Sweet victory for Wolfpack wrestlers

It was four years in the making and it felt so sweet for the Glacier Wolfpack.

Glacier earned its first-ever crosstown wrestling victory, 37-27, over visiting Flathead on Thursday.

The dual had everything a wrestling coach could ask for - a packed house and a lineup filled with gritty battles.

"The kids are jacked up. It's a huge win for us," said Glacier coach Mark Fischer.

"You don't want to base a season on the crosstown match ... but this is something we had to get done," Fischer said.

"(The Wolfpack) is just wrestling solid right now. I'm so proud of the kids," he said.

"(The Wolfpack) wrestled really well. It was a hard-fought dual and they got the better of us tonight," said Flathead coach Matt Owen.

"But when it's a fun dual like that ... those are what you coach for.

"Overall, I thought it was a great night of wrestling. We did a lot of great things and pulled out a lot of tight matches.

"Our kids went out there and gave it their all. That's all I can ask of them. It was an extremely fun dual and we had great support from both sets of fans," he said.

The key for Glacier?

"Our kids' ability to not make mistakes that are going to put us on our backs," Fischer said.

"I think this was 100 percent team effort. Every single kid went out there and did exactly what they were supposed to do," he said.

For some kids, that meant getting pins - Glacier had three to Flathead's one. For others, it meant keeping matches close and not giving up pins.

"We were close (to getting pins) a couple times. It's a testament to their team. They went out there and battled. They weren't going to give up any pins tonight," Owen said.

There were some incredibly tight matches.

The dual started at 135 pounds - Flathead won six of the first nine.

There were some barnburners - Flathead's Steel Hahn got a takedown in the final minute of his 152-pound match to pull out a 5-4 win over Shane St. Onge, Flathead's Larry Francis held on at 160 to beat Riley Pisk, 7-5, and Josh Erickson took Glacier's Dawson Day down at the final buzzer for an 8-6 win.

"I've got to give a lot of credit to Matt's kids. They were getting those matches right at the end," Fischer said.

But Glacier stayed close with Cooper Sipe's major decision over Jacob Egley, Lane Armstrong picked up a pin at 189 and Boyce Ballard claimed an 8-1 decision over Travis Ozegovich at 215.

But one of Glacier's strengths is the lighter weights - and Flathead led only 18-13 when the dual reached 98 pounds. Glacier picked up 18 points between 98 and 112 to go up 31-18.

Flathead got as close as four points, but couldn't overcome that lead.

"It's unexplainable, the feeling we got as a team," sighed Glacier senior Boyce Ballard.

"Getting this win is a good thing for our program," he said.

The coaches left the Wolfpack wrestlers in the Glacier wrestling room after Wednesday's practice, Ballard said.

The athletes spent 15-20 minutes talking this dual out.

"Our coaches ... I can't thank them enough. We put in the time and effort. Sometimes we hate it, but was worth it. That end score is so worth it," he said.

"I feel great. I feel good. I wish I could have gotten a few more team points," he said.

Ballard, usually at 189 pounds, wrestled up a weight class in order to take on childhood pal Travis Ozegovich at 215. He claimed an 8-1 decision.

"Travis and I, we've been friends and rivals since we were kids. We played football together since the fourth grade," Ballard said.

But the two have had to distance themselves since Glacier opened.

"I respect him. He's a very good wrestler, a very good athlete. He'll do good things," he said.

Glacier 37, Flathead 27

98: Christian Knopp, G, p. Gavyn Wilson, 3:06; 105: Kaleb Mitchell, G, won by forfeit; 112: Alek Mitchell, G, p. Easton Terry 1:24; 119: Caleb Piasecki, F, p. Stanley Ortel, 1:09; 125: Cody Tally, F, dec. Zach Barber, 8-3; 130: Lucas Mantel, G, p. Suny Cheff, 4:40; 135: Jake Stueben, F, dec. Jackson Barber, 8-4; 140: Cooper Sipe, G, maj. dec. Jacob Egley, 9-0; 145: Jeremiah Gaiser, F, dec. Grant Tafoya, 6-0; 152: Steel Hahn, F, dec. Shane St. Onge, 5-4; 160: Larry Francis, F, dec. Riley Pisk, 7-5; 171: Josh Erickson, F, dec. Dawson Day, 8-6; 189: Lane Armstrong, G, p. John Collins, 5:01; 215: Boyce Ballard, G, dec. Travis Ozegovich, 8-1; 285: Connor Thomas, F, dec. Joel Horn, 5-3.