Waterbury earns second at state meet

Once again, the State Mat Classic wrestling championships from Billings are in the books, with a reportedly successful run. 

And the Sanders and Mineral counties area of Montana was represented at the three-day tournament, which routinely fills the 10,000-plus seat Metra Arena with wrestling fans from throughout the state. 

Plains-Hot Springs (PHS) 157-pounder John Waterbury, a home-schooled senior from Hot Springs who plays sports for High Springs High School, was the top-finisher among local grapplers when he placed second in his weight class Saturday evening. 

The only other local wrestler to finish in the top Six was Weston Block, a freshman 118-pounder who placed sixth in his weight division. 

In the team title chase in the B-C competition, traditional power Huntly Project finished first with a whopping 277.5 points, well ahead of second-place Glasgow, which accumulated 154.5 team points. 

Plains-Hot Springs placed fifteenth out of 43 B-C schools with 45.5 points, 23.5 of which were the result of Waterbury’s second-place finish at 157 pounds. 

Waterbury reached the final against Glasgow’s Khye Gamas before losing by major decision, 15-5.  It was Waterbury’s first loss of the season after he returned from a leg injury during the first Hot Springs football game of the year.  Gamas, also a senior, improved his overall record to 47-1 with the victory. 

The Savage Horsemen also got team points from 190-pound senior David Chapman (7 team points); Beau Crabb, 144 pounds (four points); Brock Ryan, 150 pounds (three points); Cody West, 138 pounds (three points) and Isiah Schulze, 126 pounds (two points). 

Thompson Falls, which placed 27th in the team standings, got 13.0 points from Block’s sixth-place finish, and three team points from Ethan Traver at 103 pounds. 

Superior, which had two wrestlers qualify for the state meet, finished in a tie for 38th place with no points.  Sophomore Turner Milender, one of the favorites in the 157-pound division most of the year, forfeited two matches due to a dislocated elbow he suffered in the early rounds of the Western Division tournament two weekends ago. 

In the girls’ competition, Thompson Falls placed 68th with three points, while Plains-Hot Springs was tied for 69th with no team points. 

Billings Senior High won the girls team title, which combines all the weight and division (AA, A, B-C) schools, with 241 points. 

Alexandria Volk-Ocacio scored three team points for Thompson Falls in the 103-pound category.

    Plains-Hot Springs 157-pounder John Waterbury has a quiet moment prior to a match at this past weekend's State B-C wrestling championships in Billings.  (Photo by Teresa Waterbury)