Grapplers take on Bigfoot

by John Hamilton

Eleven youth wrestlers from Thompson Falls competed in the prestigious Bigfoot Battle tournament in Spokane Saturday.

Giving it their best wrestling shots in one of the biggest youth tourneys of any season in the Pacific Northwest, the Thompson Falls 11 competed well but did not come away with many placing medals.

“You have got to be on your game in this tournament, there is just such a high level of competition,” coach Mike Thilmony said. “Even the True Beginner classes are tough in the Bigfoot, we were not disappointed at all by how we did.”

Weston Block grappled in the 10 and Under (10-U) class at 56 pounds and went 0-2, Owen Franck was 1-2 in the 10-U 77 pound class, Paul Sundstrom was 1-2 in the 12-U 63 pound division, Elijah Ratliff went 1-2 in the Middle School-119 class, Max Hannum was 0-2 at MS-125 and Brandon Fisher was 0-2 at MS-250.

In the Beginner classes, Hartleigh Block went 2-1 and finished second out of four contestants at her weight, while Weston Haun, Mason Bartlett, Chase Giegling and Lane Thilmony all went 0-3.

Coach Thilmony said he kept several of the wrestlers overnight in Spokane so they could attend a college tournament Sunday and watch former Thompson Falls wrestling great Kaleb Frank in action.

A redshirt freshman at Northern Montana College in Havre, Frank went 1-2 in exhibition matches at 125 pounds at the Spokane Convention Center, where the Bigfoot Battle was contested the day before.

“It was good for the kids to see that level of wrestling,” Thilmony said, “and for them to get the chance to see and cheer on Kaleb.”

Frank won the State B-C title at 120 pounds, the 16th individual state championship ever won by a Thompson Falls wrestler, in February in Billings.