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Flathead ran away with its third consecutive Class AA team title Saturday night as the 20th annual All-Class Championships concluded at the Metra. The Braves set records for total finalists (10) and points (410). The team that is ranked 10th nationally by a magazine devoted to wrestling certainly looked the part.

“The guys were ready to go and ready to battle,” Thompson said. “We feel this was a great team.”

Also earning that distinction were teams from Havre (Class A) and Glasgow (B-C), which also repeated as champions. And as was the case with Flathead, both Havre and Glasgow had their titles locked up early in the day.

CLASS AA
There were a few hits and misses along the way, but the Electric City athletes really stepped up to the plate on championship night. The Great Falls High Bison went 3-for-3 in the finals and the C.M. Russell High Rustlers went 2-for-3 as no less than five athletes from from the two teams earned championships.The Bison got victories from Dylan Mendenhall, Zach Mendenhall and Ty Vinson, while the Rustlers were led to the winner’s stand by Nash Hallfrisch and Jared Rohrback. Russell’s Trenton Starkey suffered a narrow defeat in his title bout or it could have been an even sweeter night for Electric City mat fans.

“It was a great career for Jared. I can’t say enough about him,” said CMR head coach Joel Auers. “And Nash, what a great effort by him. It just shows you what hard work in the offseason will do. He worked hard in the weight room and got all the work he was supposed to get done, and it paid off in the finals. Hopefully it sets a good example for other people who didn’t get done what they wanted this weekend, because you’ve got to put in the time in the offseason if you want to finish strong here.”

The Rustlers had eight wrestlers place in the top six, including Kelly Olds, who ousted a two-time state champion in Saturday’s wrestleback round and finished third at 125.

“He was battling some rib injuries but he overcame it,” Auers said. “He didn’t use it as an excuse and he finished strong. He really deserves it.

“With the team we brought, and how beat up and bruised we were, I have to give credit to the kids. To battle through it and finish fourth, they really showed some perseverance,” said Auers. “We’d like to be higher, but for the team we brought it was a satisfying finish.”

Winning all their championship matches is nothing new for the Bison of head coach Steve Komac, who went 4-for-4 in last year’s state meet.

“It’s a pretty good run we’ve got going there,” said Komac with a smile. “We’re very pleased. We just have to keep working on our team depth and get more kids in the finals.”

Billings Skyview finished second with 264.5 points, while Great Falls High (223.5) and CMR (159) finished third and fourth, respectively. The Bison had 11 wrestlers finish in the top six.

“Eleven state-placers was a good effort for this team,” Komac said.

Zach Mendenhall and Vinson were the obvious leaders.

“They’ve been great seniors all year long,” Komac said. “They’re four-time state placers, and that’s great.”

“I haven’t wrestled all the way to my potential yet,” said Dylan. “But they’re tough. I shouldn’t expect things to come easy.”

Dylan Mendenhall finished with record of 28-5, while his big brother was 36-1 this season. And there’s another one coming. Cole Mendenhall figures to join the Bison mat team next year as a freshman.

It’s a pretty good bet he’ll be successful.

“I hope so,” said Dylan. “That’s what we’ve all been working for.”

Said Zach: “I was hoping all year long that it would happen, that both of us would win. And it happened.”

Zach won the 98-pound title as a freshman. He was third at 105 then next year, then last year won at 125.

“There’s another one taking over,” said Zach with a grin, referring to his eighth-grade brother Cole. “Hopefully those two can be state champs together one day.”

Vinson flashed familiar dominant form, pinning his opponent in the first period of the 189 finale.

“I’ve got a couple teammates with me, too (as champions),” said Vinson. “It’s nice to get a trophy.”

Following an uneven semifinal round, the Bison really rallied.

“We lost some matches in the semifinals where we were ahead, and that will sting for awhile,” said Komac. “But we also had some great performances, especially by a few seniors that didn’t place last year.”

Komac was referring to Pat Bomgardner (160) and Tim Welch (189), who were relegated to the junior varsity all year because of the Bison depth, and responded with outstanding performances this weekend. Both finished sixth in the tournament.

