GREAT FALLS — The Great Falls High wrestling team is regularly at or near the top of the Class AA rankings, and this year’s Bison are built to stay there for a long time.
Behind a strong group of underclassmen, the Bison won the Butte Duals earlier this year, placed second at the AA Duals in Great Falls over the weekend and claimed two individual titles at the prestigious Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic in Missoula.
Sophomores Elijah Davis and Ethan Deroche claimed championships at 182 pounds and heavyweight, respectively, which is almost unheard of for a pair of underclassmen.
“We’re used to seeing freshmen and sophomores that are experienced kids coming into the lower weights and do pretty well, that’s a very normal thing,” said Bison coach Steve Komac. “To come into the upper weights and be successful that first year or two is a lot of work. There’s a lot of grown men wrestling up there, a lot of 17- and 18-year-olds.
“We have two sophomores at those upper weights that are very competitive. They’re tough kids, they’re talented kids and they’re doing very well, and that’s a great thing for our program.”
The Bison are eyeing a top-three finish at the State AA tournament, but first there are a few pieces of business left. Great Falls High faces Great Falls CMR in a crosstown clash on Friday night. Then the Bison travel to Bozeman for the Eastern AA seeding tournament next weekend before state in Billings on Feb. 8-9.
