Montana's prep wrestling season will soon be locked and loaded until Feb. 15, 2020 as tournaments begin this weekend and conclude the day after Valentine's Day with the state championships at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark.
The biggest tournament on the opening weekend will be held in Sidney Friday and Saturday, where the defending Class A champion Eagles welcome more than 20 programs from around Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho and Washington for the 2019 Sidney Eagle Invitational. Sidney crowned three champions last February -- Aden Graves, Riley Waters and Jett Jones -- while 10 Eagles placed en route to amassing 310.5 team points.
Class A runner-up Havre will host a round robin tournament on Friday with fellow Hi-Line programs like Cut Bank, Chinook, Malta and Chester-Joplin-Inverness signed up to attend. The action continues Saturday with a normal invitational tournament.
Meanwhile, a fair amount of teams will gather in Cascade for the annual Badger Invitational, which creates intriguing matchups each winter.
One year after Montana crowned a trio of four-time state champions -- Colstrip's Jackson Currier, Havre's Martin Wilkie and Forsyth's Michael Weber -- a trio of grapplers will try to add their names to the record books this winter. Belgrade's John Mears won three titles at the Class A level but will have to secure his fourth in Class AA after the Panthers jumped a classification this school year. Bozeman's Leif Schroeder is also a three-time champion and recently committed to wrestle at the University of Iowa.
Frenchtown's Jake Bibler is also a three-time state champion entering the season.
Lewistown's Cooper Birdwell and Eureka's Gunnar Smith, both juniors, seek their third individual gold medals this season.
Twenty-five defending champions return to the mats this season, up from 18 last winter, with Sidney's trio leading the way. Frenchtown (Walker Dyer and Jake Bibler), Colstrip (Rylin Burns and Trey Yates) and Glasgow (Colten Fast and Dylan Nieskens) each return a pair of state champions.
Bozeman, Sidney, Colstrip and Circle won team championships in their respective classifications a year ago, and each has the potential to secure another trophy in February.
Below is a list of the returning state placers from last year’s Montana high school state wrestling tournaments. Athletes are listed by school, place, weight bracket and this season’s class standing. Please feel free to correct any errors you may notice by emailing them to richie.melby@ktvh.com.
2019-20 returning state wrestling placers
Class AA
Belgrade (was Class A last year)
-Oden Currier, 2nd, 126 (sophomore)
-John Mears, 1st, 152 (senior, 3x defending champ)
Billings Senior
-Jalen Vladic, 2nd, 103 (sophomore)
-Matthew DeWitt, 1st, 126 (senior)
-Idren Peak, 5th, 132 (sophomore)
-Thomas Klepps, 6th, 152 (junior)
-Peyton Morton, 4th, 170 (sophomore)
Billings Skyview
-Hunter Ketchem, 6th, 103 (sophomore)
-Gentry Lamb, 5th, 120 (senior)
-Cameron Savaria, 3rd, 138 (junior)
-Austin Ketchem, 5th, 152 (senior)
-Josh Macy, 6th, 160 (senior)
-Brenner Bushfield, 2nd, 182 (senior)
Billings West
-Wyatt Van Pelt, 4th, 103 (senior)
-Drake Rhodes, 1st, 113 (sophomore)
-RJ Lowdog, 3rd, 120 (junior)
-Jaydn Hoff, 3rd, 182 (junior)
Bozeman
-Felix Peterson, 3rd, 113 (sophomore)
-Tayt Rogers, 4th, 120 (senior)
-Tayt Rogers, 4th, 120 (senior)
-Leif Schroeder, 1st, 132 (senior, 3x defending champ)
-Jaiden James, 6th, 132 (senior)
-Brock Rodrigues, 3rd, 145 (senior)
-McCade O'Reilly, 2nd, 205 (senior)
-Kaden Westlake, 5th, 205 (senior)
