Final bouts for senior wrestlers

by Annie Wooden

and Skye Hill

Blue Hawk Max Hannum returned to the state championship round for the second year in a row, taking on rival McCoy Banner of Fairfield at 182 pounds for the final match of his high school career. Hannum pinned his way to the championship round, with none of his matches lasting more than two minutes until the final round. Hannum pinned Gaven Flannagan of Simms in 1 minute, 58 seconds. In the quarterfinals, he had a rematch with Gabe Rasmussen of Plains, pinning the Savage-Horseman in 1:05. Hannum then set up the championship rematch with Banner with a pin in 1:15 over Tegan Jones of Conrad.

Banner and Hannum have traded wins and scoring all season, with Banner beating Hannum for the title at the Ted Kato tournament earlier this year, then Hannum winning the matchup in the divisional final at Shelby the week before state. In the championship match, Banner was the first to score, but Hannum got a quick reversal and tied it at 2 each. Banner was able to escape before the period was over. In the second period, Banner scored three points with an escape and a takedown, going into the final period up 6-2. In the final second, Hannum escaped from Banner but didn't have enough time to overtake the Fairfield wrestler. It was a bittersweet finish to a fantastic career for the Blue Hawk.

"It was a bit heart breaking for Max, but we are all super proud of him. Winning 123 matches over his high school wrestling career is a big accomplishment, he wrestled hard all season. Not many people can say they have that many wins. He still was state champion his Junior year and no one can take that from him," said Coach Mike Thilmony.

Rasmussen had pinned Layne Wallace of Fort Benton in 3:54 before falling to Hannum. In the consolation bracket, Rasmussen picked up another win for Plains-Hot Springs as he pinned Dillon Connelly of Valier before losing 4-2 to Malta's Colton Mears.

Johnny Waterbury of Hot Springs returned to the state tournament this year, bringing home a fourth-place medal for the Savage-Horsemen. Waterbury dominated his opponents on the first day of competition, pinning Kyler Bailey of Manhattan before winning a 12-2 major decision to reach the semifinal round. On Saturday, Waterbury lost to Khye Gamas of Glasgow and fought his way back in the consolation rounds. Waterbury beat Nathan Gunderson of Choteau 10-6 before his final match against Lucas Kovalsky of Superior, who beat the Savage-Horseman 7-4. After no score in the first period, Waterbury was up 3-2 entering the final minute of the match, but Kovalsky scored five points in the final period to take the win.

"Even though John had big competition I think he has what it takes to win next year, he has a lot of talent and he works hard." Coach Jesse Jerym said.

Sanders County was well represented in the 138-pound bracket at the state tournament, with Drew Carey of Plains finishing in fifth place. Carey lost his first match by pin but fought hard to reach the podium. In the consolation bracket, Carey pinned Brock Ryan of Thompson Falls in 2:20, eliminating the Blue Hawk from the tournament. Carey kept the momentum going with a first-period pin over Anaconda's Zach Blodnick before winning a 9-4 decision over Josh Lambertson of Eureka. In the consolation semifinals, Carey lost to Stran Lytton of Red Lodge. He came back in the final match with determination, though, and the Savage-Horseman wrestler pinned Malta's Trooper Stiles in less than a minute to secure fifth place.

"Drew was dealing with two knee issues, and he could have walked away but he stuck it out and to place where he did with the issues he was facing is still incredible," Coach Jesse Jermyn beamed.

Carey's teammate Beau Crabb missed the podium in Billings, but went 1-2 with his win, a pin in 3:16 over Huntley Procject's Eli Broadbrooks.

After placing second at the divisional meet in Shelby, Thompson Falls eighth grader Weston Block won one and lost two at 103 pounds at state. Block kicked off his state tournament with a pin in 3 minutes, 38 seconds before being pinned by Paden Nelson of Circle in the quarterfinals. Block then lost to Makiya Plummer of Glasgow, ending his season with the Blue Hawks.

Hawk senior Diego Long also was 1-2 at state, losing his first match at 126 pounds but coming back to pin Lane Spencer of Manhattan in 1:43 before being eliminated from the competition. David Chapman of Hot Springs and Brenden Vanderwall of Plains also came home with one win each from the state tournament. Chapman pinned Cut Bank's Peyton Volkman in 3:34 and Venderwall pinned Colstrip's Kaydence Littlewolf in 1:23, both at 170 pounds.

Making their first appearances at a state tournament but unable to get a win in the big dance were Matthew Thurston of Plains at 113 pounds, Carson Kenney of Thompson Falls at 120, and Blue Hawk Chris Schwab at 145. Gavin Schrenk of Plains went 0-2 at 126 pounds, as did Will Tatum at 285 pounds.

"The team reached at least 99% of the goals they set for the season and I am so proud of them, we have a lot of seniors leaving but we have a good group of underclassmen who look to be a strong team for next year, I am excited to see their potential" Jerym stated.

"Overall I am so proud of the young team we have, we were looked at as underdogs but we came with 6 to state, that's big for how young the team is. Now we have two eighth graders who will come in as freshmen with a state torment under their belt. That is true dedication! We are set and ready to continue to rebuild the program and with the coaching staff we have I just can't say enough how proud I am." Tilmony gushed of his team.

The 2023-24 wrestling season may be over, but the teams will look for a return to the state tournament next year. For senior Hannum, the winter sports season isn't quite over as he will now focus on the postseason with the Blue Hawk basketball team.