Getting a grip on titles, college
The Flathead Braves wrestling team finished a stellar season this year by capturing the AA State Championship. Seven Braves made it to the final round, surpassing records and ultimately winning the title that they had won in 2004. Before 2004, the last time the Braves were state champs was in 1973.
Overall, the team scored 306 points in this year's tournament, nearly tying its 2004 score of 325, a team point record. And this year 17 wrestlers medaled - a new state record.
Annie Bukacek, whose son Ricky Janes is on the team, wrote to express her appreciation for the FHS wrestling coaches under the leadership of head coach Jeff Thompson.
"Not only is the coaching staff great at teaching wrestling technique and fitness," Bukacek wrote, "but I believe the main reason they build champion teams is due to their personal integrity and deep level of caring about each individual wrestler."
Most people involved in high-school wrestling would agree that, hands-down, Flathead has one of the most experienced staffs in the state. Along with Thompson, coaches Jeff Anderson, Dallas Stuker, Suny Cheff, Carl Hanson and Jeff Sipe were wrestling champions in their own high-school careers.
And they've coached most of these athletes from Little Guy Wrestling all the way through high school. Thompson say his approach to coaching is not just about making the wrestlers successful in the sport of wrestling, but also in the game of life.
"The coaches not only motivate them to be the best wrestlers they can be but the best men they can be," Bukacek said.
About this year's tournament, Thompson said: "It was a team effort. We lost all our matches in the finals, but we still won by more than 30 points. That says a lot about this team. We're a family."
In closing, Bukacek wrote: "I will be forever grateful for their influence. It will benefit our sons long after the glory of the team's accomplishment has faded."
For parents and students pursuing plans for college, the mountain of forms and choices can be formidable. But thanks to College Goal Sunday, a statewide volunteer effort, families got a handle on the process.
Forty Kalispell students and parents Feb. 12 joined more than 1,200 participants at 17 campuses across Montana to get help filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid forms - a process that every family applying for financial aid faces this time of year.
Locally, the event was held at Flathead Valley Community College. Families got assistance in sifting through the information and application requirements. If you have children heading for institutions of higher learning, and you're feeling anxiety or a little thin in the wallet, financial aid experts and trained volunteers are there on College Goal Sunday to guide you through step-by-step.
Libby Siebens, statewide coordinator, thanks all the volunteers including Bonnie Whitehouse, Kalispell's site coordinator, for their generous support and for all the community sponsors that made this second year possible.
Look for College Goal Sunday next year on Sunday, Feb. 11. For more information, log on to www.collegegoalmt.org or call 1-800-610-1479.