Nothing but positive

Montana-bred but Iowa-tested.

Five of Thompson Falls' best youth wrestlers competed for Montana teams in a national duals tournament in Des Moines, Iowa last week, and coach Mike Thilmony, who coached one of the teams for Montana in the event, says the experience could not have been any more positive for each and every one of them making the trip.

For those in the know about the sport, Iowa is considered the epicenter of American amateur wrestling, the place where the competition is generally thought to be the toughest in the country. The annual dual tournament draws in teams from all over the U.S. for the top-flight high school and middle school wrestling showcase.

"It was a great experience for all our kids," he said. "They got to compete and hang out with some of the best wrestlers from Montana, and then they got the opportunity to mix it up with some of the other best kids from across the country as well. I am very proud of how they all performed last week."

Three Thompson Falls High School grapplers – Jase Sorenson, Kaleb Frank and Roman Sparks – and two Falls junior high wrestlers – Trae Thilmony and Elijah Ratliff – had earlier earned spots on the Montana team either by invitation or at the Montana AAU tourney, and competed in Iowa.

Sorenson and Frank wrestled for a junior-senior Montana team. Sparks for a freshman-sophomore team, and Thilmony and Ratliff for a Montana middle school team.

Going at his high school fighting weight of 170 pounds, Sorenson went 7-2 in matches in Iowa and was awarded a Silver All-American medal for his efforts. Sorenson finished third in the Montana State B-C tourney in February.

Wrestling up a class from 120 pounds, where he had won the State B-C title earlier this year, Frank suffered a shoulder injury in Iowa, which kept him out for the second day, and finished with a 1-4 record at 126 pounds.

An alternate for a Montana freshman-sophomore team, Sparks went 2-2 in his matches in Iowa.

Wrestling for his dad Mike on Montana's B middle school team, Trae went 5-3 at 105 pounds and was awarded a Bronze All-American medal. An alternate at 105 for the same team, Ratliff was 3-6 in his matches.

"This is nothing but a positive for all these kids," coach Thilmony said. "It is very difficult to win matches in this type of a competition and all our kids did great. It's a real grind out there in every match, and to be able to excel in that environment really says good things about our wrestlers."

Sorenson and Frank only had about a week and a-half to get ready to wrestle after being invited to go by Montana coaches looking for quality wrestlers. Sparks had earned his spot on his team at the AAU tourney last month.

"I am very proud of both for how they performed," Thilmony said of Sorenson and Frank. "I am convinced that either one of them could wrestle at the next level in college if they really wanted to. And this was a good experience for Roman as he will be a sophomore next year and now has a better idea of what he needs to do to be successful."

Trae Thilmony and Ratliff were both members of the Montana B team, and that squad earned a dual with the Montana A team in the match for fifth and sixth in final middle school team standings.

"Having two Montana teams finish in the top eight is a real accomplishment," coach Thilmony offered, "and says something for the quality of wrestling in Montana right now."

Thilmony thanked local businesses Harvest Foods and the Feed and Fuel, and good Samaritan Ron Clark for their contributions to the Iowa trip. He said Clark's donation was totally unsolicited.

"Ron tracked me down and gave me a donation," Thilmony said. "He heard about the team and what we were doing and wanted to help, and we really thank him for that."