third place.

In the third place match, Shaw lost a close 4-3 decision to J.D. Hough, a Conrad Cowboy that Shaw had beat last year. "He had a really good tournament," Cline said. He said Shaw's fourth-place finish was remarkable because he had only been wrestling for two years. "He picked it up as fast as I've seen any wrestler pick it up," Cline said.

Bluehawks' 135-pound senior Tate Cavill not only placed at the state tournament for the first time, he also hit the century mark in victories along the way. In the opening round, Cavill's 10-0 decision over Colstrip's Andrew Heinen gave him his 100th victory of his career. "It's a pretty high goal to reach as a wrestler," said Cline. Cavill went 3-2 at the tournament to finish in fifth place.

In the 119-pound class, Bluehawk senior Matt Hojem finished in sixth place to place in the state tournament three years in a row. In a tournament that had 35 teams and over 230 wrestlers, Hojem ran into a familiar foe in the final round. Hojem faced Arlee's Cole Rice, who he had already faced three times this year, winning two of the matches. At the state tournament, Rice was able to defeat Hojem 6-2.

The only Bluehawk to place that wasn't a senior was John Garrison, a 170-pound junior. Garrison went 3-3 at the tournament to finish in sixth place. Two of Garrison's victories were pins of Conrad Cowboys. Garrison pinned Paul O'Brien in 1:20 and Norman Vanderbush in 4:42.

Only one of the six Savage Horsemen at the tournament was able to finish in the top six. "We had some highs and we had some lows," said Plains-Hot Springs coach Kenny Marjerrison. "We got beat up a little bit, but we walk away with one us placing."

The one placing for the Savage Horsemen was freshman Kenneth Beech, who walked away with a sixth place finish in the 105-pound class. Beech went 2-3 at the tournament, including a 3:37 pin of Fort Benton's Kayle Axtman and an under two-minute pin of Zach Weiler, a Baker Spartan.

Marjerrison said that it's rare for a freshman to place at state and a big accomplishment. "It's huge. It doesn't happen very often," he said. Marjerrison said that he thinks that Beech can build on the experience and be a force in the tournament for the next three years. "I expect him to be right at the top of the pile the next few years," he said.

Out of the six Savage Horsemen that competed in the tournament, only two were seniors. Mike Hines and Austin Thompson. Marjerrison said that Hines had a great tournament and almost ended his wrestling career by placing at the state tournament. Hines went 2-2 in the 189-pound class and lost a 9-5 decision to Mission-Charlo's Matthew Farone to keep him out of the fifth place match. Marjerrison said that placing at the tournament really meant a lot to Hines.

Marjerrison said for a young team it was important to get their first state tournament under their belt. He said that with such a high level of wrestlers and nearly 15,000 spectators watching it can be intimidating the first time around.

Noxon's lone wrestler at the tournament freshman Adam Moore was unable to pick up a win in his first state tournament. Although he wasn't able to taste victory at the state tournament his coach Kelly Moore said it was a great learning experience for him. Kelly said four a 14-year-old to have to wrestle 17-year-olds is a little intimidating, but Adam went right after it. "He stepped up and did the best he could," Kelly said.

Kelly said Adam, who has been wrestling since he was four, was encourgage by making it to the tournament and he is looking to get back there not next three years. He said it has been three years since Noxon has sent a wrestler to the tournament, let alone a freshman. "It's pretty unique for a freshman to get to go there," he said.

Seven of Thompson Falls' eight wrestlers were able to pick up wins at the tournament. Tanner Gascon (119) went 1-2, Richard Lyons (145) went 1-2, Bryant Normandeau (189) went 1-2 and Brandon Olean (152) went 0-2.

Four of Plains-Hot Springs' wrestlers were able to pick up a win. Kyle Steinebach (145) went 1-2, Chris Stobie (160) went 1-2. Rio Crismore (98) and Austin Thompson (171) were both 0-2.

The Glasgow Scotties finished in first place with 254 points. Conrad finished in second with 164.50 points and Colstrip finished in third with 126 points. Arlee finished in fifth place with 91 points.