No medals at State, but big strides for wrestlers

The Montana State Wrestling Tournament is extreme. It brings the best wrestlers in Montana from all classes into one loud and packed arena — the Metra in Billings — for three days of intense competition. Forty-three schools vie for the Class B/C boy title; the girls compete in a single classification with 77 teams.

This year, the Panthers didn’t bring home any championships, and no one made all-state. But our very young team made some big strides.

Twelve Jefferson wrestlers had qualified for the event. The boys included Daxton Terry at 110 pounds, Russell Douglas at 118, Korbin Rintamaki at 132, Mike Richard at 144, Cooper Mikesell at 150, Tellen Simanton at 157, Blake Nordlinder at 165 and Andrew Rodriquez at 215. Four girls made the grade: Emma Jurkovac at 100, Maysa LaFromboise at 110, Isabella Mikesell at 115 and Madison Neely at 190.