Superior wrestlers take third in Class C at state
SUPERIOR – At the Class B-C State Wrestling Tournament in Billings, the Superior wrestlers took third place as a Class C team as two of their members placed in individual weight classes.
At the end of the two-day tournament Senior Anthony Parkin, 113-pound class, took fourth place after he was pinned in his final match. Parkin was defending state champion from the 2013 season.
Freshman Blaine Parkin, 98-pound class, placed in sixth after being pinned in his final match.
Sophomore Bridger Lapierre, 138-pound class, and freshman Tate Trudeau, 105-pound class were both eliminated before the final rounds. According to Head Coach Charlie Crabb, Lapierre was one point shy of being able to compete for fifth or sixth place.
Crabb felt it was a good tournament overall. He said the boys won and lost some close matches all weekend. The coach was also pleased with how the season went as a whole as the younger members saw good exposure to the sport. With all four members placing to go to state, Crabb felt the team was a successful one.
Anthony was the defending state champion this year. According to Crabb, he was disappointed to not win the championship again but was still happy with how he did. Crabb praised Anthony on a great career and said he could always claim being a state champion.
“Sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way,” said Crabb. “Just part of life I guess…But he was state champion and nobody can take that away from him.”
Trudeau was also a little disappointed he did not place. However, Crabb said his age was a bonus as it gave him plenty of opportunities to try again. His prior wrestling experience will also help him in future matches as he continues his high school wrestling career.
Lapierre was also somewhat upset at not performing better. His defeat was less a reflection on him as the coach pointed out how he had missed almost a month of matches due to injury.
“[The injury] kind of caught up to him at state,” said Crabb. “He missed about a month of wrestling so that’s a big chunk of time.”
The team was happily surprised to place third as a team. The guys got to take home a state trophy for their efforts. While the team participated in the Class B-C Division, Crabb said trophies were given out specifically for Class C schools. While Crabb was not certain of the specifics, in the overall competition Superior placed around 25 place. He was proud of the team for beating teams with more wrestlers.
Crabb said he plans to come back to coach wrestling for the 2014-2015 season. He hopes to have a bigger team with several freshmen trying out. With Anthony as the only wrestler graduating the coach is looking forward to a strong team if Trudeau, Lapierre and Blaine come back.
Crabb will also participate in Little Guy Wrestling this year. The youth wrestling program started Tuesday and will run for six weeks. Crabb will work with the fifth through eighth graders.