-Tom Walkup, 2nd, 285 (senior)
-Camren Spencer, 6th, 285 (junior)
Butte
-Keagan Gransbery, 3rd, 103 (junior)
-Keagan Gransbery, 3rd, 103 (junior)
-Kameron Moreno, 1st, 205 (senior)
Great Falls CMR
-Colton Martello, 1st, 103 (sophomore)
Great Falls High
-Dre Coles, 5th, 103 (senior)
-Easton Shupe, 5th, 113 (senior)
-Hayden Azure, 4th, 138 (junior)
-Donovan Mahoney, 6th, 145 (junior)
-Caden Hilliard, 2nd, 152 (senior)
-Tyson Krahe, 6th, 170 (senior)
-Elijah Davis, 1st, 182 (junior)
-Ethan DeRoche, 1st, 285 (junior)
Helena Capital
-Carson DesRosier, 1st, 120 (sophomore)
-Noah Kovick, 3rd, 170 (junior)
-Zane McCormick, 3rd, 205 (senior)
-Josh Lee, 5th, 285 (senior)
Helena High
-none returning
Kalispell Flathead
-Brendan Barnes, 3rd, 126 (senior)
-Fin Nadeau, 2nd, 132 (sophomore)
-Zaybin Stewart, 5th, 160 (junior)
-Paxton Boyce, 5th, 182 (senior)
Kalispell Glacier
-none returning
Kalispell Glacier
Missoula Big Sky
-Isaac Ayers, 6th, 113 (sophomore)
-Carter Johnson, 6th, 120 (sophomore)
-Trevin Welzien, 4th, 132 (senior)
-Hunter Meinzen, 1st, 145 (junior)
-Dougie Swanson, 3rd, 152 (senior)
-Bridger Hall, 4th, 152 (senior, previously at Missoula Hellgate)
-Jett Rebish, 4th, 160 (senior)
-Dougie Swanson, 3rd, 152 (senior)
Missoula Hellgate
-none returning
Missoula Hellgate
Missoula Sentinel
-Blake Jolma, 5th, 145 (junior)
Missoula Sentinel
Class A
Billings Central
-none returning
Billings Central
Browning
-none returning
Browning
Butte Central
-none returning
Butte Central
Columbia Falls
-Thomas Peters, 6th, 132 (senior)
-Allec Knapton, 6th, 170 (junior)
-Taylor Gladeau, 1st, 285 (senior)
-Allec Knapton, 6th, 170 (junior)
Corvallis
-Triston Davis, 6th, 138 (senior)
Corvallis
Dillon
-Noah Huffaker, 2nd, 103 (sophomore)
-Cooper Hoffman, 2nd, 160 (senior)
-Noah Huffaker, 2nd, 103 (sophomore)
Frenchtown
-Landon Stewart, 3rd, 103 (junior)
-Walker Dyer, 1st, 113 (senior)
-Eli Warner, 4th, 113 (junior)
-Jake Bibler, 1st, 120 (senior, 3x defending champ)
-Tate Jones, 5th, 182 (senior)
-Jake Bibler, 1st, 120 (senior)
Glendive
-Nelson Crisafulli, 2nd, 170 (senior)
Glendive
Hamilton
-Bridger Williams, 3rd, 145 (senior)
-Noah Hurst, 4th, 160 (senior)
-Bridger Williams, 3rd, 145 (senior)
Hardin
-Conner Schwend, 5th, 160 (senior)
Hardin
Havre
-Mick Chagnon, 1st, 103 (junior)
-Riley Pleninger, 4th, 103 (sophomore)
-Cameron Pleninger, 2nd, 120 (senior)
-Orion Thivierge, 6th, 145 (sophomore)
-Connor Harris, 3rd, 152 (senior)
-Orion Thivierge, 6th, 145 (sophomore)
Laurel
-Ivan Lee, 6th, 113 (senior)
-Keagan Campbell, 3rd, 138 (senior)
-Cameron Younger, 3rd, 182 (senior)
-Gabe Hernandez, 6th, 285 (junior)
-Cameron Younger, 3rd, 182 (senior)
Lewistown
-Cooper Birdwell, 1st, 126 (junior, 2x defending champ)
-Duane Otto II, 3rd, 160 (senior)
-Landon Farrar, 4th, 182 (junior)
-Duane Otto II, 3rd, 160 (senior)
Libby
-Trey Thompson, 5th, 145 (senior)
-Hunter Hoover, 6th, 152 (sophomore)
-Trey Thompson, 5th, 145 (senior)
Livingston
-none returning
Livingston
Miles City
-Braxton Scheeler, 5th, 113 (senior)
-Damian Leidholt, 2nd, 132 (junior)
-Tyler Harms, 6th, 205 (senior)
-Archie Swift, 5th, 285 (senior)
-Tyler Harms, 6th, 205 (senior)
Polson
-Kedrick Baker, 5th, 120 (senior)
-Logan Adler, 6th, 182 (sophomore)
-Kedrick Baker, 5th, 120 (senior)
Ronan
-Trevor Bartel, 6th, 13 (junior)
-Trapper McAllister, 6th, 126 (junior)
-Trevor Bartel, 6th, 13 (junior)
Sidney
-Kaiden Cline, 2nd, 113 (senior)
-Jordan Darby, 4th, 120 (junior)
-Everett Jensen, 3rd, 126 (senior)
-Aden Graves, 1st, 132 (sophomore)
-Kolton Reid, 4th, 132 (junior)
-Zander Burnison, 2nd, 145 (sophomore)
-Dylan Lutz, 4th, 145 (junior)
