State-ing their case

Flathead, Libby, Whitefish all off to solid starts in Day 1

BILLINGS - Twelve mats, hundreds of wrestlers and tons of excitement.

The all-class state wrestling tournament kicked off Friday morning in Billings, and even the air conditioning couldn't keep the Metra cool as grapplers heated up the building. If anyone could find a way to bottle this kind of energy, Red Bull would be out of business.

After early-morning weigh-ins and the parade of athletes, the refs began blowing their whistles and the battle for a state crown was under way.

As the day wore on, wrestlers kept themselves busy with iPods, PSPs and brackets before warming up for their matches. By the end of the third round, most of them were a whole lot less pretty than when they showed up.

The Metra was a sea of swollen noses and bruised faces. The athletes had a couple of hours in between matches to get healed and rested before starting all over again.

Flathead

The Braves started slow and watched Butte and Billings Skyview come out of the gate running. Midway through the first round, Flathead was parked in fourth place, and coach Jeff Thompson was stalking around the Metra.

But the Braves came roaring back to life in the middle and upper weights to take a one-point lead heading into the quarterfinals. By the end of the day, Flathead had put 176.5 points up on the board; Billings Skyview sits within striking distance at 150.

"We started sluggish, but our big guys rolled," Thompson said. "We got lots of pins."

Just eight Braves ended up losing their first match.

Flathead's momentum kept rolling into the quarterfinals. At the 152, 160 and 171-pound weight classes, the mats looked liked the Braves were holding a parade as those three bouts featured all-Flathead matchups.

"That's tough to wrestle your teammates," Thompson said. "But they were all here wrestle. They got after it."

Twelve Braves earned a spot in Saturday's semifinals, more than any other AA team.

Brian Ham (105 pounds) got the ball rolling for Flathead in the quarters with a quick, 16-0 technical fall over Helena's Niko Guymon. Ham came out extremely physical and had Guymon on his back in a hurry, but Guymon struggled out of a pin twice.

Ham reloaded and forced his opponent into a cradle and then threw it hard. Ham rung up so many near-fall points that the match was soon over.

Ham started the day just as strong with a 1:23 pin against an opponent from Bozeman. Ham finished second at state last year, and it looks like he's on a mission to take first today.

Duran Flaget, another runner-up from last year's Flathead squad, had an outstanding day as well, pinning his way through his bracket.

Flaget's first match was against the No. 7 seed out of the East. Flaget has an arsenal of moves that take people from their feet straight to their back, but he almost got himself in a lot of trouble trying to force a throw.

Great Fall's Zach Wichman made a surprising counter and nearly had Flaget on his back, but Flaget regained his composure and pinned him in the third period.

"I was thinking he wouldn't be that good, but he was," Flaget said. "I like to throw a lot."

Flaget then came out in the quarters and pinned Sentinel's Andy Love, an opponent he hasn't been able to pin this year.

A championship will be tough for Flaget as he faces Bozeman's Nick Lang today in the semis. He hasn't wrestled Lang before, but the Bozeman grappler has been ranked higher all season long.

And waiting in the finals will probably be Butte's Brody Verrall, who has beat Flaget twice this season.

And yet another runner-up from the 2005 season is Mikey Kuehne, who also romped through his bracket on Friday. Kuehne had to battle teammate Tyler Wells in the quarterfinals and won by pin.

The Braves take 20 wrestlers and a strong lead into today's final round. The state title is now theirs for the taking if they can keep the momentum going.

"It was a good day," coach Thompson said. "Some of those early losses still hurt. We just got to keep the ball rolling. We're happy so far."

Libby

It's no surprise that Libby's "Big Guns" are all in the semifinals. But the performance of some of the Loggers' lower weights didn't please coach Jay Graham one bit.

"We've had better rounds," he said.

The Loggers held on to third place for most of the day, but the gap between Libby (85 points) and No. 2 Havre (126.5 points) is massive. Havre and No. 1 Sidney (128 points) both placed more wrestlers and are running away with the tournament.

