Thilmony finishes an All-American

Fresh off the heels of a third state championship, wrestler Trae Thilmony can add All-American to his list of achievements. The Thompson Falls senior finished fourth in the 2022 NHSCA High School National tournament last weekend.

Thilmony and sophomore Max Hannum attended the three-day tournament in Virginia Beach. "It was fun. It was good competition. Everyone there is trying to wrestle at the next level," Trae said upon returning from Virginia. "It reminds me of how you're like the big fish here in a little pond. There it's just a bunch of big fish in a little pond," he added. "Everyone was tough."

At NHSCA Nationals, Thilmony started the tournament with two pins in the 145-pound bracket. He then won a 9-8 decision by getting an escape in the last three seconds to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. There he wrestled a state champion from Rhode Island and won 5-4. In the semifinals, Thilmony wrestled the eventual national champion. "I wanted to win that match for sure and have a chance at the title, but he took me down right off the bat. He did the same thing to his opponent in the finals," Thilmony said. In the consolation semifinals, Thilmony met a state champion from Georgia and won another close 1-0 match. In the finals, he lost to "a tough kid from Tennessee," he noted. "He was being me in all areas. He dominated me."

Hannum went 1-2 at nationals in the 160-pound bracket, with all three matches within two points. After losing his first match, Hannum came back to win his first consolation match in overtime. "Max wrestled three two-point matches," Coach Mike Thilmony, who accompanied the wrestlers to Virginia along with Max's father Zach. "It shows him that he can compete at a high level. Max gained a lot. That will help him progress next year." Hannum's final match he lost 4-2 to a wrestler from Washington. Ironically, Hannum had previously wrestled the Washington student in Little Guy wrestling.

Montana was represented by 21 wrestlers in Virginia. "Overall Montana had a very good tournament down there," Coach Thilmony said, adding that six Montanans made it to the podium "It's a big way for Trae to end his high school career. It's not an easy thing to do." Mike Thilmony wrestled in the NHSCA National tournament in 1992 for Montana. Back then, the tournament only accepted seniors who finished in the top two in their respective state. Now the tournament is open to freshmen through seniors from all 50 states. Each bracket in Virginia had 80-120 wrestlers. This was the second year for Trae at nationals. Last year he went 2-2 and did not place.

The Thompson Falls senior has committed to wrestling next year at North Dakota State University, a Division I school, and got to wrestle in front of his future coaches at nationals, where several colleges go to look at future wrestlers. "It was always the plan to continue to wrestle in college. My parents have helped me do that, paying to take me around the country and prepare me so I can wrestle at a Division I school."