-Riley Waters, 1st, 160 (junior)
-Jett Jones, 1st, 182 (senior)
-Brodey Skogen, 4th, 285 (junior)
-Jett Jones, 1st, 182 (senior)
Stevensville
-none returning
Stevensville
Whitefish
-Nathan Sproul, 5th, 103 (junior)
-Dakota Flannery, 5th, 138 (senior)
-Nathan Sproul, 5th, 103 (junior)
Class B-C
Alberton-Superior
-Trey Green, 4th, 182 (senior)
Alberton-Superior
Anaconda
-none returning
Anaconda
Arlee
-none returning
Arlee
Baker
-none returning
Baker
Belt
-none returning
Belt
Bigfork
-none returning
Bigfork
Broadus
-none returning
Broadus
Cascade
-none returning
Cascade
Chester-Joplin-Inverness
-Reubin Swenson, 6th, 285 (senior)
Chester-Joplin-Inverness
Chinook
-none returning
Chinook
Choteau
-none returning
Choteau
Circle
-Krayle Stormer, 1st, 103 (junior)
-Tugg Taylor, 4th, 113 (sophomore)
-Canyon Casterline, 4th, 126 (sophomore)
-Cole Becker, 4th, 132 (junior)
-Canyon Casterline, 4th, 126 (sophomore)
Colstrip
-Zach Valdez, 5th, 120 (sophomore)
-Rylin Burns, 1st, 145 (junior)
-Trey Yates, 1st, 285 (senior)
-Rylin Burns, 1st, 145 (junior)
Columbus
-Weston Timberman, 2nd, 103 (sophomore)
-Tanner Cook, 1st, 113 (senior)
-Brady Ellison, 5th, 113 (sophomore)
-Cooper Cook, 6th, 120 (sophomore)
-Carter Beer, 5th, 285 (senior)
-Cooper Cook, 6th, 120 (sophomore)
Conrad
-Roper Mycke, 2nd, 113 (sophomore)
-Ron Barnhill, 6th, 138 (senior)
-Roper Mycke, 2nd, 113 (sophomore)
Cut Bank
-Andrew Anderson, 4th, 145 (senior)
-Austin Vanek, 3rd, 152 (sophomore)
-Andrew Anderson, 4th, 145 (senior)
Deer Lodge
-none returning
Deer Lodge
Eureka
-Gunnar Smith, 1st, 120 (junior, 2x defending champ)
-Kyle Durden, 3rd, 126 (junior)
-Nathan Schmidt, 2nd, 132 (senior)
-Hank Dunn, 3rd, 145 (senior)
-Nathan Schmidt, 2nd, 132 (senior)
Fairfield
-Miguel Ramos, 3rd, 103 (sophomore)
-Kolter Bouma, 6th, 205 (junior)
-Miguel Ramos, 3rd, 103 (sophomore)
Florence
-Avery Meinzen, 3rd, 160 (senior)
Florence
Forsyth
-Camron Reilly, 3rd, 120 (junior)
-Paden Vannattan, 5th, 160 (sophomore)
-Camron Reilly, 3rd, 120 (junior)
Fort Benton-Big Sandy
-none returning
Fort Benton-Big Sandy
Glasgow
-Colten Fast, 1st, 126 (junior)
-Kaden Zimmerman, 3rd, 138 (senior)
-John Cremer, 4th, 138 (senior)
-Dylan Nieskens, 1st, 170 (junior)
-Mayson Phipps, 3rd, 285 (junior)
-Dylan Nieskens, 1st, 170 (junior)
Great Falls Central
-none returning
Great Falls Central
Harlem
-none returning
Harlem
Huntley Project
-Parker Craig, 6th, 103 (sophomore)
-Clayton Donally, 2nd, 126 (senior)
-Stran Selman, 6th, 170 (sophomore)
-Journey Grimsrud, 2nd, 285 (senior)
-Stran Selman, 6th, 170 (sophomore)
Jefferson
-Leo Anderson, 4th, 103 (sophomore)
Jefferson
Malta
-Callan Mears, 5th, 145 (senior)
Malta
Manhattan
-none returning
Manhattan
Plains-Hot Springs
-none returning
Plains-Hot Springs
Poplar
-Jase Frederick, 6th, 113 (sophomore)
Poplar
Shelby
-none returning
Shelby
Shepherd
-Langdon Smith, 5th, 103 (sophomore)
-Nate Gorham, 2nd, 182 (senior)
-Langdon Smith, 5th, 103 (sophomore)
Simms
-Lane Hinderager, 4th, 205 (junior)
Simms
St. Ignatius-Charlo
-Darwin Adams, 6th, 145 (senior)
-Isaac DuMontier, 6th, 152 (senior)
-Isaiah Alik, 4th, 170 (senior)
-Isaac DuMontier, 6th, 152 (senior)
Thompson Falls
-Trae Thilmony, 3rd, 113 (sophomore)
-Roman Sparks, 2nd, 120 (junior)
-Trae Thilmony, 3rd, 113 (sophomore)
Three Forks
- none returning
Three Forks
Townsend
-Riley Richtmyer, 4th, 120 (sophomore)
-Ty Steele, 4th, 152 (junior)
-Jadon Lamb, 5th, 205 (senior)
-Ty Steele, 4th, 152 (junior)
Valier
-Brett Monroe, 3rd, 205 (senior)
Valier
Whitehall
-Mike Wilkinson, 5th, 132 (senior)
Whitehall
-Mike Wilkinson, 5th, 132 (senior)
