“So,” I ask, from the stands at the Purple and Gold intrasquad wrestling meet Nov. 30. “Who is fighting whom?”
Immediately, no fewer than three fellow spectators, including Samantha Humphrey, wife of JHS wrestling coach Troy Humphrey, forcefully but kindly inform me that in no way, shape or form can anything we’re about to see be described as fighting. Fighting is bad. This, however, is wrestling, which, as the Panthers kick off their 2024-2025 winter season, is clearly taken very seriously at JHS.
“Athletes always get injured, no matter what they’re doing,” said JHS athletic trainer Nicole Blubaugh. “You see way more injuries in football, but you have to watch out here because these [injuries] can sometimes be a bit odd. I like to say wrestling is actually the true contact sport. Football is a collision sport.”
This year’s Panthers wrestling squad consists of 16 boys, including returning Division B/C state champion and JHS senior Brady Armstrong. It also boasts five girls. In 2020, there weren’t any girls’ wrestling teams in Montana, though some competed on boys squads (including at Jefferson). This season, there will be more than 180 girls’ teams in the state.
“I think we’ll do very well this year,” said JHS sophomore Cat Anderson. “We have more girls, and everyone seems to be really excited for the season.” Anderson, who is wrestling for her sixth year, now at 135 pounds, also trains in mixed martial arts and kickboxing. Compared to the other heavy combat sports she participates in, Anderson equated wrestling to cuddling, though it’s still very challenging. She went undefeated during the Purple and Gold intrasquad meet.
Currently, girls teams in Montana compete against each other in a single class, under the same competitive standards as boys teams. While there are enough participating girls to have gender-specific meets, there are not yet enough to separate competitors, as the boys, by school size. Troy Humphrey believes that this will, eventually, change.
“Girls wrestling is exploding in Montana, and is one of the fastest growing high school sports in the country,” said Humphrey. “It’s great to see these girls involved without having to be relegated to a manager position, or wrestling boys. There’s going to be a break-out in the next few years, and we’re going to see big changes in how the girls’ competitions are run.”
Both JHS girls’ and boys’ wrestling squads showed equally strong performances at the Purple and Gold meet, indicating, according to Humphrey, a potentially excellent season ahead. Armstrong, who, during his championship run at last year’s state competition was awarded the Jug Beck Quick Pin Award, given to the wrestler with the most pins in the least amount of time, was absent from the meet due to a recruiting trip to Minot State University.
“I’m not sure how this year will go, but I think I should win the state again. Pins. I need pins. I need wins,” said Armstrong. Armstrong will be competing at 215 lbs this season, up from 205 lbs last year. He is joined by fellow seniors Kolbe Michaud, at 285 pounds, and Dylan Stevens, at 190, who round out the team’s most experienced competitors.
The Panthers return seven all-conference wrestlers, including Armstrong. The team hopes to build on its success at last year’s state tournament, where it finished in 13th place, a year after placing fourth.
“We graduated some talent last year. We were a younger team then, and we’ll continue to be a younger team,” said Humphrey. “We won’t be too far off trophy competition, but it’s tough to be on top without older wrestlers. They are talented, and they are scrappy. I have every confidence in their ability to get out there and win.”
