Thompson Falls hosts Ted Kato Memorial tourney
Thompson Falls 126-pounder Westin Brown (blue) faces off with an opponent at the Ted Kato tourney in Thompson Falls Saturday. (Chuck Bandel/Valley Press)
Plains/Hot Springs 132-pounder Drew Carey (black and orange) looks to control his opponent Saturday morning. (Chuck Bandel/Valley Press)
Superior's Decker Milender gains control in the 126-pound class. Milender won the 126-pound title Saturday at the Ted Kato meet in Thompson Falls. (Chuck Bandel/Valley Press)
Local teams and individuals had good showings against a big field of wrestlers who came to Thompson Falls Saturday to compete in the Ted Kato Memorial tournament.
Sixteen teams, most of them Class B and C schools from throughout Northwest Montana and Northern Idaho packed the T Falls gym and were treated to some top notch high school wrestling.
With more than 100 boy and girl wrestlers taking part in the prestigious annual event, which honors a long-time supporter and participant in Montana wrestling circles, the meet has become a showcase and testing grounds for the upcoming high school championship matches.
Sandpoint, Idaho amassed 162 points to edge Priest River, Idaho (161) for team scoring honors.
Third place went to the Superior Bobcats, who had one champion and several other high finishers on their way to gathering 120 points.
Two other local teams also fared well, Plains/Hot Springs (75.5 points) and a sixth place finish, and host Thompson Falls which finished 11th with 45 points, including a first place finish by two-time state wrestling champ Trae Thilmony at 145 pounds.
Thilmony, now 21-1 on the year, won his title by pinning Priest River’s Charles Bennell at the 1:05 mark of the first period. His win was good for 25.5 of his team’s total points.
Other local wrestlers also brought home some first place hardware. Superior got a top placing from 126-pounder Decker Milender, who won by major decision (14-6) over Priest River’s Keith Poirier. That finish added 23 points to the Bobcats’ team total.
Superior also got second-place finishes from three wrestlers including Micah Acker at 113 pounds. Acker lost to Priest River wrestler Hayden Sorbel when he was pinned at 1:28.
Acker’s brother, Silas, placed second when he lost to Connor Sawyer of Cascade at 2:47. Superior’s other second place finisher was 285-pounder Chandon Vulles who lost the championship match by fall at 2:23, losing to Caden Crowell of Cascade.
All three second place finishes were worth 20 team points each.
Jaxon Green was also a top five finisher for the Bobcats, placing third at 205 pounds. And Lucas Kovalsky rounded out the top Superior finishers with third in the 132-pound division.
Plains/Hot Springs wrestlers got a top finish from David Schulze when he placed first in the 138 pound category. Schulze won the division with a pin at the 1:25 mark over Ryder Nolan of Bigfork. The win moved Schulze to 32-1 on the year.
Horseman wrestler Brad Schrenk claimed third place in the 145 pound classification, falling in the third-place match to Austin Reeves of Priest River by pin at the 4:56 mark.
Plains/Hot Springs grappler John Waterbury also took home a third place finish at 126 pounds, falling to Nate Wadlow of Cascade by a 10-6 decision.
Host team Thompson Falls got a second place showing from 170-pounder Max Hannum, losing in the championship round to Miguel Perez of Fairfield by a 7-5 decision.
With the Divisional tournament in Butte just two weeks away and the state championships a week after that in Billings, all three local wrestling programs will take to the mats this weekend.
Plains/Hot Springs will be at Bigfork this Friday, then journey down Highway 93 to compete in the Mission Invitational the next day.
Superior will also go to the Mission event, while Thompson Falls will travel north for the Whitefish Duals this Friday evening.
