MacDonald, Angle claim state wrestling medals

The young women of the Plains-Hot Springs wrestling team made their first trip to Montana’s first all-female state tournament a successful adventure, and one they'll never forget.

Sophomore Lily MacDonald earned a second-place medal and junior teammate Taylor Angle won a third-place medal last Saturday at Lockwood High School in Billings.

The team came home to a parade with a fire truck escort Sunday afternoon to cap the weekend's festivities.

"It was a very respectable performance and the girls should be proud of what they accomplished," said head coach Shane Angle. "We're extremely happy with how things turned out."

Angle became Plains-Hot Springs first medalist Saturday afternoon when she decked Kalispell Flathead’s Hania Halverson in the third-place match.

It was an impressive ending to a roller coaster day for Angle.

On Friday, Angle began her tournament with a 42-second pin of Custer County Miles’ Mayse Fox.

Saturday, Angle faced Poplar’s Jazmin Gorder in the quarterfinals at 113 pounds. Angle suffered a technical fall loss, 18-3, in 4:14. While it was a difficult result for Angle, she did what no other competitor of Gorders’ did - avoid being pinned.

Gorder won the state championship by pinning her three other opponents.

"Gorder was a great wrestler and we got dinged right off the bat when the official told Taylor to tie her shoelaces even though they were tied in a knot. Then he called her for stalling," Shane Angle said.

Shane, Taylor's dad, said it was very emotional when she lost her chance at winning a state title.

"She wanted first very badly," he said. "But you have to give her credit, she bounced back to get third and beat the No. 2 seeded wrestler to do it."

For Angle, she had some work to do in the wrestle backs and she did it in dominating fashion. Angle began her 4-0 run through the consolations with a 28-second pin of Hamilton’s Hannah Hicks, then decked Anaconda’s Cora Pensanti in 1:28.

To reach the third-place match, Angle needed to beat Big Sky’s Ruste Torres and she did it in style with a fall in 1:29.

Against Halverson, she was losing the match before escaping, got a reversal, then a takedown before recording the pin.

For MacDonald, she claimed her first state medal by pinning her way to the finals of the 152-pound weight class.

MacDonald opened with a 1:29 fall of Choteau senior Anna Stutz in the quarterfinals. She then planted Cutbank’s J.J. Carter in 1:21.

In the finals, Billings Senior freshman Kendal Tucker pinned MacDonald in the first period.

"Carter was ranked and seeded first, so that was an exciting win," Shane Angle said. "In the finals, she just got caught, but she has nothing to be ashamed of. It was still a great performance."

Senior Mykenzi Blood also competed at 132 pounds. A newcomer to wrestling, she lost both of her matches by fall, but Angle still saw the upside in her competing.

"She took the initiative to go out and compete and a lot wouldn't," he said. "Mykenzi was hurt most of the year, it really limited her mat time and it makes a difference when you are wrestling the best in the state.

"We don't have easy practices either, but she stuck it out and earned wrestling at state," he said.

Freshman Olivia Easter was in the 113-pound weight class and she also was 0-2 with both by fall.

"Olivia was leading her second match before she got caught and she had takedowns in both matches, so she's excited for next season. She just needs more mat time," Shane Angle said.

In the team standings, Flathead won the title with 142 points, just ahead of the 135 Billings Senior scored. Class C Cascade was third with 68 points.

Plains-Hot Springs scored 48 points and tied for eighth with Frenchtown. The team was the No. 2 team in Class C and finished ahead of dozens of much larger schools.

"We're very excited about the future," Shane Angle said. "We think next year we'll be able to wrestle more girls matches, maybe have some tournaments and keep building the sport."