14
2014 CLASS A
STATE WRESTLING CHAMPS
February 2014
www.havredailynews.com
19
2014 CLASS A
February 2014
STATE WRESTLING CHAMPS
www.havredailynews.com
Blue Ponies have just Malta mat invite left Powerful Ponies place second at Jug Beck Daniel Horton Havre Daily News sports writer
This weekend marks the last time the Havre High wrestling team will take to the mat before the divisional and state tournaments. And after a slight shift in the schedule, the Central A Blue Ponies have a relatively light weekend. But it's light in that they will go to just one event, not light in talent. Expected to be there are teams among the top in the Class B and Class C ranks. Saturday the Ponies will compete in Malta at the Malta Invitational. And Tate Munyan (98), Keegan Kennelly (106), Logan Pleninger (113), Grayson Brenna (120), Dylan Stewart (126), Thomas Gruber (132), Parker Filius (138), Gunnar Aageson (138), Kody Pribyl (145), Jase Stokes (152), Jared Laux (160), Jake Williams (170), Dustin Odegard (182), Jace Billy (195), Tyler Adams (220) and Travis Adams (HWT) are all expected to get work this weekend. “This time of year it is
nice to wrestle people that we don’t necessarily have to wrestle,” Havre High head coach Scott Filius said. “But we used to have a bunch of duals set aside for this week, and we have kind of lost those duals. The numbers are down in Conrad so they canceled on us (Thursday), but most of our kids will get to compete in Malta. We will rest some kids if we get banged up, but right now we are pretty healthy. This is a really good Class B/C tournament. They always bring in quality teams.” The best teams expected to compete, aside from Havre, include Forsyth, Choteau, Malta, Harlem and Chinook. Forsyth is the No. 1-ranked program in the Class B ranks, while Chinook is currently the No. 1-ranked team in the Class C. Choteau is No. 2 in Class B and Harlem is No. 4. And there is a deep pool of talented wrestlers that the Ponies could cross paths with. Trevor Moore of Choteau is the No. 1-ranked 106-pounder, while Forsyth’s Matt Weber is the No. 1-ranked 126-pounder. Teague Jones is
also top ranked at 132, while Luke Weber of Forsyth is the top-ranked wrestler at 145 pounds. Forsyth also brings top-ranked brothers Branden (152) and Chris Nile (160). Malta’s Nolan Simanton is also a standout 160-pounder while Choteau’s Layne Durfee adds depth at 182. Tate Neideregger (120) highlights Chinook’s roster, while Shay Snider (126) of Harlem will present several grapplers with a tough match this weekend. “We just want everybody to be sharp at this point,” Filius said. “Teams aren’t probably going to make up too much ground at this point in the season, so we just want the competition. There will be some real good matches and good individuals in Malta this weekend.” Saturday’s Malta Invite will be the final tuneup for the Blue Ponies, who will then turn their attention to defending their Central A Divisional title next Saturday in Browning. The Class A state meet is set for Feb. 14-15 in Billings.
Keegan Kennelly repeats as Havre High impresses at prestigious Rocky Mountain Classic Daniel Horton Havre Daily News sports writer
Havre Daily News/Lindsay Brown Havre High's Gunnar Aageson, right, competes in the 2013 Havre Invitational wrestling tournament last month. The Blue Ponies wrap up the regular season at Saturday's Malta Invitational.
