BILLINGS — Within the span of a few minutes, two more names were etched into the record book.
Kalispell Glacier's Teegan Vasquez and Bozeman's Avery Allen each locked up first round pins in the championship round of the State AA wrestling tournament on Saturday at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark to become the 39th and 40th members of the Montana high school four-time wrestling championship club.
Vasquez completed the accomplish first at 132 pounds, pinning Butte High's Kip Pumnea in 1:28 to complete a perfect 30-0 season.
"It's super surreal right now," said Vasquez afterward. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to comprehend winning four right now. I think it's gonna take a few years. Seeing guys compete, seeing guys wrestle to fully get that feeling."
After Belgrade's Carter Schmidt posted a third-round fall over Billings West's Jesse Aarness, it was Allen's turn to take a shot at history at 145 pounds.
The Hawk made quick work of his prey.
Allen delivered a pin over Great Falls' Kale Baumann in 77 seconds to join Vasquez as a four-time champion.
"I'm just grateful for everybody," Allen said. "My coaches, parents, family. All of the opportunities that I got to get to this point. I'm excited to celebrate with family. I'm excited to get to the next step and that I got this one."
In the team race, Billings West used a strong run in the championship round to dethrone two-time defending team champion Kalispell Flathead. The Golden Bears finished with 220.5 points (the Braves with 211) as West secured its first team title since 1994. Great Falls took third with 178 points, Billings Senior was in fourth with 165 and Helena Capital took fifth with 145.5.
The Bears opened the championship round with three straight wins. Makael Aguayo earned a 9-0 major decision over Tristan Vladic at 103, at 113 Zach Morse got an MD over Belgrade's Nolan Brown and at 120 Keyan Hernandez posted a technical fall over Helena Capital's Cashton Spolar. Hernandez, a junior, earned his third-straight state title and next season will be looking for a four-peat.
For full results, click here.
