Blue Pony wrestling starts strong at state

After being gone for nearly two years, the All-Class State tournament has finally returned to the Metra in Billings. On Friday, some teams started strong while others faltered out the gate. The Havre High wrestling team began competition on Friday and wrestled well as they stood second in the Class A behind Sidney heading into Saturday.

“We had a good start. We had a good first round and got some bonus points,” HHS head coach Beau LaSalle said. “The kids are wrestling well and a lot of wrestling to be done and hopefully we can put it together tomorrow.”

Several Blue Ponies had strong performances on Friday. Of the 13 wrestlers that made it to state, seven of them advanced to Saturday’s semifinals. Senior Orion Thivierge, who wrestles in the 170-pound weight class and is looking to win his third straight state title, went 2-0 in his matches on Friday.

In the first round, Thiveriege pinned Hamilton’s Noah Guisinger just 13 seconds into the match. In the quarterfinal, he won by fall 32 seconds into a match against Easton DeJong from Miles City to advance to Saturday’s semifinal.

At 182 pounds, Kale VanCampen also wrestled well on Friday for the Ponies. After a bye to open the tournament, VanCampen won by fall 1:24 into his match against Lockwood’s Nathan Arthur.

The Ponies had a pair of wrestlers perform in the 205-pound weight class. In the first round, senior Randy Tommerup won by pin 5:08 into his match against Trevor Lewis from Hamilton. In the quarterfinal, Tommerup won, 5-2, against Lyom Bullard from Livingston. Pierce Caplette started the tournament with a pin 2:40 into his match against Cadogan Wheat from Hamilton. He then won by pin 3:12 into his match against Hardin’s Keyon Fisher to advance to the semifinals.

At 138 pounds, Tristian Stygles wrestled well on Friday. In his first match, he won by pin 5:47 into his match against Quentin Campos from Browning. In the quarterfinal, Stygles won by fall 4:45 into the match against Jason Davis from Corvallis.

Reinhardt Bold also advanced to the semifinals for the Ponies. After he won by forfeit against Rowdy Crump from Columbia Falls, Bold won, 6-3, against Miles Wells from Hardin in the quarterfinal. At 152 pounds, Riley Pleninger started the day winning, 11-2, for a major decision over Joey Wise from Libby. Pleninger then won, 5-4 against Owen Younger from Laurel. It was a strong start to the tournament for the Ponies and LaSalle hopes that it put the other teams on notice.

“I think we surprised some people but it hasn’t really surprised us,” LaSalle said.

While not every Pony made it to the semifinals, several others won their matches. In his first match at 113 pounds, Matthew Lemer won by pin against Prestin Connelly from Browning. In a consolation match, Lemer won, 17-2, for a technical fall over Cash Byrd from Columbia Falls.

At 120 pounds, Carson Harris won his first match with a pin against Sean Davis from Corvallis. In a consolation match, Harris won by injury default against Marley Erickson from Libby. In the first round, Kendall Pleninger pinned Trey Torpen from Columbia Falls at 160 pounds. In a consolation match, he then pinned David Sharp from Browning.

In its first state tournament in Billings, the Havre High girls wrestling team competed on Friday. At 205 pounds, Aliyah Stiffarm won by pin 1:36 into her match against Ashlee Wilcox from Butte. Stiffarm then advanced to state after pinning Lucille Libby from Flathead 51 seconds into the quarterfinal.

Several other wrestlers on the HHS girls wrestling team won matches on Friday. At 120 pounds, Brooklyn Nelson pinned Lewistown’s Salome Legast to start the tournament. In a consolation match at 132 pounds, Maleigha Fuzesy won in a tie breaker for a 9-8 win over Averie Mattson from CJI. In a consolation match at 205 pounds, Clara Laird pinned Paige Hermann from Flathead.

Several other Hi-Line teams competed on Friday. The Fort Benton Longhorns started competition on Friday with Brock Hanford advancing to the semifinals. In his first match at 285 pounds, he won by pin 1:24 into the match against Arie Mclaughlin from Florence-Carlton. In the quarterfinal, Hanford pinned Eureka’s Riley Hume 4:54 into the match.

Some other Longhorns won matches on Friday. At 113 pounds, Trevor O’Hara won, 15-7, for a major decision over Conrad’s Logan VanDyke. In a consolation match, he pinned Eureka’s Poncho Ibanez. In a consolation match at 126 pounds, Teagn Reimer pinned Boulder’s Reed Zander. In a consolation match at 182 pounds, Colter Ball pinned Deago Hostetler from St. Ignatius. In a consolation match at 205 pounds, Damian Ort pinned Choteau’s Jacob Major.

Chinook’s Tyler Schoen also advanced to the semifinals. In his first match at 170 pounds, Schoen won by pin 23 seconds into his match against Chase Woodson from Superior. In the quarterfinal, Schoen won, 5-0, against Canyon Sargent from St. Ignatius.

Some other Sugarbeeters won their matches on Friday. In a consolation match at 145 pounds, Lane Snider won, 16-0, for a technical fall over Taylin Johannesen from Malta. In a match at 285 pounds, Chinook’s Wyatt Dunbar won by pin 44 seconds into a match against Isaac Lauver from Fairfield.

Some other girl wrestlers from the Hi-Line competed on Friday. Chinook’s Ryley Hofedt wrestled well at 132 pounds after losing her first match of the day. In her first consolation match, she pinned Raimey Hull from Flathead. She then pinned Havre’s Fuzesy. Hofedt ended the night with a pin against Paige Gershmel from Billings Senior. CJI’s Savannah Riggin won her first match at 120 pounds with a pin against Trinity Bolvin from Flathead. She then pinned Emily Pedron from Glacier. In a consolation match, Riggin pinned Isabel Hansen from Billings Skyview.

The Harlem girls team also had several wrestlers do well to start the tournament. At 113 pounds, Izzy Baker pinned Hardin’s Anastasia Saldana in a consolation match. In a consolation match at 126 pounds, Kaitlyn Johnson pinned Ashlynn Kistenmacher from Roundup. At 145 pounds, Amilia Blackcrow won her first two matches of the day with pins. In a consolation match, she pinned Natalka Rolfson from Billings Senior. In a consolation match at 152 pounds, Ihte Stiffarm pinned Havre’s Angelina Caplette.

The All-Class State Tournament will continue on Saturday at the Metra. With a chance to place high in the tournament, LaSalle wants to see the Ponies leave everything on the mats.

“I hope we) wrestle free and leave it all out there,” LaSalle said. “It’s the last day of the tournament, last day of the season and we just want to get kids on the podium.”