(Editor’s note: MTN Sports began recognizing some of the best wrestlers in Montana history on Jan. 16 with the launch of the #MTTop20. Athletes will continue to be featured until Friday, Feb. 10 when No. 1 is unveiled.)
Top 20 rankings: No. 20 – Jarrett Degen; No. 19 – Luke Weber, No. 18 — Ben Stroh, No. 17 — Curtis Owen, No. 16 — Chris Currier, No. 15 — Chris Nedens, No. 14 — Kyle Smith, No. 13 — Jade Rauser, No. 12 — Scott Barrett, No. 11 — Gary Albright, No. 10 — Turk Lords, No. 9 — Larry Quisel, No. 8 — Tyrel Todd, No. 7 — Reese Andy., No. 6 — Matt Ruppel, No. 5 — Emmett Willson, No. 4 — Brandon Eggum, No. 3 — Mike Zadick, No. 2 — Bill Zadick.
Friday morning before the all-class state wrestling tournament begins in Billings, MTN Sports will unveil the greatest wrestler in Montana’s history.
After hours of phone calls and text messages exchanged with coaches, past and present, we will unveil the top wrestler the state has ever seen.
So many athletes were mentioned in the conversations with coaches, wrestlers and referees that we wanted to present an honorable mention list. The wrestlers listed to the honorable mention could be placed in the Top 20 and no one would think twice.
Below is a list of every athlete mentioned by wrestling coaches and enthusiasts from across Montana that did not make the #MTTop20.
#MTTop20 Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order)
Jeff Anderson
Wade Ayala
Brian Bolton
Mickey Cheff
T.J. Campbell
Jim Darlington
Eric Dunmire
Toby Erickson
Ralph Ertz
Scott Filius
Kyle Fisher
Michael French
Glen Jarrett
Jake Kallestad
Bill Krum
Mike Leinwand
John Mecham
Cole Mendenhall
Chris Nile
Elvan Pasha
Duane Olson
Pat Owen
Caleb Schaeffer
Trent Sprenkle
Randy Street
Jeff Thompson
Burke Tyree
Jesse Young
Zach Zimmer
