For the second year in a row, the Flathead Brawlers swept the Class AA boys and all-class girls state wrestling titles. The boys title is the fourth for Flathead in the last six years, which included back-to-back wins in 2017 and 2018 as well, and the program’s 11th overall.
“I would be lying if I told you we were not feeling the pressure this year at state due to such a great regular season,” said Flathead head wrestling coach Jeff Thompson. “State was the like the ultimate adrenaline ride. This team seemed to really thrive under the pressure and we had some amazing highs but also come challenging lows.”
After the first day of competition, Flathead held a 164-151 lead over Billings Senior, last year’s runner-up. With a typically strong performance in the consolation rounds and with five wrestlers into the finals, the Braves stretched out their lead enough to hold off the Broncs 289-270, a slightly more comfortable margin than last year’s 247-239.5 last match victory.
“We had a great placing round to get us the points we needed to just be able to sit back and actually enjoy the finals,” Thompson said.
The Braves’ lone individual champion was senior Fin Nadau, who won a 5-3 decision over Big Sky’s Izzy Moreno at 145 pounds.
“I was ready to get that state title finally,” Nadau said, after finishing runner-up the last three years. “It’s the best feeling ever.”
“Seeing Fin finally getting the ‘W’ after all the sacrifice and hard work he has put into this crazy sport was absolutely amazing,” Thompson said.
The Braves had four runner-up wrestlers who ended up just short of a title in Gabe Lake (160), Anders Thompson (170), Noah Poe-Hatten (182) and Chase Youso (205).
Flathead’s other placers were Davin Naldret (third at 103), Aiden Downing (fourth at 113), Diesel Thompson (sixth at 120), Raenan Allumbaugh (fifth at 132), Asher Kemppainen (fourth at 138), Cade Troupe (sixth at 152), Mason Doran (fifth at 170), Sawyer Troupe (fifth at 182) and Forest Howell (fifth at 285).
Last year the Flathead girls team made history by winning the inaugural state championship — this year they made history as the first team to repeat as champions. The team all but had the tournament sealed after Friday night’s session.
“Flathead girls wrestling right now is on a different level from the rest of the state,” Thompson said. “We felt our girls just got exposed to so much tougher competition throughout the regular season by going to regional and out-of-state competitions, and that helped them dominate at the state meet.”
Similar to the boys team, the Flathead girls only had a single individual champion, but had seven wrestlers finish in the top six, scoring 205 points over Billings Senior’s 157. Skyview was third in 115.5.
Hania Halverson also made history as the program’s first individual champion and was the tournament’s quick-pin winner with five pins in 6:36. She needed just 55 seconds of her final match to secure the title over Sidney’s Keela Kary.
“The girls were just flat out tough this weekend with fantastic performances up and down the line,” Thompson said. “Seeing this girls team at such a different level was such an endorphin high.”
Another huge highlight came from Kalispell’s other high school. Glacier’s Teegan Vasquez won his third state championship after moving up to 132 pounds.
Vasquez’s tournament was as close to flawless as his first two. He won his first two matches by fall, then took an 8-1 decision in the semifinal before downing Billings Senior’s Idren Peak in the final. Vasquez comes from a family of decorated wrestlers, as his older sister Tilynne was a two-time state placer and older brother Trae was a two-time champion for Flathead.
“I’m definitely already thinking about next year,” Vasquez told 406mtsports.com after his final match. “I was thinking about three, but now I’m definitely thinking about how I can better myself.”
Only 37 wrestlers have completed four-peats in Montana’s history, and if he pulls it off, Vasquez would be the eighth Class AA grappler to do so since the turn of the century.
“He’s just the total package with the combination of athleticism, technical skill and mindset,” Glacier coach Ross Dankers said of Vasquez. “He’s also an outstanding individual off the mat with the way he lives his lifestyle and how he treats people.”
Overall the Glacier boys finished ninth in the tournament with 74.5 points.
On the girls side for the Wolfpack, Brooke Yeadon was the highest placing finisher with a runner-up finish at 103. Along with Audrey Goodsell, (sixth) Yeadon helped Glacier finish fourth overall.
In the Class A action, Columbia Falls’ Justin Windaur improved on his second-place finish a year ago. Windaur won his first three matches by fall before securing the individual title by outlasting Miles City’s Curry Brown in an 8-4 decision.
Columbia Falls finished eighth overall in the team title.