Rocky Mountain Classic championship
Missoula, MT
1-10-2004
By JON KASPER of the
Missoulian
University and Clarkston of Washington state took 2nd & 3rd
Jeff Thompson finally has a Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic championship.
The Kalispell wrestling coach can thank his Braves for getting him one of the
few things that eluded him during his illustrious prep career at Great Falls
High.
Led by three champions, the second-ranked Braves captured their first Rocky
Mountain Classic title since 1987 on Saturday night at the Missoula Sentinel
gym.
Nine Braves finished in the top six, and Thompson's troops compiled 220 points
during the two-day event. Clarkston, Wash., a 3-A squad, was second with 180fi.
University High of Spokane, a 4-A team, was third with 161 points. Defending
champion Butte was fourth with 156. Great Falls High rounded out the top five
with 129fi points.
Thompson, who won three state titles while wrestling for the Bison, came up
short of winning a Rocky Mountain title in two appearances. He finished second
to Missoula Big Sky's Shannon Stewart in 1991, losing 5-3 in overtime.
"We're feeling pretty good,'' Thompson said. "We wrestled really well. It's a
stepping stone for us. We'll get back to practice Monday and continue to work
hard and focus on the state tournament."
The RMC championship is Kalispell's fourth, but first since a run of three
straight from 1985-87. The Braves finished a half point behind Butte in 1993.
Kalispell won the C.M. Russell Holiday Classic just before Christmas. The Braves
finished second at a tournament in Spokane last week. They can now begin
focusing on state next month in Billings, where they'll battle the likes of
Billings Skyview and Billings Senior, which weren't at the Rocky Mountain
Classic.
"It's a great confidence builder for us,'' Thompson said. "It's neat to see
we're a tournament team this year. That's what the state meet is. We're going to
soak this tournament win in tonight and get back to work on Monday.''
"This is our biggest confidence boost of the year,'' said Kalispell's Tyler
O'Myer, who won the 112-pound title with an 8-4 win over Tyler Yonago of
Spokane's Ferris High. "We pretty much walked all over Butte and Great Falls
High. We haven't lost to a AA school in the state yet. I think we're going to
have a good shot of winning state.''
Kalispell senior Devin Eystad (145) captured his second straight Rocky title
with a 13-7 win over Libby's Jake Spencer. Kalispell's other champion was
189-pounder Chris Thompson, who is no relation to Coach Thompson. Thompson
pinned Columbia Falls' David Ampudia in 4:50.
"This feels great,'' Eystad said. "This is one of the toughest tournaments in
the state. I did well. I'm glad. We haven't won this tournament since 1987.
There is a lot of tough competition here. This will put us as one of the people
to look at for state.''
Chris Thompson (160), Larry Johnston (215) and heavyweight Tiger Harris all
finished second for Kalispell. Harris, who has been battling shoulder problems,
decided sit out the championship match. Libby's heavyweight Keevin Bertelsen won
his second straight Rocky title, this one without stepping on the mat.
"All of those kids in the finals wrestled so well, even Chris Thompson and Larry
Johnston, who lost.'' Coach Thompson said. "Tyler O'Myer had a great tournament.
It's a great confidence builder for him. He's wrestling better than he ever has
before.''
Brandon Mitchell (105) and Robbie Kinkel (125) took third for the Braves, while
Ryan Nelson (135) finished fourth.
Saturday night's championship finals featured 10 matches that went the distance.
Butte's Josh Robinson had the quickest title match, pinning Johnston in 1:00.
Robinson won the quick pin award, sticking four opponents in a combined time of
6:57.
Great Falls High's Brandon Haman and Polson's Kevin Owen each captured their
third RMC titles.
Haman, a senior, beat Clarkston's Jason Fairley 10-7 in the 125-pound final.
Owen, a junior, beat Kalispell's Chris Thompson 12-2 in the 160-pound final.
