A championship unlike any other

Beeters claim two B-C champs, place all five as a tribute to Jesse Dannels

BILLINGS — Leading up to the All-Class State wrestling tournament in Billings this past weekend, the wrestlers of the Chinook wrestling team vowed to win the Class C state title in honor of Jesse Dannels. And by the time the tournament came to a close, the Sugarbeeters made good on that promise.

In an emotional and inspiring performance over two days at the Rimrock Auto Arena at the Metra, Chinook honored Dannels, who died just days before the tournament was scheduled to start, by capturing its second consecutive Class C state championship. The Beeters won thanks to a team score of 100 points, which was well ahead of second-place finisher Charlo, which managed 47. In the final B-C standings, Chinook also finished an outstanding fifth.

“Not many words can describe it,” Chinook senior Kevin Young said. “We knew what Jesse wanted us to do and we didn’t want to let him down.

“This team is absolutely phenomenal,” Chinook head coach Perry Miller said. “They are an amazing bunch of kids. Jesse was here with us, I could just feel his presence. He was with us in our hearts and in our minds.”

On the opening day of the tournament, the Beeters honored Dannels by wearing T-shirts that sported his name and by carrying a large picture of him over their heads, while they went through the parade of teams, which is the unofficial starting point of the tournament.

Then, after paying tribute to Jesse in the parade, the Beeters did the same on the mat, going 10-1 overall on the first day and getting seven of those wins by pinfall. Tate Niederegger (138 pounds), Jake Norby (152 pounds), Kenny Pruttis (170 pounds) and Young (205 pounds) all worked their way into the semifinals after notching two wins apiece on day one.

While Niederegger, Norby and Pruttis all advanced to the semifinals with ease, Young had to pull a massive upset in order to get there and he did it, he said with an assist from Jesse. Young forced overtime against Merline Whitedirt of Colstip, the top seed in the bracket and after the first session of overtime. Young said he asked his fallen friend for help.

“He helped me win my last one (Friday night),” Young said. "When we went into the second overtime I said, ‘Jesse you gotta help me out here, bud.’ And I got it done.”

Young was able to score an escape point in the extra session and then, starting in the top position, he had to stop Whitedirt from scoring an escape of his own to once again tie the match. Whitedirt got close, but Young held on for dear life and the clock struck zero just in time to send him to the semifinals.

When Saturday rolled around, the Beeters already had the team title locked down, but they were still far from satisfied. Niederegger qualified for the finals for a third time with a 7-3 decision over Nakoda Siegel of Colstrip. Later in the round, Pruttis joined him in the finals by pinning Kyle Milner of Thompson Falls, which was the senior’s third fall in the first three rounds.

“We talked a lot about focus this week,” Miller said. “And I tell you what, they really focused.”

After losing in the semifinals, Norby closed out the tournament by winning his last two matches. In the consolation finals, the senior won a 13-6 decision to finish third and close out his career in style.

“I can’t describe how I feel, it’s probably the greatest feeling of my life,” Norby said. “I am just so happy for myself and for Jesse and for my team. It’s just really emotional. I am kind of speechless. I am glad with what I accomplished and how I was able to end my career.”

When asked what it was like to accept the state trophy without Dannels by his side, Norby said. “It’s overwhelming. It’s happy and it’s sad at the same time, knowing that one of my brothers is not up there with me.”

While Norby finished third, Young lost in the consolation finals to end up fourth. Derek Bell, the only Chinook wrestler who did not make the semifinals, came back to finish fifth by winning four of his last five matches after losing in the first round Friday.

“I wish I could have done better,” Bell said. “But I was proud of the way that I wrestled. I wrestled hard and I wrestled for Jesse. I definitely felt him. Every time I won a match I looked up and smiled and even when I lost, I looked up and smiled. I saw his face everywhere.”

When the finals rolled around, Pruttis capped off an incredible two-day performance by earning a 12-3 major decision over Cut Bank’s Jace Berkram. His three pins also came in an average of just 1:19, which shows just how dominant he was.

“I don’t have any words for how I am feeling,” Pruttis said, “It’s a dream come true. It feels amazing. I had a mission to come here and win it and I did.”

When asked what it felt like to capture the team title for Jesse as he and his teammates promised, Pruttis said. “It feels incredible. I could feel Jesse with me the whole way. I think we all did. And it was a total team effort, we all placed and I couldn’t ask for more.”

Rounding out the magical night and a memorable two days for the Beeters was Niederegger, who captured his second individual title with a 7-0 win by decision over Dawson Peterman of Fairview. The state title also capped a perfect season for the junior, who is simply one of the best wrestlers in the state, regardless of classification.

“Thursday in practice I felt great and Friday morning it just hit me,” Niederegger said. “I could not get out of that slump and I started to get frustrated because I was not wrestling my best. But, I was able to get some sleep and that cleared my mind and I was able to come out and wrestle like I usually do (Saturday).”

While Niederegger was glad to have won his individual title, he also expressed his joy at winning the team title that he and his teammates wanted so badly to honor their friend Jesse.

“It’s crazy to place all five of your guys, especially coming from a small school.” Niederegger said. “Chinook has always been a powerhouse in wrestling in Class C, and we came out and we did what we wanted to. We wanted to win for Jesse.”

CLASS B-C

Team scores – 1, Colstrip 211.5; 2, Eureka 127.5; 3, Choteau 118; 4, Shepherd 106; 5, Chinook 100; 6, Forsyth 89; t-7, Fairfield-Simms 67; t-7, Glasgow 67; 9, Ronan 66; 10, Huntley Project 65; 11, Thompson Falls 60; 12, Whitehall 48.5; t-13, Conrad 47; t-13, Mission-Charlo 47; 15, Malta-Whitewater 45; 16, Cut Bank 43; 17, Townsend 37; t-18, Baker 33; t-18, Plains-Hot Springs 33; 20, Libby-Troy 32.5; 21, Circle 31; 22, Boulder 29; 23, Florence 28; 24, Wolf Point 23; 25, Anaconda 22; t-26, Arlee 18, t-26, Columbus-Absarokee 18; 28, Harlem 15; 29, Broadus 11; t-30, Bigfork 10; t-30, Valier 10; 32, Cascade 7; 33, Poplar 6; 34, Shelby 5.5; t-35, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 4; t-35, Drummond-Philipsburg 4; t-35, Superior 4; 38, Fort Benton-Big Sandy 2; t-39, Great Falls Central 0; t-39, Highwood 0.

Championship

103 – Chase DeBoo, CHOT, p. Buddy Doolin, LIB, 13-4.; 113 – Matt Reyling, GLAS, d. Hunter Peterson, RON, 5-2.; 120 – Jackson Currier, COLS, d. Nathan Weber, FOR, 5-2.; 126 – Michael Weber, FOR, d. Ty Bradley, COLS, 7-1.; 132 – Clayton Currier, COLS, p. James Spence, SHEP, 1:56.; 138 – Tate Niederegger, CHIN, d. Dawson Peterman, F-S, 7-0.; 145 – Jared Neiss, RON, md. Cannan Smith, EUR, 16-6.; 152 – Luke Weber, FOR, p. Travis Tatkenhorst, SHEP, 5:44.; 160 – Taner Stone, CHOT, d. Ben Rauscher, CON, 10-3.; 170 – Ken Pruttis, CHIN, md. Jace Berkram, CB, 12-3.; 182 – Steeler French, CHOT, d. Thayne Hage, COLS, 6-4.; 205 – Hunter Mycke, CON, d. Joe Fehr, EUR, 4-1.; 285 – Jake Sessions, COLS, p. Justin Pfiefer, CB, 1:52.

Third place

103 – David Crowe, TF, p. Dylan Riphenberg, F-S, 2:30.; 113 – Brock Johnson, WHI, p. Kameron Rauser, TOWN, 1:35.; 120 – Quinn Whitmus, WP, p. Lane Bradley, COLS, 2:05.; 126 – Jonathan Schmidt, EUR, d. Trevor Moore, CHOT, 6-4.; 132 – Kaden Moore, M-W, p. Trey Taylor, CIR, 2:57.; 138 – Josh Schmidt, EUR, d. Nakoda Siegel, COLS, 4-3.; 145 – Lane Torgerson, COLS, d. Jake Lil, P-HS, 6-4.; 152 – Jake Norby, CHIN, d. Trent Dennison, M-C, 13-6.; 160 – Spencer Dougherty, SHEP, p. Nate Brunett, BOUL, :32.; 170 – Garrett Graves, EUR, p. Quincy Stormer, CIR, 4:44.; 182 – Jace Pancake, FLO, d. Alex Bertollt, ARL, 6-5.; 205 – Merlin Whitedirt, COLS, d. Kevin Young, CHIN, 4-0.; 285 – Lucas Dekker, SHEP, d. Denver Krone, CHOT, 3-1.

Fifth place

103 – Gabe Hallock, GLAS, p. Garrett Jones, TF, 2:42.; 113 – Parker Snyder, HP, d. Daniel Uli, P-HS, 3-0.; 120 – Connor Johnson, WHI, p. Jack Dolan, Bro, 2:52.; 126 – Trey Simanton, M-W, md. Tyler Groh, BRO, 10-0; 132 – Michael Wark, SHEP, d. Cole Giles, F-S, 4-2.; 138 – Mick Reyling, GLAS, d. Spencer Losing, BAK, 2-1.; 145 – Cody King, GLAS, p. Cory Kistler, HP, 2:37.; 152 – Dixon Walker, HP, def. Billy Raville, C-A, injury.; 160 – Derek Bell, CHIN, d. Isaiah Wohlfeil, HP, 3-2.; 170 – Hunter Blackwell, FOR, d. Kyle Milner, TF, 2-1.; 182 – Gus Bosley, M-C, p. James Slaughter, F-S, 1:38.; 205 – Ben Fujimori, BAK, d. Harley Yoder, BRO, 5-4.; 285 – Ethan Goss-Dickie, M-C, d. Kaelan Yanak, EUR, 5-2.

Chinook Individual Results

138 – Tate Niederegger (State Champion)

1st rd – maj. dec. Spencer Losing, BAK, 9-1; Quarterfinals – dec. Laine Young, LIB, 12-8; Semifinal – dec. Nakoda Siegel, COL, 7-3; Championship – dec. Dawson Peterman, FF, 7-0.

152 – Jake Norby (3rd Place)

1st rd – pinned Tyler Behles, COL, 5:21; Quarterfinals – pinned Trent Dennison, SIG, 2:55; Semifinal – pinned by Luke Weber, FSY, 2:34; Consolation Semis – pinned Dixon Walker, HP, 2:33; Consolation Final – dec. Trent Dennison, SIG, 3-2.

160 – Derek Bell (5th Place)

1st rd – lost dec. Hunter Walker, COL, 9-8; Consolation 1st rd – pinned Levi Garcia, EUR, 2:47; Consolation 2nd rd – pinned Justin Theriault, TOW, 1:50; Consolation 3rd rd – dec. Matt Farrier, BF, 5-2; Consolation Semis – pinned by Nate Brunett, BOU, :28; Fifth-Sixth – dec. Isiah Wohlfiel, HP, 3-2.

170 – Kenny Pruttis (State Champion)

1st rd – pinned Kayden Howser, WIT, 1:31; Quarterfinals – pinned Quincy Stormer, CIR, :33; Semifinals – pinned Kyle Milner, TF, 1:55; Championship – maj. dec. Jace Berkram, CB, 12-3.

205 – Kevin Young (4th Place)

1st rd – pinned Nick Workman, BOU, 1:02; Quarterfinals – dec. Merlin Whitedirt, COL, 6-5; Semifinals – lost dec. Joe Fehr, EUR, 9-7; Consolation Semis – pinned Ben Fujimori, BAK, 2:19; Consolation Final – lost dec. Merlin Whitedirt, COL, 4-0.

Harlem Invidivudal Results

126 – Kolten Bishop

1st rd – pinned by Jonothan Schmidt, EUR, 1:23; Consolation 1st rd – won by fft; Consolation 2nd rd – lost maj. dec. Isaac Ramos, 12-2.

138 – T'Jay Allen

1st rd – lost dec. Mick Reyling, GLA, 4-3; Consolation 1st rd – pinned Robbie Coleman, CLM, :48; Consolation 2nd rd – pinned by Josh Schmidt, EUR, 2:52.

205 – Reece Hutton

1st rd – dec. Dustin Stepper, CLM, 9-7; Quarterfinals – lost maj. dec. Joe Fehr, EUR, 8-0; Consolation 2nd rd – pinned Drayson Hentgertner, BF, 4:25; Consolation 3rd rd – pinned by Mewrlin Whitedirt, COL, 2:40.

HWT – Colten Stiffarm

1st rd – pinned Nathan Rasch, BOL, 3:51; Quarterfinals – pinned by Ethan Goss Dickie, SIG, :47; Consolation 2nd rd – dec. Ray Little Boy, RON, 7-2; Consolation 3rd rd – pinned by Denver Krone, CHO, 3:22.

Chester/J-I Individual Results

145 – Sam Deffinbaugh

1st rd- pinned by Cody King, GLA, :51; Consolation 1st – pinned Colten Getz, COL, 2:00; Consolation 2nd rd – dec. Kameron Powell, SHP, 11-5; Consolation 3rd rd – lost maj. dec. Jake Lile, PLA, 13-2.

Big Sandy Individual Results

160 – Josh Solf

1st rd – pinned by Spencer Dougherty, SHP, 1:29; Consolation 1st rd – pinned by Jesse Herrera, RON, 3:26.