Blue Ponies win Malta Invite title with ease Daniel Horton
Havre Daily News sports writer gferguson@havredailynews.com There were some changes to the schedule this past week for the Havre High wrestling team, but HHS made the best of the mat time it could get and came up with another solid team win. In somewhat of a light weekend, the Central A Blue Ponies took on a solid field of Class B and Class C competitors at the Malta Invitational Saturday. The No. 1-ranked Ponies made easy work of the opposition, winning the team title with 269 points. Choteau was next in line with 170, followed by Cut Bank with 122. Other area teams also competed well. Harlem finished fourth with 110 points, while Chinook finished with 75, Big Sandy grabbed 14, and Chester/J-I finished with 13. The Malta Invite also meant the final mat time for the Ponies before the Central A Divisional wrestling tournament, which takes place this
Saturday in Browning. And several HHS individuals really stepped up heading into the post season. Overall, 13 Blue Pony individuals placed in the top four in Malta. Five of those individuals also managed to earn titles, including freshman Parker Filius at 138 pounds. Filius was also named the Kevin Salsbery Memorial Outstanding Wrestler. Keegan Kennelly (106), Logan Pleninger (113), Tyler Adams (220) and Travis Adams (HWT) also brought home individual titles to cap off a very successful weekend. Dylan Stewart (126), Kody Pribyl (152), Jake Williams (170) and Jace Billy (195) came close, but finished in second place after reaching the finals. Thomas Gruber (132), Gunnar Aageson (145) and Jase Stokes finished in third place, while Dane Flammond (126) finished fourth. And the Ponies weren’t just mixing it up with Class B and Class C wrestlers, they were up against some of the top Class B and Class C grapplers in the state. A lot of the top finishers outside of the Pony wrestlers are ranked in the top of
the Class B/C ranks. Chase DeBoo of Choteau won the 98-pound weight class, while Tate Neiderigger of Chinook took home the 120-pound title. Shay Snider of Harlem (126), Teague Jones of Harlem (132), Reid VandenBos of Cut Bank (145), Trey Stone of Choteau (152), Nolan Simanton of Malta (160), Steeler French of Choteau (170), Lane Durfee of Choteau (182) and Jake French of Choteau (195) also all gave Havre a run for its money and took home team titles. Other area places in Malta included Chinook’s Donovan Moon, who finished third at 113 pounds, Harlem’s T’Jay Allen, who finished fourth at 132 pounds, Harlem’s Brendan Johnson, who finished second at 145, Chinook’s Ken Pruttis, who placed fourth at 152, Chinook’s Jesse Daniels, who finished third at 170, Chinook’s Kevin Young and C/J-I’s Sam Deffinbaugh, who placed third and fourth at 182, respectively, Harlem’s Seth Adams, who was second at 220 and teammate Trent Noel, who was third at heavyweight. Havre turned in another success-
ful regular season, but the Ponies look to keep rolling through divisionals and then state. Saturday, the top-ranked and heavily favored Ponies will face Browning, Lewistown, Livingston and Belgrade at the Central A Divisional tournament in Browning. Also Saturday, Harlem will host the Northern B-C Divisional.
Donovan Moon, Chinook; Shawn LeDeau, Wolf Point.
Note: Havre Daily sports editor George Ferguson contributed to this story.
145 - Reid VandenBos, Cut Bank; Brenden Johnson, Harlem; Gunner Aggeson, Havre; Evan Finstad, Cut Bank.
Malta Invitational Team scores — Havre 269 ½, Choteau 170, Cut Bank 122, Harlem 110, Glasgow 82, Chinook 75, Malta 56, Wolf Point 48, Shepherd 46 ½, Big Sandy 14, Chester/J-I 13, Circle 4, Poplar 3
120 - Tate Niederigger, Chinook; Tanner Stone, Choteau; James Spence, Shepherd; Brandi Kolski, Wolf Point 126 - Shay Snider, Harlem; Dylan Stewart, Havre; Travis Vermulm, Cut Bank; Dane Flammond, Havre. 132 - Teague Jones, Harlem; Cody King, Glasgow; Thomas Gruber, Havre; T’Jay Allen, Harlem. 138 - Parker Filius, Havre; JJ Werdal, Choteau; Jace Berkram, Cut Bank; Jake Hentges, Glasgow.
152 - Trey Stone, Choteau; Kody Pribyl, Havre; Jase Stokes, Havre; Ken Pruttis, Chinook. 160 - Nolan Simanton, Malta; Robert Jennings, Cut Bank; Tony Kaiser, Glasgow; Jordan Pierce, Malta. 170 - Steeler French, Choteau; Jake Williams, Havre; Jesse Daniels, Chinook; Kevin Frigon, Glasgow.
Order of finish
182 - Lane Durfee, Choteau; David Hopson, Wolf Point; Kevin Young, Chinook; Sam Deffinbaugh, CJI.
98 - Chase DeBoo, Choteau; James Whitmus, Shepherd; Karson Wortman, Wolf Point
195 - Jake French, Choteau; Jace Billy, Havre; Travis Field, Choteau; Jaiden LittleDog, Cut Bank.
106 - Keegan Kennelly, Havre; Maestro Martinez, Wolf Point; Keaton Anderson, Cut Bank; Trevor Moore, Choteau.
220 - Tyler Adams, Havre; Seth Adams, Harlem; Denver Krone, Choteau; Che’ LittleDog, Cut Bank.
113 - Logan Pleninger, Havre; Kasey Seyfert, Glasgow;
Hwt - Travis Adams, Havre; Kelin King, Malta; Trent Noel, Harlem; Gerome Lamb, Malta.