Owen has a chance to become just the second wrestler to win four RMC titles next
season. Great Falls High's Kole Tolliver won four straight from 1999-2002.
Winning a fourth RMC title wasn't on Owen's mind Saturday night.
"I usually take it one tournament at a time,'' Owen said. "A lot of the work and
effort I put in the wrestling room is paying off."
Owen said he'd gladly trade a Rocky Mountain title for a state title next month
in Billings. Owen has yet to win state.
Butte's Noah McEwen saw his hopes of a third RMC title derailed in the 130-pound
semifinals when he lost 3-2 to Trace Brandburn of Mead, Washington. McEwen
placed fifth.
Missoula Hellgate junior Austin Ouellette capped an outstanding meet by winning
the 152-pound title. In Saturday morning's semifinals, Ouellette handed Polson's
Logan Kugler his first loss of the season with a 7-3 win.
"After I beat the Polson kid is when I realized I was feeling good,'' Ouellette
said.
In the finals, Ouellette beat Corvallis' Caleb Cousins 6-3. Ouellette was the
only Garden City wrestler in the finals.
"This is probably the best meet I've ever had,'' Ouellette said. "I've always
watched this since I was a little kid and I always looked forward to wrestling
in it. I did well.''
Ouellette said he was about 7 or 8 the first time he watched the Rocky. He said
he used to sell pizza at the concession stand in the Sentinel lobby.
In the best match of the night, Columbia Falls' Aric Tarr ran his winning streak
to 50 with a 3-2 win over Cory Fish of University High. Like Tarr, Fish came
into the match undefeated. Tarr beat Fish 5-4 in the 98-pound Rocky finals last
year. Fish is ranked first in Washington at 103 pounds, and has a Cadet national
championship on his resume.
In Saturday's match, Tarr opened with a quick two-point takedown. Fish scored
two points on escapes, one in the first period and one in the second. Tarr began
the third period on the bottom, and scored an escape point with roughly 90
seconds left in the match.
"I wanted to get the escape and then hang on,'' Tarr said. "I was hoping there
wasn't enough time for him to take me down."
Tarr, a state champion last season, pumped his fists several times and raised
his arms in triumph. He called the win the biggest of his career.
"I'd say it's No. 1,'' said the junior. "I beat him last year and I thought he
was going to stand up this year and come harder at me. It was probably the best
match I've ever wrestled."
Libby's Josh Erickson claimed his first Rocky title and was named the
tournament's outstanding wrestler. The senior who claimed a state Class A title
last season hiked his season record to 21-0 with a 12-2 win over Polson's Brett
Owen in the 171-pound match. Erickson joins a very elite group of Montana
wrestlers to win state, Rocky and Tri-State titles in his career. Erickson has
won the Tri-State, a prestigious tournament held in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, twice.
Butte's Cole Dallaserra (119) and Great Falls Russell's Tom Daniels (140) both
repeated at Rocky champs. Superior's Tyler McGillivray won his first RMC title
by Brandburn at 130.
Big Sky's Will Cusker picked up a third-place finish at 119-pounds. Cusker, who
wasn't seeded despite an 18-3 record entering the tournament, earned an 8-7
decision over Great Falls High's Zach Gregoire in the consolation championships.
Cusker fell to Dallaserra 4-0 in the semifinals.
Big Sky's Nick Horst placed fifth at 189, while teammate Jack Lowney took sixth
at 140. The Eagles finished with 62 points, good enough for 15th place.
There was a moment of silence prior to the championship round in honor of John
Fisher, the former Big Sky wrestling coach who died of cancer in late October.
Hellgate finished 17th with 30 points. Missoula Sentinel placed 20th with 11
points.
The Owen factor was a little lighter at this year's tournament.
For the first time in the 27-year history of the event, Mike Owen is not in
attendance. Owen, who resigned as Missoula Sentinel's wrestling coach last
summer, is watching his son Corey Owen at Dickinson State in North Dakota this
weekend.
