GREAT FALLS — In four short days, we’ll be dancing at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark in Billings for your all-class state wrestling tournaments. Monday morning, the Montana High School Association released the brackets for every weight in every classification.
The Class AA 145-pound bracket sets up nicely for Great Falls CMR’s Kai Stewart, the only defending champ from the Electric City, who hopes to cap his career with his second state wrestling title.
Stewart wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern AA with a win over Bozeman’s Brock Rodruigues with a 7-6 extra period ultimate tiebreaker decision. Stewart had lost to Rodruigues twice earlier this season, but had plenty of incentive to come out on top.
“It’s huge. He and I go back and forth, and it’s a fun match to have,” Stewart said. “He’s tough, and I’ve actually come up on the losing end of that match all year. The win puts me on the opposite side of the bracket of Brock and (Missoula Big Sky’s) Hunter Meinzen, and we’ve been (ranked Nos. 1, 2 and 3) all year long.
“Really, I just have to wrestle smart and wrestle well, put a smile on my face and make it to the state finals again.”
Stewart is committed to wrestle for Minot State in college.