The Havre High wrestling team entered the weekend with high hopes of a team title at maybe the toughest tournament outside of the state tournament. But Class AA Great Falls High had other ideas, as it was the Bison who captured their third straight team title at the annual Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic in Missoula. The Bison racked up 151 points through Friday, but came alive Saturday to finish with an impressive 249 team points. Havre wasn’t too far off from the team title. The topranked Class A Blue Ponies have an impressive lineup, and grabbed a second-place finish in what was a loaded field in Missoula. The Ponies finished with 185 points. Havre High beat out a great pool of teams including thirdplace Central Valley from Washington (176) and fourthplace University from Washington (169). “The big thing about getting to go over there is we finally got to see the Western A,” Havre High head coach Scott Filius said. “We don’t see them all year so it was nice to run into Columbia Falls, Libby, Polson and all those guys and see what they’ve got. But I still think it is the same, it will be us and Sidney, then Columbia Falls and Belgrade making noise for third at state.” Belgrade finished further on down the line with 110 points, followed by Columbia Falls with 106, Polson with 44 and Libby with 38. But en route to a secondplace finish, the Ponies placed a solid handful of grapplers once again. Sophomore Keegan Kennelly (106) was the only individual champion on the weekend, and capped off the weekend by pinning Jon
Conklin of Missoula Big Sky in 1:59. Conklin is a returning state champion for Big Sky. But Kennelly also picked up a fall in the first round, a tech. fall in the second round, and a fall in the quarterfinals. There were no semifinal matches reported for any weight class. HHS senior Tyler Adams (220) also reached the prestigious finals, but finished in second place for the Ponies. After a couple of decision and major decision wins early in the weekend, Adams wasn’t unable to get past Dylan Beeler of Clark, losing by way of pin in 6:13. Grayson Brenna (120), Thomas Gruber (132) and Parker Filius (138) finished in third place. The three won out through the quarterfinals, but lost in the semifinals. And once in the third-place match, Brenna won an 8-7 decision, Gruber won a tight 1-0 decision, and Filius won a 7-3 decision. But placing outside the No. 1 spot is nothing to be disappointed about as the Ponies faced some outstanding talent. Brenna had to beat a state champion from Wyoming, while Filius lost to a Washington state champion in the semis. Kennelly took the No. 1 spot, but also had to get past a state title winner from Missoula. “The competition is good,” Coach Filius said. “We faced good kids up and down the bracket, so it was a lot of fun. It was a good weekend for the team. It is a long trip over there and it isn’t a lot of sleep or rest, but the kids responded well. I was proud of them.” Jace Billy (195) also placed fourth after a 5-1 loss to Phoenix Duncan of Coeur d’Alene ended his weekend. And Dustin Odegard (182) finished seventh while Kody Pribyl (145) finished eighth. Odegard ended his weekend with a 6-3 win over Hamilton’s Tyler Scheffer while Pribyl ended his weekend with a tough 8-2 loss to Cooper Ryan of Helena. Tate Munyan (98), Logan Pleninger (113), Dylan Stewart (126), Jase Stokes (152), Jared Laux (160), Jake Williams (170) and Travis Adams (285) also wrestled hard, but did not place. Havre continues to impress this season but will get a slight break in the action. With no school today the Ponies will get some rest. But
with the Class A Duals Friday and Saturday in Lewistown, the Ponies may also rest some key grapplers to prepare for another run into the post season. Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic in Missoula Team scores – Great Falls 249.5, Havre 185, Central Valley 176.6, University, 169, Bozeman 153, Big Sky 146, Sentinel 143, Powell 127.5, Mead 119.5, Coeur d’Alene 112, Belgrade 110, Columbia Falls 106, Great Falls CMR, 95, Clarkston 93.5, Helena Capital 87, Kalispell Glacier 84, Ferris 78, Helena, 68, Kalispell Flathead 60.5, Frenchtown 59, Butte 49, Hamilton 46, Corvallis 44, Polson 44, Libby 38, Lewistown 35, Lake City 35, Hellgate 20, Superior 16, Florence 14, Ronan 12.5, Bonners Ferry 8. Placing Matches 98 Championship – Bjorn Schroeder, Boz, maj. dec. Sawyer Degen, Bel, 18-5. Third place – Justin Gibson, Gla, dec. Cody DeVall, Fla, 4-3. Fifth place – Nick Kunz, Cap, dec. Kaleb Maciosek, CDA, 3-2. Seventh place – Korey Hickson, Fer, maj. dec. Denise Tecca, CV, 13-2. 106 Championship – Keegan Kennelly, Hav, pinned Jon Conklin, MBS, 1:59. Third place – Jake Hegel, MST, pinned Carson Graham, CV, 1:14. Fifth place – Cameron Swanson, Univ, maj. dec. Thunder Morales, Pol, 16-2. Seventh place – Spencer Clegg, Clark, maj. dec. Cody Warner, Fre, 10-2. 113 Championship – Jarren Komac, GFH, pinned Seth Schroeck, Cap, 3:03. Third place – Matt Petrini, Mead, maj. dec. Demo Koures, MBS, 8-0. Fifth place – Caleb James, Boz, pinned Anthony Parkin, Sup, 2:18. Seventh place – Mikey Garrison, Univ, pinned Mason Fetters, CF, :36. 120 Championship – Bryson Beard, CV, dec. Landon Bailey, Hel, 2-1. Third place – Grayson Brenna, Hav, dec. Kenton Evans, GFH, 8-7. Fifth place – Chance Karst, Pow, maj. dec. Ryder Day, Gla, 11-2. Seventh place – Jace Kovalicky, MST, pinned Kale Evenson, Boz, 1:38. 126 Championship – Shonn Roberts, CF, maj. dec. Cameron Sorensen, Univ, 8-0. Third place – Silas Hopkins, Boz, dec. Nic Urbach, Pow, 5-0. Fifth place – Tommy McMillen, GFH, pinned Dylan Schulte, MST. Seventh place – Carlos Quinones, Pol, dec. Cody Decker, Gla, 2-1. 132 Championship – Casey Dobson, GFH, dec. Jarrett Degen, Bel, 5-4. Third place – Thomas Gruber, Hav, dec. Elija Kilborn, CV, 1-0. Fifth place – Colton Parham, Pow, maj. dec. Hunter King, Mead, 11-2. Seventh place – Torren Lawson, Flo, dec. Dylan Cronkhite, Fer, 2-0.
