KALISPELL — The Kalispell Flathead boys and girls wrestling teams dominated on their home mats at the Western AA seeding tournament on Saturday.
The Braves scored 332.5 points. Butte was second with 279.5, followed by Missoula Sentinel with 236.5.
Kellen Downing (118 pounds), Diesel Thompson (126), Hunter Arriaga (132), Daniel Evert (138) and Loki Bigras (175) each placed first to lead Flathead's boys.
Downing is Class AA's top-ranked wrestler at 118 pounds and had little trouble at the seeding tournament, defeating Helena Capital's Wyatt Shull by tech fall in the first-place match. Downing appears to be on a collision course with second-ranked Zach Morse of Billings West, the only wrestler who will be gunning for a fourth individual state championship next week.
Thompson scored a 17-9 major decision over Jayce Kolendich of Missoula Sentinel in the 126 final; Evert defeated Butte's Ryder McEwen 12-6 at 138; and Bigras earned a 15-4 major decision of teammate Clifford Nance in the 175-pound championship bout.
Arriaga, meanwhile, earned a tight 14-13 win over Cashton Spolar of Capital in the 132-pound final.
On the girls side, the Bravettes scored a whopping 363.5 points. Missoula Big Sky was second with 184.5, and Butte was third with 178.
Juliette Cuevas (105 pounds), Kiera Lackey (135) and Aspen Smart (190) won individual titles for Flathead's girls, who also had eight wrestlers place second.
Cuevas won her final with a pin of teammate Danica Hennell, while Lackey pinned Big Sky's Skadi Smith and Smart pinned Butte's Rylee Radcliffe.
For full results, visit trackwrestling.com.
The Class AA state wrestling tournament begins Thursday, Feb. 13, at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark in Billings.
