Plains/Hot Springs' Higareda wins state championship
BRODY BLACK of Plains/Hot Springs, in black singlet, finished second at Junior 120 at the Western Montana Little Guy State Wrestling Tournament last weekend in Whitefish. Black works against Landon Bishop of Ronan in the title match. (Joe Sova photos/Clark Fork Valley Press)
LIAM PALLISTER, in blue singlet, was the lone Thompson Falls wrestler at the WMLG state tourney. Pallister placed second in Novice 90.
DREW CAREY of Plains/Hot Springs works for points against Gabe Mobley of Frenchtown in the Middle 100 third-place match. Carey won the match in a 6-5 decision.
Plains/Hot Springs had one individual champion and two other place winners at the Western Montana Little Guy State Wrestling Tournament held last Friday and Saturday at the Whitefish Event Center at Whitefish High School.
Teamwise, Plains/Hot Springs finished in 21st place.
Hunter Higareda earned first place in the Junior 240 weight class. With only two wrestlers in his bracket, Higareda defeated Isaac Stoker of Corvallis twice, both by a first-period fall.
Brody Black of Plains/Hot Springs was second at Junior 120, and teammate Drew Carey was third at Middle 100.
Thompson Falls had just one wrestler at the WMLG State Wrestling Tournament. Liam Pallister placed second at Novice 90.
Superior/Clark Fork had a top-three finish at the state tourney, boasting five state champions and a total of 14 place winners, teamwise, earning third place with 55 points. Ronan came out on top in the final team standings, scoring 65 points. Columbia Falls was a close second with 63. Kalispell Middle School finished fourth (51) and Eureka was fifth (47), followed by Corvallis (46), Whitefish (43), Mission/Charlo and Polson (39 each) and Florence (28) to round out the top 10.
Black of Plains/Hot Springs earned a 6-2 decision over Isiah Equivan of Eureka in the semifinals. However, Black was pinned by Landon Bishop of Ronan in 3:58 in the championship match.
Plains-Hot Springs teammate Drew Carey earned a third-place medal. Dylan Delorme of Columbia Falls earned a 7-4 “sudden victory” in overtime over Carey in the semifinals. Carey stayed alive with a 7-2 decision over Ridge Cote of Ronan in the consolation semifinals. Carey won a 6-5 decision over Gabe Mobley of Frenchtown in the third-place match.
SUPERIOR/CLARK FORK had two champions each in the Novice and Middle divisions, and one in the Junior division.
Louden Leehouts won a championship at Novice 55. He earned a 6-2 decision over Tristan Caudill of Libby/Troy in his title match.
Derrick Brovold was the Novice 110 champion, squeaking out a 3-2 decision over Alexander Reatz of Libby/Troy in the championship finals.
In the Middle division, Jackson Green was first at 166 pounds, and Kaleb Pearce won the 224-pound title. Green shut out Trent Rutherford of Arlee in his title match. In round-robin matches in his three-wrestler class, Pearce won by fall over Jayden Friesen of Bonner and Cody Vergeront of Evergreen.
Also in a round robin at Junior 85, Isaac Miller of Superior/Clark Fork won twice to take the title. He earned a 3-1 decision over Dale Blickhan of Columbia Falls, and an 11-1 major decision over Jerry Maldanodo, also of C-Falls.
Placing second for the Cats were Turner Milender, Novice 95; Phineas Cataldo, Middle 65; and Chandon Vulles, Junior 182.
Third-place finishers for Superior/Clark Fork were Landon Richards, Novice 100; and Trizten Avila, Middle 70. Placing fourth were Ryder Hanson, Junior 80; and Decker Milender, Junior 112.
WMLG State Wrestling Tournament
Final Team Scores
1. Ronan, 65. 2. Columbia Falls, 63. 3. Superior/Clark Fork, 55. 4. Kalispell Middle School, 51. 5. Eureka, 47. 6. Corvallis, 46. 7. Whitefish, 43. 8. tie, Mission/Charlo & Polson, 39. 10. Florence, 38. 11. Frenchtown, 33. 12. Hamilton, 30. 13. Libby/Troy, 23. 14. Kalispell Wrestling Club, 20. 15. Evergreen, 19. 16. Bonner, 18. 17. tie, Arlee & Bigfork. 19. Stevensville, 12. 20. Lolo, 11. 21. Plains/Hot Springs, 10. 22. Darby, 9. 23. Glacier Wolf Pack, 7. 24. Thompson Falls, 5. 25. Flathead Valley Wrestling Club, 3. 26, tie, Drummond & Salmon, 0.