“It’s a great reward for them,” Komac said.

The Russell effort, meanwhile, included championships from junior Nash Hallfrisch (145) and senior Jared Rohrback (215). It was the second state title for Hallfrisch and the third for Rohrback.

“It still hasn’t sunk it yet,” said a smiling Hallfrisch, who got a takedown in the final six seconds to rally from a 3-2 deficit and defeat Flathead’s Bryce Stacy 5-3. “I’m on Cloud Nine.”

Stacy had beaten Hallfrisch twice in as many tries this year.

“He’s a big kid,” he said. “I hoped he’d eventually wear down so I just had to keep driving.”

Rohrback finished his glorious career in style, with a quick pin in the 215 finale.

“This is how I hoped to finish it,” said Rohrback, a Montana State football signee. “It worked out, so I’m just very fortunate I was able to do that.”

Rohrback said his thoughts Saturday night were of his sophomore brother Mitch, who had knee surgery earlier in the week and missed out on competing at the state meet.

“When you realize that someone can’t be here, you realize you take things for granted,” Jared said. “It’s just a privilege to be able to compete and you’ve just got to have fun.”

Others who placed in the top six for the Bison were Trylan Wassman (5th at 145), Tanner Schmid (5th at 152), Maxx Galland (3rd at 160), Zach Wichman (3rd at 171), Tyler Carter (4th at 215) and Josh Zimmer (5th at Hwt).

Other top-six placers for CMR were Mike Budeski (6th at 105), Kelly Olds (3rd at 125), Austin Bailey (3rd at 135), Chris Sowell (4th at 171), and Andrew Voorhees (3rd at Hwt). It was the third straight third-place finish at this tournament for Voorhees.

Flathead went 10-for-14 in the semifinal round, an amazing show of strength by what many consider to be the best team in Montana mat history.

“When you have 10 in the finals there are a lot of emotions,” Thompson said. “I’m just drained. I’m wiped out. But what a great tournament.”

The Flathead champions were Tanner Beaman (130), Brian Ham (135), Tyler Wells (152), David Lau (160) and Luke Fischer (171).

Billings Skyview finished second and had 14 placers.

“We only lose three kids (to graduation),” said Skyview coach Rich Malia. “We think we have some good kids coming so I hope we’re back in the running next year.”

CLASS A

The Havre Blue Ponies had 13 placers and easily won their second straight state team title.

“I don’t know that we’ve ever had 13,” said Havre head coach Scott Filius. “It’s a pretty good effort.”

Havre finished with 282.5 points. Ronan was second with 167.5, followed by Sidney (164) and Frenchtown (131.5).

The highlights for Havre fans were almost too many to count.

“Having two kids finish the year undefeated was great,” said Filius, referring to state champions Chris Recio and Myles Mazurkiewicz. “Having two kids pin their way through the tournament (Ethan Hinebauch and Recio) was great. Having all those kids come back and place third (Duell Stadell, Kent Pattison, Aaron Olson, Mitch Schnittgen) was also great.

“It was just a lot of fun.”

Recio got the party started for Havre at 105. The two-time state champion finished 39-0 this year and is already looking ahead.

“We’re still going to be pretty tough for the next couple of years,” Recio said.

Miles City fans haven’t had a whole lot to cheer about at this tournament the last decade, but the Cowboys were riding high Saturday night. Juniors Kylan Zumpf (112), Derrick Singleton (119) and Casey Makor (125) each won state championships, marking the school’s first mat title in 10 years.

Zumpf’s triumph was especially noteworthy, for it came over Frenchtown’s Chad Hansen, a two-time state champion.

Lewistown sophomore Ryan Martin, meanwhile, won his second consecutive title 135. Martin was 35-1 this season. Teammate Mitch Ritchey (215) finished 32-1 on the year after edging Browning’s Willy Wells 3-1 in the title bout. Wells is a former two-time state champion in Wyoming.

