Jefferson High’s hosted its traditional early-season wrestling mixer on Dec. 7, and athletes from Cascade, Deer Lodge, Manhattan and Three Forks filled the gym in Boulder.
In a mixer format, wrestlers are matched against opponents in their weight class and no team scores are kept. In the first round, Panthers Maysa LaFromboise and Dylan Mikesell at 120 pounds, Leighton LaFromboise at 126, Dayton Brown at 132, Megan Anderson at 138, Cooper Mikesell at 145, Drake Butala at 160, Andrew Rodriguez at 182, Cole Christoferson and Brady Armstrong at 205, and Dylan Stevens and Kolbe Michaud at 285 all won — and all by pin.
In the second round, Maysa LaFromboise, Dylan Mikesell, Brown, Cooper Mikesell, Mike Richard, Rodriguez, Armstrong, and Michaud all scored wins — and again, all by pins. Also suiting up for Jefferson were Emma Richard at 107 pounds, Russell Douglas at 113, Nik Richard at 126, Mason Mikesell at 130 and Jeyce Sullivan, Blake Nordlinder and Steven Agge at 138.
The next day, the Panther wrestlers traveled to Whitehall for the weekend Alumni Dual Team Tournament featuring 20 schools. The Panthers suited up 17 wrestlers and were able to fill 12 weight classes out of a possible 13.
Three lady Panthers competed in a mixer: Emma Jurkovac, who picked up a win at 107 pounds; Maysa LaFromboise, who won twice at 114; and Megan Anderson at 138.
The Panthers opened up the tournament on Friday by wrestling Billings Skyview JV. Spencer Abbott, wrestling at 103 pounds, Douglas, both Mikesells, Leighton LaFromboise, Brown, Mike Richard, Butala, Rodriguez, Armstrong, and Stevens scored points for Jefferson, with all winning by pin. The final score was 63-12.
Jefferson then took on the Bozeman Gallatin JV — and it again dominated, taking a 57-18 dual victory. Abbott, both Mikesells, LaFromboise, Brown, Sullivan, Nordlinder, Mike Richard, Armstrong, and Michaud scored points.
The Panthers’ third dual was against Manhattan. This time, Jefferson cruised to a 64-16 victory, with Abbott, Douglas, both Mikesells, LaFromboise, Brown, Sullivan, Rodriguez, Armstrong, and Stevens all scoring points.
The final dual for the day was against Beaverhead County, and it proved to be the toughest match of the day. But the Panthers prevailed, 54-24, with wins from Abbott, Douglas, both Mikesells, LaFromboise, Brown, Mike Richard, Rodriguez, Armstrong, and Stevens.
After outscoring its opponents by a total of 232-70 over the first day, Jefferson finished first in its pool, qualifying for the championship bracket on Saturday. And the Panthers picked up where they had left off the day before, knocking off East Helena in their first dual, 58-18. Abbott, Douglas, both Mikesells, LaFromboise, Brown, Mikesell, Richard, Rodriguez, Armstrong and Stevens scored points for Jefferson.
The Panther qualified for the semifinal dual against Billings West JV. In a close dual where the lead changed several times, Jefferson finally came up short, losing 45-30, despite victories by both Mikesells, Brown, Armstrong and Stevens.
Jefferson faced cross-county rival Whitehall in the consolation semifinal. In the first match Leighton LaFromboise was injured and had to make a trip to the hospital — the Panthers’ second injury of the day. And in a dual where they were favored, the Panthers were defeated, 42-36, despite points from Abbott, the Mikesells, Brown, Christoferson and Armstrong.
Jefferson was arguably the third best team in the gym, but on this day they finished fifth.
Dylan Mikesell, Dayton Brown, Cooper Mikesell and Brady Armstrong each ended the tournament with perfect 7-0 records, while Spencer Abbott and Dylan Stevens finished 6-1 and Leighton LaFromboise 5-2.
Coach’s comments: We had a great crowd at both our home mixer and the Whitehall Duals. It is refreshing to have so much support from the fans and community. Friday we stormed through the competition, and we started off that way on Saturday. Even though we didn’t reach our goals I am really proud of how well this team competed and showed a lot of heart.
Cooper Mikesell was selected by his coaches as the wrestler of the week. Mikesell, a sophomore, ended the week with a 9-0 record, with six of those victories coming by pins. Dylan Stevens had the quick pin of the week, taking his opponent in 19 seconds during the Billings West dual.
The Panthers travel to Great Falls on Dec. 15 and 16 for the CMR Holiday Classic Tournament, featuring the best teams from Class AA, A and BC — a competition tougher than the state tournament.