138 Championship – Blake Beard, CV, dec. Austin Shupe, GFH, 2-1. Third place – Parker Filius, Hav, dec. Logan McGreevey, MBS, 7-3. Fifth place – Ben Manion, Boz, pinned Jake Marr, MST, 4:46. Seventh place – Tyler Olsen, Cor, dec. Tate LeClaire, Mead, 7-4.
170 Championship – Luke Entzel, MBS, Austin Stannard, Univ, 1-0. Third place – Justin Harbison, MST, Brayden Schmick, Fer, 7-1. Fifth place – Garret Chapel, Lib, Chauncye Garigan, CV, 6-3. Seventh place – Tel Motichka, Pol, Nick Challeen, But, 5-4.
145 Championship – Colton Orrino, CV, dec. Cody Lemons, Fre, 11-4. Third place – Gage Bentley, GFH, dec. Isiah Yates, CMR, 6-1. Fifth place – Zayne Brunz, CF, dec. Kye Catlin, Pow, 4-2. Seventh place – Cooper Ryan, Hel, dec. Kody Pribyl, Hav, 8-2.
182 Championship – Hudson Staub, CDA, dec. Randy Keesler, GFH, 4-3. Third place – Alan Schmitz, Cap, dec. Ethan Blythe, Lew, 12-7. Fifth place – Payton Sexe, CMV, dec. Cody Wiers, Boz, 6-1. Seventh place – Dustin Odegard, Hav, dec. Tyler Scheffer, Ham, 6-3.
152 Championship – Jared Dickson, CMR, dec. Kessler Leonard, GFH, 4-3. Third place – Elijah Ross, Fer, dec. Kade Branson, MBS, 5-1. Fifth place – Zach Kies, Mead, pinned Eric Benton, Clark, :47. Seventh place – Matt Widdicombe, Pow, dec. Bryan Shaffer, CF, 4-0.
195 Championship – Keavon Buckley, Boz, pinned Jaden Bryant, Bel, 1:39. Third place – Phoenix Duncan, CDA, dec. Jace Billy, Hav, 5-1.
160 Championship – John Fairbanks, Univ, dec. Jacob Davis, Pow, 7-2. Third place – Jason Riekena, MBS, dec. David Shepard, CV, 6-5. Fifth place – Walker Ferda, GFH, dec. Josh Bowers, Lib, 6-0. Seventh place – Nick Grasseschi, CMR, dec. Colton Johnson, CDA, 12-5.
dec. dec. dec. dec.
Fifth place – Michael Bumgarner, Ham, pinned Hunter Sisemore, Clark, 1:27. Seventh place – Lee Cannon, But, maj. dec. Mateo Amatto-Cattaneo, GFH, 9-1. 220 Championship – Dylan Beeler, Clark, pinned Tyler Adams, Hav, 6:13. Third place – Jaydn Wilson, MST, dec. Mason Ju, Mead, 7-2. Fifth place – Bryce Blumenschein, Bel, dec. Dillon Koffman, Cap, 3-1. Seventh place – Eric Weaver, GFH, dec. Riley Stringer, Pow, 7-3. 285 Championship – Tate Orndorff, Univ, dec. Matt James, CDA, 2-1. Third place – Axel Bladholm, Fla, dec. Zach Dennehy, Gla, 5-0. Fifth place – Spencer Ross, CF, pinned Roberto Smith, GFH, 2:24. Seventh place – Colter Miller, MBS, dec. Colin Hammock, MST, 4-2.
"More enduringly than any other sport, wrestling teaches self-control and pride. Some have wrestled without great skill - none have wrestled without pride."
Dan Gable