BILLINGS — Elijah Nose spent three long seasons sitting on and stewing over the state wrestling title he won as a freshman in 2022.
At that point he thought they might come easy. But it wasn’t until Saturday, now as a senior, that Nose got back to the top of the Class A podium, winning the title with a 17-2 tech fall win over Ronan’s Ridge Cote in the 132-pound final at the state tournament at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark.
“It was super difficult having to deal with that pressure,” Nose said. “But that’s how it goes sometimes. You’ve just got to do the best you can and go as hard as you can all the time, and it’ll pay off.”
It paid off in a big way not just for Nose, but also for his fellow Locomotives, who captured their second consecutive team title over the three-day tourney by sending a program-record 13 to the podium — including state champions Nose and Holden Hoiness, who took down Ronan’s Koda King for a 4-1 in overtime at 165.
Laurel finished with 247.5 points, well ahead of second-place Sidney’s 206.5 points and third-place Lockwood’s 174.5.
Results: 2025 Class A boys state wrestling - Day 3
“It was a great weekend for the Locomotives, man,” said longtime coach Ted Hill. “It feels good. We had a little bit more room to breathe than last year, so that felt a little better. We were able to take care of business before our kids got to the finals.
“We created our own destiny, so that makes it a little bit sweeter.”
Elsewhere in Class A, of the three reigning champions looking for consecutive titles only Lockwood’s Dalton Hinebauch pulled the repeat feat, beating Sidney’s Aaron Schmitz 7-0 at 138, to help the Lions to their third-place showing.
But there were others to reach multi-titles other than Laurel’s Nose: Brody Ketterling of Lockwood pinned Pita Fish of Browning at 126 to win a second championship, and Sidney’s Reece Graves won a third crown with a 5-3 decision over Glendive’s Matthew Reske at 144 to aid the Eagles' push.
Meanwhile, Cale Nedens was part of a big weekend for fourth-place Hardin. Nedens — whose dad Chris is a member of the four-timers club, winning titles every year with the Bulldogs from 1998-01 — knocked off returning champ Tahj Wells of Browning with a 6-1 decision in the 150-pound final.
Hardin also got individual championships from Bruno Pallone at 190 and Cody Kills On Top at 285. Pallone had a 17-0 tech fall win over Columbia Falls Rowdy Crump while Kills On Top pinned Havre’s Tommy Lewis in 5:43.
Pallone, who is just a freshman, added to the family trophy case; he is Cale Nedens’ cousin and Chris Nedens’ nephew.
“I’ve been dreaming about this for a long time now,” Pallone said. “I’ve put a lot of hard work and effort into this since my brother (Dante) won it a few years ago. Ever since then I just really wanted to do it.”
Photos: Champions crowned at 2025 state wrestling tournaments
Eighth-grader Jesse Grossman also won a title for the Bulldogs at 103 pounds with a pin in 4:41 over Lockwood’s William Alves.
Also on Saturday, Billings Central reached heights not seen in the program for more than a decade as brothers Kaius and Aramis Rivera both won individual titles. Kaius Rivera earned a 5-0 decision with over Lewistown’s Preston Johnson at 110 and Aramis Rivera topped Laurel’s Konner Heath 9-7 at 118 pounds.
Kaius won his title one weight class ahead of brother Aramis, making him the school’s first champion since George Smith in 2012.
“It’s really just mind-blowing,” Kaius Rivera said. “I wanted myself to win and I knew I could. So when I put my mind to it, I knew.”
Of him and his brother both winning titles, Kaius said: “It’s crazy. I’m just over the moon right now.”
At 157 pounds, Dylan Delorme of Columbia Falls won the title by beating Laurel’s Logan Knaub with a 6-1 decision. At 175, Glendive’s Jaden Silha captured gold with a 4-0 decision over Miles City’s Deegan Tvedt.
At 215, Sidney’s Thor Fulgham pinned Gage Chapman of Havre for the championship. Fulgham also was the Class A tournament’s Quick Pin Award winner, with four falls in 6 minutes, 40 seconds.
