Parker Filius finishes strong season at NCAA championships

It was another successful season for former Havre Blue Pony Parker Filius.

Wrestling as a senior for the Purdue Boilermakers, Filius went 1-2 at the NCAA national championships last weekend in Detroit.

Fillies, who took eighth at the Big Ten Championships, earned his third straight berth to the national tournament, and opened the 141-pound bracket with a victory of No. 20 seed Ian Parker of Iowa State. Fillies won by major decision, 13-5 to advance to the second round, where he dropped an 8-0 major decision to Real Woods of Stanford. Woods was the No. 4 seed in the bracket.

On Friday morning, Filius lost a heartbreaker in the second round of the consolation bracket. Against Central Michigan’s Dresden Simon, Filius lost a tough, 8-7, decision.

Still, it was a great season for the former four-time state champion as he had 22 wins and rose to as high as No. 13 in the NCAA rankings.

Though he was a red-shirt senior this season, Filius can opt for his COVID-19 year and come back to compete for the Boilers next fall.

The NCAA tournament ran through Saturday night, with the Penn State Nittany Lions being crowned national champions.