Superior wrestlers head to state competition

SUPERIOR – When the Superior wrestlers went to the Divisional Tournament in Ronan on Saturday, Feb. 8, all four members of the squad came away in top places.

The Parkin brothers, Anthony and Blaine, placed high in their weight classes. Senior Anthony, 113-pound class, took second place against a wrestler from Eureka. Freshman Blaine, 98-pound class, claimed first place after his match against a Deer Lodge athlete.

Sophomore Bridger Lapierre, 138-pound class, also took second place in his championship match against a wrestler from the Plains/Hot Springs co-op squad. When freshman Tate Trudeau, 105-pound class, went on the mat against a Deer Lodge student, he came away in fourth place.

Head Coach Charlie Crabb felt the guys did well. He said there was good competition for all four wrestlers and the team performed to the best of their abilities.

Coach Crabb felt Lapierre did an especially good job since he was only able to get two days of practice. For the last several days, Lapierre had been out sick and unable to make it to practice.

“It was kind of tough for him because he had been sick and kind of out of shape a little bit,” said Coach Crabb. “But he got through it.”

The competition for each of the wrestlers varied. Blaine did not have many people in his weight class. However, Lapierre was one of approximately 10 wrestlers in the 138-pound class - the largest group.

Anthony only had one person to go up against to reach the finals. After the match was over, he wrestled against an athlete from Eureka. Coach Crabb recalled Anthony had lost three times to the kid this year. He believed Anthony’s opponent was one of the best in the state.

Coach Crabb said there were still some areas to improve on. During the Divisional Tournament, the team gave up points in places they should not have.

“That’s the way it goes sometimes,” said Coach Crabb.

The wrestlers have had three days of practice this week. The coach said the team was good on their feet but needed to get better on the mat. The goal was to avoid giving up points where they did not need to. According to Coach Crabb, this has led to losses in past matches.

“It isn’t anything that isn’t fixable,” he said. “It’s just a matter of attitude.”

All four members of the team will go to the State Championships in Billings on Friday, Feb. 14, through Saturday, Feb. 15. The team will leave for Billings on Thursday, Feb. 13.

“Hopefully we’ll get a couple guys to place there,” said Coach Crabb.

The coach was confident about the team’s chances at the State tournament. Anthony is the defending champion and, while he has a tough weight class, is a talented wrestler. Lapierre has also proven himself to be a strong competitor as he ranked fifth in his weight class at last year’s competition.

Coach Crabb’s hope was to have Anthony take the championship again and have Lapierre improve his standing in the finals. He said the experience might be intimidating to Blaine and Trudeau since this was their first year.

Even if they were unable to place high, the coach could see the silver lining in the younger wrestler’s competition. He said they would at least have learned from the experience and would be ready for next year’s competition.

“[We have to] have them go out there and relax,” Coach Crabb said. “Just do what they do and hope it works out.”