Eight from JHS qualify for state competition
It took heart, it took determination, it took a full roster — those elements and more catapulted the Jefferson High School wrestling team to win the Divisional trophy in Cut Bank over the weekend. The team qualified eight for the state and those wrestlers also earned All-Conference recognition.
The team also edged out rival Whitehall, which came in second.
This was the first year of the Western B/C Divisional “super division” where 23 teams competed with 227 participants set up on 32-man brackets.
The tournament was spread out over two days, Feb. 26-27 in Cut Bank and the top eight in each weight division would qualify for state. The Panthers had the maximum number of wrestlers — 16 — entered in the tournament.
Moving on to the Class B/C state tournament March 5-6 in Shelby are Leo Anderson, Dylan Mikesell, Braeden Jones, Matt Riehl, Christian Davis, Dayton Brown, John Armstrong and Jace Oxarart.
Wrestling for the Panthers were Anderson and Dominick Davis at 103 pounds, Mikesell and Christian Davis at 113 pounds, Brown at 120 pounds, Zack Supalla and Isaac Van Blaricom at 132 pounds, Armstrong and Colman Thornton at 138 pounds, Oxarart and Keaton Poulsen at 145 pounds, Kaden Johnson at 152 pounds, Wyatt Rauch at 160 pounds, Jones at 182 pounds, Joe Riehl at 205 pounds, and Matt Riehl at 285 pounds.
In the first round, only five Panthers wrestled with Armstrong and Oxarart advancing. In the next round, Anderson, Mikesell, Christian Davis, Brown, Armstrong, Oxarart, Johnson, Rauch, Jones and Joe and Matt Riehl advanced. Next up was the quarterfinal round. Advancing was Anderson, Mikesell, Jones and Matt Riehl. This win put them into the semifinals and guaranteed them a spot on the podium and a trip to state.
In the consolation bracket, Supalla, Thornton, Poulsen and Rauch won. The next round of consolation found Christian Davis, Brown, Thornton and Rauch advancing. The final round of the day would determine who would make it to the second day and guarantee a trip to state. In this consolation round, Christian Davis, Brown, Armstrong and Oxarart punched their ticket to state. Jefferson had been in a see-saw battle with Whitehall for the top team in the division. At the conclusion of the first day, Whitehall was in first place with 101.5 points and the Panthers were right behind in second with 99 points.
On the second day the Panthers really got on a roll and jumped out to a sizable lead in the team scores.
Anderson and Mikesell both won to advance into the finals. Christian Davis, Armstrong and Oxarart won in the consolation side of the bracket. Brown was defeated but won his next match to finish in seventh place. In the consolation semifinals, Davis, Armstrong and Jones won to advance. Next up was the consolation placing round with Oxarart and Matt Riehl finishing in fifth place. Armstrong was fourth while Davis and Jones placed third. In the finals both Anderson and Mikesell were defeated to finish second.
In the team race, Jefferson had a 9.5-point lead over Whitehall heading into the finals. The team race came down to the final match at 285 pounds where the Whitehall wrestler was defeated to give the Panthers the team victory. Jefferson would be the champions of the inaugural Western B/C Division with a team total of 175 points. Whitehall finished second with 169.5 points.
Overall Jefferson had eight wrestlers place in the top eight at the Divisional Tournament. By placing in the top eight the Panther wrestlers had earned All-Conference recognition and a trip to state.
Coach’s comments: To see the team wrestle with so much heart and determination was truly inspiring. I felt we had an outside chance to win a trophy, but never imagined we would be the champions. We came out of nowhere and nobody expected us to finish that high. Once again the Panther wrestlers exceeded my expectations and showed the potential that our team has.