Mike's older brother John, who retired as the North Idaho wrestling coach, a few
years back was also not in attendance. John, who has been at the meet the last
few years, is now the head coach at Central Valley in Spokane. Don't be
surprised if Central Valley is invited to the Rocky next year.
Even without John and Mike, there is still plenty of the Owen clan on hand. Bob
is Polson's head coach, will Bill is the assistant. Donny is coaching University
High, while Tim is the head coach at Ferris High.
On the 20 teams entered in the tournament, 17 had wrestlers in Saturday
morning's semifinals. Missoula Sentinel, Hamilton and Ronan were the lone
schools who didn't have a grappler in the title hunt on Saturday morning.
Fifteen schools had grapplers compete in Saturday's championship finals. Eleven
different programs had wrestlers in championships. Kalispell, Butte and Libby
were the only teams with multiple champions.
Reporter Jon Kasper can be reached at 523-5247 or by e-mail at jkasper@missoulian.com.
Team scores: Kalispell 220, Clarkston, Wash. 180fi, University High (Spokane)
161, Butte 156, Great Falls 129fi, Corvallis 126, Libby 124, Polson 111fi, Mead,
Wash., 106fi, Great Falls Russell 97, Whitefish 96, Columbia Falls 85, Superior
83fi, Ferris High (Spokane) 76, Missoula Big Sky 62, Frenchtown 54, Missoula
Hellgate 30, Hamilton 23, Ronan 13, Missoula Sentinel 11.
98 lbs
CHAMPIONSHIP - Chase Fish, University, major dec. Shane Grever, Great Falls,
17-8.
THIRD-FOURTH - Danny Neff, Whitefish, pinned John Zins, 4:34.
FIFTH-SIXTH - Chris Bick, Frenchtown, dec. Conlin Benson, Polson, 7-2.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS - Shane Grever, Great Falls, dec. John Zins, Ferris,
7-6; Chase Fish, University, pinned Conlin Benson, Polson, 1:31.
105 lbs
CHAMPIONSHIP - Aric Tarr, Columbia Falls, dec. Cory Fish, University, 3-2.
THIRD-FOURTH - Brandon Mitchell, Kalispell, dec. Caleb Wainwright, Whitefish,
5-3.
FIFTH-SIXTH - Taylor Nagel, Corallis, dec. Ben Spencer, Great Falls, 6-3.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS - Aric Tarr, Columbia Falls, major dec. Caleb
Wainwright, Whitefish, 14-4; Cory Fish, University, dec. Brandon Mitchell,
Kalispell, 6-0.
112 lbs
CHAMPIONSHIP - Tyler O'Myer, Kalispell dec. Taylor Yonago, Ferris, 8-4.
THIRD-FOURTH - Brandon Stedman, Frenchtown, dec. T.J. Renz, Butte, 1-0.
FIFTH-SIXTH - Ian Matson, Mead, pinned Mike Malsam, University, :37.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS - Tyler O'Myer, Kalispell, dec. T.J. Renz, Butte, 13-10;
Taylor Yonago, Ferris, dec. Brandon Stedman, Frenchtown, 13-10.
119 lbs
CHAMPIONSHIP - Cole Dallaserra, Butte, major dec. James Standerfer, Clarkston,
13-0.
THIRD-FOURTH - Will Cusker, Big Sky, dec. Zach Gregoire, Great Falls, 8-7.
FIFTH-SIXTH - Josh Henderson, Frenchtown, dec. Devin Nagel, Corvallis, 8-2.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS - Cole Dallaserra, Butte, dec. Will Cusker, Big Sky,
4-0; James Standerfer, Clarkston, dec. Devin Nagel, Corvallis, 9-3;
125 lbs
CHAMPIONSHIP - Brandon Haman, Great Falls, dec. Jason Fairley, Clarkston, 10-7.
THIRD-FOURTH - Robbie Kinkel, Kalispell, dec. Trevor Robbe, University, 5-2.
FIFTH-SIXTH - