George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor
gferguson@havredailynews.com
BILLINGS - The Harlem Wildcats wrestling team hasn't enjoyed a lot of success over the years, at least on the state tournament level. Saturday afternoon at the Class B-C state tournament in Billings, Harlem finally had something to smile about.
The Wildcats had two wrestlers reach the consolation finals, led by 98-pounder Chase Dirden. Dirden, who lost in the semifinal round to eventual state runner-up Jake Trujillo of Arlee, bounced back to defeat Shawn Bykonen of Shelby for third place.
Dirden's win was as dramatic as they come at the state tournament. Trailing almost the whole way, Dirden reversed Bykonen late in the third period and then earned a pinfall with one second remaining in the match. The win gave the Wildcats their first trip to the medal stand in quite some time.
The fun and excitement didn't end with Dirden either. Harlem's 105-pounder, Zach Snider, fought his way back through the consolation brackets after losing in the quarterfinals to finish in fourth place.
After losing in the quarters, Snider won three matches to reach the consolation final. Included in that run was a win over rival Cameron Overcast of Chinook. In the consolation final, Snider's exciting run came to a heartbreaking end with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Quinn Olson of Colstrip.
As a team, the Wildcats finished in 16th place with 49.5 points, all coming from Dirden and Snider.
The Chinook Sugarbeeters didn't fare as well this weekend in Billings. The Beeters finished the meet with 36 points, which put them in 23rd place overall.
Chinook's Brandon Zarn had an outstanding indivudual state tournament. He reached the 112-pound semifinals, where he lost to eventual state champion Ryan Leonard of Cascade-Simms. Zarn rebounded to defeat Doug Aberle of Colstrip in the consolation semifinals and Kyle Dosland of Whitehall in the consolation final. Zarn's 5-3 win over Dosland for third place was Chinook's only medal on the weekend.
The Beeters got good showings from Matt Finley, who reached the 125-pound quarterfinals, and Mike Miller, who got to the 215-pound quarters before losing. Overcast was also a quarterfinalist.
Other Hi-Line teams also struggled in the B-C ranks. The Chester/J-I Hawks scored two points in Billings and the Big Sandy Pioneers scored one.
The Conrad Cowboys claimed their fourth straight Class B-C state championship by scoring 184.5 points and crowning four individual champions. Huntley Project finished second. The District 2B had a very strong showing at the tournament, with Malta finishing third and Glasgow fourth.
Class B-C
Team Scores
Conrad, 184.5; Huntley Project, 152.0; Malta, 126.0, Glasgow 112.0, Choteau-Augusta, 103.5; Cascade-Simms, 93.0; Cut Bank, 91.0; Colstrip, 79.0; Arlee, 77.0; Thompson Falls, 77.0; Baker, 75.0; Shepherd, 71.0; Shelby, 69.5; Fort Benton, 65.0; Fairfeild-Power, 51.0; Harlem, 49.5; Columbus-Absarokee, 49.0; St. Ignatius-Charlo, 45.5; Deer Lodge, 45.0; Broadus-St. Labre, 41.0; Eureka 39.5; Chinook, 36.0; Poplar, 27.0; Whitehall-Twin Bridges, 26.0; Townsend, 16.0; Wolf Point, 14.0; Circle, 11.0; Darby, 10.0; Florence-Carlton, 10.0; Superior, 10.0; Plains-Hot Springs, 8.0; Valier, 4.0; Boulder, 2.5; Chester-Joplin-Inverse, 2.0; Forsyth-Hysham, 2.0; Big Sandy, 1.0; Noxon, 1.0.
Championship Matches
98 - S. Schlosser, CON, d. J. Trujillo, ARL, 3-0; 105 - J. Giard, CON, d. M. Hojem, TFS, 11-7; 112 - R. Leonard, CAS, p. B. Gernaat, CON, :32; 119 - J. Harrison, CBH, p. N. Walston, COL, 5:49; 125 - D. Isakson, CHO, d. J. Santos, ARL, 5-3; 130 - L. Pattison, GLA, md. T. Lightner, CHO, 14-2; 135 - D. Eder, POP, d. T. Troutman, HPH, 4-2; 140 - T. Zemple, CON, d. T. Gilfeather, SHP, 6-3; 145 - P. O'HAire, CAS, d. W.Williams, BRO, 7-3; 152 - T. Zemple, CON, d. M. Kittleson, GLA, 12-6; 160 - M. French, MAL, d. S. Shaules, SHP, 12-6; 171 - B. Decock, HPH, d. J. Boseley, STI, 4-0; 189 - T. French, MAL, d. A. Calvi, CBH, 8-6; 215 - C. Demarais, MAL, d. J. Bloom, HPH, 11-4; Hwt - B. Hastig, BAK, d. A. Sanders, TFS, 3-1.
Consolation Finals
98 - C. Dirden, HRM, p. S. Bykonen, SHE, 4:59; 105 - Q. Olson, CLS, d. Z. Snider, HRM, 2-1; 112 - B. Zarn, CHK, d. K. Dosland, WHL, 5-3; 119 - C. Cornwell, BAK, md. J. Moran, WPT, 14-3; 125 - E. Black, CBH, d. P. Clark, CAS, 7-4; 130 - J. Schlosser, CON, d. J. Ewen, HPH, 9-3; 135 - C. Johnson, CON, tf. W. Bagley, BAK, 19-2; 140 - S. Lyons, TFS, d. T. Wanken, SHE, 2-0; 145 - G. Paine, EUR, d. Madel, CHO, 7-2; 152 - R. Mosher, p. B. Brown, DLG, 1:32; 160 - A. LeFurgey, FTB, d. B. Thacker, SHE, 7-0; 171 - T. May, FRF, p. W. Williams, BRO, 1:16; 189 - R. Oblander, HPH, md. J. Miller, COL, 8-0; 215 - L. Tweet, FTB, p. N. Beck, BAK, :44; Hwt - E. Tweet, FTB, d. L. Sims, MAL, 2-1.
Semifinals
98 - J. Trujillo, ARL, d. C. Dirden, HRM, 3-0; S. Schlosser, CON, p. C. Vermulm, CBH, 2:26; 105 - M. Hojem, TFS, d. C. Benjamin, DLG, 8-6; J. Giard, CON, p. C. Lightner, CHO, 2:11; 112 - R. Leonard, CAS, p. B. Zarn, CHK, 5:31; B. Gernaat, CON, d. K. Dosland, WHL, 4-2; 119 - N. Walston, COL, d. J. Moran, WPT, 8-1; J. Harrison, CBH, d. S. Brown, CLS, 6-2; 125 - J. Santos, ARL, p. E. Black, CBH, 5:42; D. Isakson, CHO, tf. C. Lytle, ARL, 18-2; 130 - L. Pattison, GLA, md. J. Halmes, CAS, 14-1; T. Lightner, CHO, d. J. Ewen, HPH, 7-1; 135 - D. Eder, POP, d. E. May, FRF, 4-1; T. Troutman, HPH, d. W. Bagley, BAK, 4-0; 140 - T. Gilfeather, SHP, d. S. Lyons, TFS, 7-6; T. Zempel, CON, p. G. Buer, HPH, 5:28; 145 - W. Williams, BRO, p. G. Paine, EUR, 1:39; P. O'Haire, CAS, d. C. Plouffe, GLA, 3-0; 152 - M. Kittleson, GLA, d. B. Brown, DLG, 7-2; T. Zempel, CON, d. R. Mosher, CHO, 7-2; 160 - M. French, MAL, p. J. Whetzel, ARL, 1:48; S. Shaules, SHP, p. A. LeFurgey, FTB, 1:29; 171 - J. Bosley, STI, d. C. Rauscher, GLA, 10-3; B. Decock, HPH, p. T. May, FRF, 3:29; 189 - T. French, MAL, p. C. Nagle. CIR, 1:50; A. Calvi, CBH, d. R. Oblander, HPH, 6-4; 215 - C. DeMarais, MAL, p. N. Beck, BAK, 4:35; J. Bloom, HPH, p. L. Tweet, FTB, 3:58; Hwt - A. Sanders, TFS, d. E. Tweet, FTB, 4-3; B. Hastig, BAK, d. C. Hill, GLA, 5-2.