Seth Cummings came out fired up for the Greenchain, and pinned his two opponents in a combined time of 1:17. At the state tournament, he wrestled less than one period. He should be rested and ready to go tomorrow against Hamilton's Mike Lewis.

Lewis beat Cummings at the Rocky Mountain Classic, and Cummings is dying to get back on the mat and get some revenge. Both wrestlers get extremely amped before a match so the clash should be exciting.

The most state champions Libby has ever had in one year is three, so these five have a chance to make some history for their school.

"They've accomplished a lot of firsts this year for the team, and it would be great to see them individually do what they can," coach Graham said.

And they certainly have a shot. Jake Graham is back to full strength after battling strep throat, and Travis Hjort's back problems won't slow him down.

Whitefish

The Bulldogs are building on a strong divisional showing and sit in fourth place with 74 points after the first day, just 11 back of Libby.

The team put seven wrestlers into the semis, which will give Whitefish a chance to overtake Libby for the No. 3 hardware.

"We're where we expected to be," coach Tim Neff said. "We're performing well."

Whitefish still has 11 wrestlers alive. If the four brawlers in the consolation rounds can make a push, the Bulldogs will be running wild.

Three of the seven in the semis are seniors this year - Cody Mikesell (152), Brad Watterud (160) and Tim Lehner (171). And all three must have career performances today to reach the finals.

"The competition is tougher than it has been the last couple of years," Lehner said.

Lehner faces Havre's Evan Hinebauch today - a fast and strong wrestler who is favored to win it all.

Mikesell and Watterud both must get by Sidney wrestlers, a feat few have been able to do all year long.

Columbia Falls

What is going on with Matcat Michael Clark?

After a losing season, Clark exploded at divisionals to reach the finals by beating two higher-seeded wrestlers. No one expected him to finish where he did.

The competition better get used to it, because Clark did it again Friday by reaching the semifinals. First, he decisioned Frenchtown's Issac Houston, 10-4. Then he fought his way for a come-from-behind victory over Belgrade's James Armstrong, 15-11.

Clark was behind 10-11 as the third period was winding down. Armstrong got too high on his leg ride, and Clark took him right to his back.

"I just wanted to accomplish something," Clark said. "It's my senior year, my last chance."

Clark must face No. 1 ranked Derek Fritz from Sidney today in the semis. The last time these two met, Fritz won by technical fall.

"I'll just wrestle my best," Clark said.

Corey Pete (130) and Michael Hader (140) both made expected runs to the semis, and both face wrestlers they haven't battled before.

Hader had to fight through a tough second match against an opponent from Miles City. Hader couldn't turn him for near-fall points, but scored twice on a single-leg takedown to earn the 5-3 victory.

First-year coach Jesse Schaeffer said he is pleased with his wrestlers' performances, many who stepped into the Metra for the first time.

"It can be intimidating for some of these guys," he said. "We're down here getting some state experience and setting the stage for seasons to come. I told them to go out there and upset some people, get noticed. Just let it all hang out."

A team trophy is out of reach for the Matcats, but considering the team brought only 10 athletes to the tournament, an 11th place standing with 42.5 points is respectable.

Polson

The Pirates started the day like lions, but couldn't keep the roar ringing in the quarterfinals. Still, Polson has four wrestlers waiting for a semifinal match today - Logan Torgison (125), Ted Morigeau (152), Bryce Picard (189) and Aaron Jones (275). The

Both Morigeau and Jones pinned their way through their brackets on Friday.

Pirates are currently in fifth place with 61 points.

Shayne Ludwick, a highly ranked grappler all season long, fell in the quarters to Logun Norris of Dillon, 6-1. Ludwick couldn't find his offense in the match, and Norris stretched him out over and over with his strong leg ride position.

Eureka

Gatlin Paine is the lone Lion to have an unbeaten day and earn a spot in the semis. Paine easily won his first match with a 21-4 technical fall.

His second match slowed him down a bit, but he still pulled away with the victory, 7-1.

The Lions' small team is 21st with 22.5 points.