Flathead Wrestlers Off to Strong Start

Defending state champion Kalispell Flathead won the Mining City Duals with a 42-27 victory over Butte on Saturday.

The Flathead girls program also had a strong showing, winning the Flathead Invitational on Saturday.

Flathead, which won the inaugural girls wrestling state championship in February at Lockwood High School, finished first over the weekend with 254.5 points. Billings Senior, the state runner-up last season, was second with 209. Billings Skyview and Kalispell Glacier tied for third with 147, Butte was fifth with 65 points, and Billings West tied for sixth with Cut Bank at 58 points.

Overall, approximately 150 girls were entered in the tourney at Flathead said Braves boys coach Jeff Thompson, who also oversees the girls program at Flathead. There were 15 schools that tallied team points at the event.

“It was a great weekend for Flathead wrestling and it was just a great place to start,” said Thompson. “We have some things to work on and a lot of pieces of the puzzle to put together. We are very proud of this team.”

In two stints as head coach, Thompson has guided the Flathead boys to seven state championships and last year the girls team claimed the state title.

One thing that stands out for Thompson is the difficulty in winning the MCD team championship.

“For Flathead, we have had a lot of success, but the Mining City Duals has always been a challenge for us for so many reasons,” he said. “For all the years I’ve been coaching, this is only the second time we’ve won the Mining City Duals. It means a lot to me, the program and the kids. It’s neat to start the season and do well in a team aspect instead of an individual tournament. That’s really special.”

While Thompson was coaching the boys team in Butte along with two other Braves coaches, he said Amber Downing, Sully Sullivan and AJ Burnham were at the Flathead gym coaching the girls. Another two Braves Brawlers coaches were in Kellogg, Idaho, coaching the JV boys team.

The sport of girls wrestling continues to grow said Thompson.

“The numbers were just outstanding. It just shows the growth of girls wrestling in the state of Montana,” he said. “It was ran really smooth. A lot of the old-time wrestling fans came out of the woodworks from the Flathead Valley to go watch. It’s an amazing sport, being enjoyed by not just the boys but girls now. It was a lot of exciting matches and a touch of what the state tournament will be. A lot of teams were there. It was very, very cool.”

As for the boys competition, Thompson said, the Braves, state-runner-up Senior, West and Butte all appear to be early-season favorites.

West was fourth at state last year and Butte fifth.

“It will be a super fun state tournament and we look forward to the competition. And Butte, they were the big surprise. Not many people besides Butte fans and the Butte wrestling program anticipated them to be in the finals. They are solid and go to battle and are a very well-rounded team.

“It has been so many years since you had two West-side teams in the finals of the Mining City Duals. Historically, some people might say the East side is more wrestling tough in the state, but this showed the West side can compete, too.”

The Kalispell boys will compete in the Tri-State in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Friday and Saturday and the girls team and JV boys will go to the Best of the West in Pasco, Washington, this weekend. On Jan. 7-8, 2022, the Brave Brawlers will compete in Boise, Idaho.

“We are going to go find the competition,” Thompson said. “We fundraise a lot of money and want our kids to get beat and find the competition. That is the only way to learn and get better. … We need to find a way to get those battles in before the state tournament.”