Ethan Hinebauch, who had four straight pins en route to his title, and Mazurkiewicz were Havre’s other champion.

“It’s unlike any other feeling, I guess,” said Mazurkiewicz. “Just on top of the world.”

Mazurkiewicz’s father, Mike, won a pair of state titles during a great prep career at Cut Bank. Mike is now an assistant to Havre head coach Scott Filius. Myles bear-hugged both men immediately after winning his title.

Finishing runner-up for the Ponies were Ryan Shelstad (119), Lorren Mack (125), and Philip Sutherland (160).

Mazurkiewicz finished unbeaten on the season. He had such consistent success comes with some pressure.

“I was thinking about a Patriots’ ending,” he said, referring to the recent Super Bowl losers who sailed through unbeaten until the final game. “I sure didn’t want that to happen.”

The team title, Mazurkiewicz said, means as much to the Ponies as individual honors.

“It’s really special,” he said. “I think we’re really getting going with the program now.”

Now? What about the Havre’s other four team titles won in the Filius era? Hasn’t Myles heard about that?

“Oh I know they’ve been tough before,” he said with a grin. “But next year, I think we’re going to be REALLY tough.”

CLASS B-C

The Glasgow Scotties are now officially the big dogs of Class B-C wrestling.

Glasgow scored 254 points to easily capture a second straight state championship. Conrad (164.5) was second, while Colstrip (126) was third. Cascade-Simms finished fourth with 117 points.

“It’s the best depth we’ve ever had,” said Glasgow head coach Mark Johnston. “A lot of it’s because of our schedule. Every weekend we wrestled some of the best tournaments in the state. Our kids get beat once in awhile, but they find out the things they’re weak at so by the time we get to the end of the year, it’s fixed.”

The Scotties had three champions and 11 others place in the top six.

“Fourteen out of 17, not too shabby,” said Johnston. “When we come into the Metra we come as a team. All year long they work together. We’re real fortunate to have the practices we have. The kids all have good practice partners. That’s really the key.”

Glasgow’s champions were Myles Kittleson (152), Shawn Hopstad (160) and Chance Rauscher (189). Hopstad is the senior, while the other two are juniors.

“They go to camps in the summer and work as hard as any kids in the state of Montana,” Johnston said. “They’re easy to coach.”

Chance Rauscher has lived in Bozeman, Conrad and now Glasgow in the last 15 years. That’s quite a tour of the state for a wrestler.

“Always the same colors, though,” Rauscher said. “Always red and white.”

Rauscher, who finished 36-3 this year, seems to have found a wrestling home in Glasgow.

“It’s really intense in practice and we always work hard,” Rauscher said. “It’s great to be on such a champion team.”

Kittleson defeated Witt Williams of Broadus 14-4 in the 152 title match, while Hopstad edged Brad Cain of Deer Lodge 10-8 at 160. Rauscher pinned his foe in the finals in just 54 seconds.

Other Class B-C highlights included the third state title for Conrad’s Scotty Schlosser, who pinned Harlem’s Chase Dirden in the 119-pound finale. Conrad’s Jared Giard (125) finished runner-up as the Cowboys of head coach Kevin Moritz finished second in the team race.

“Schlosser’s pin was totally awesome,” said Moritz, who had seven place-winners. “I felt great for him.”

Cascade-Simms was led — again — by senior 130-pounder Ryan Leonard, who earned his fourth straight state championship. Teammate Derek Rogers finished runnerup at 112 for the Wolverines of coach Doug Little.

Among the other B-C winners were Poplar’s Hunter Azure (125), Fairfield’s Ethan May (140), Chinook’s Robert Stroh (145), Choteau’s Raymond DeBruycker and Fort Benton’s Ethan Tweet (Hwt).

DeBruycker, the Montana Grizzly football signee, used his signature cradle to notch a pin and finish his season at 27-3.

Tweet, meanwhile, battled Glasgow’s Colton Hill on even terms for nearly six minutes before earning a pin in the final match of the night. Tweet finished 32-2 on the season.

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