Jefferson High’s wrestling squad headed north for three full days of competition last weekend — first to Cascade for a mixer on Jan. 4, then on to Cut Bank for a tough two-day tournament.
The Panthers fielded a robust team for the trip: Spencer Abbott at 103 pounds, Russell Douglas at 113, Dylan Mikesell and Maysa LaFromboise at 120, Leighton LaFromboise and Nik Richard at 126, Dayton Brown, Megan Anderson and Mason Mikesell at 132, Blake Nordlinder and Steven Agge at 138, Cooper Mikesell, Jeyce Sullivan and Drake Butala at 145, Mike Richard at 152, Andrew Rodriguez at 170, Cole Christoferson at 182, Brady Armstrong, Dylan Stevens and Brayden Tarr at 205 and Kolbe Michaud at 285.
In Cascade, Jefferson got wins from Abbott, Dylan and Cooper Mikesell, Leighton LaFromboise, Brown, Agge, Sullivan, Armstrong, Stevens and Michaud. Then, it was back on the bus to Cut Bank, where they would be one of 26 teams competing, including several Class AA and A schools.
All but two Panther wrestlers advanced past the first round. And in the second, Abbott, Douglas, Maysa LaFromboise, Dylan and Cooper Mikesell, Brown, Anderson, Agge, Rodriguez, Armstrong and Michaud advanced — a strong early showing.
Next up were the quarterfinals, where wins would assure spots on the podium. Brown, Dylan and Cooper Mikesell and Armstrong won their matches, moving them into the semifinals. In the consolation bracket, Mason Mikesell, Nik and Mike Richard, Nordlinder, Sullivan and Christoferson were eliminated, while Leighton LaFromboise and Butala claimed victory and advanced. All told, Jefferson qualified 15 wrestlers for the second day of competition and racked up 86.5 points, good for third place.
After a stellar first day, however, wins proved elusive on Saturday. In the day’s first consolation round, Leighton LaFromboise, Agge, Butala and Tarr lost, eliminating them from the tournament. In the next consolation round Abbott, Douglass, Maysa LaFromboise and Rodriguez were eliminated, as well.
This left just three Panthers in the third consolation round, where a win would put them into the top six. Here, Anderson and Stevens were eliminated, but Michaud won to ensure a spot on the awards podium.
In the main bracket, Dylan Mikesell and Brady Armstrong won by convincing pins to advance to the championship. And Cooper Mikesell was victorious in the consolation semifinals where Cooper Mikesell found victory. Dayton Brown was injured in his final match on Friday and did not wrestle in the semifinals — but his quarterfinal win gave him a sixth-place finish.
In the finals Dylan Mikesell lost a close match to finish second, but Armstrong was crowned champion at 205 pounds. In the placing matches, Michaud finished sixth and Cooper Mikesell finished fourth.
As a team, Jefferson finished the tournament with 136.5 points, enough for 5th place. Coach’s comments: The team wrestled 119 matches this week against very tough competition. We wrestled very well on Thursday and Friday but struggleed on Saturday. When the competition stiffened, the inexperience of our young team showed — but the athletes are stepping up to the challenge and gaining confidence.
Brady Armstrong was selected as the JHS Panther Wrestler of the week. He was a perfect 6-0 over the weekend, with all but one win by pin. Brady completely dominated his opponents at the Cut Bank Tournament and showed that he is a title contender.
Spencer Abbott and Nik Richard shared the Quick Pin of the Week by dispatching their opponents in 25 seconds during the Cut Bank Tourney.
Jefferson will face another tough test when they compete Jan. 12 and 13 at the Choteau Classic Tournament, featuring over 25 Class B and C schools.
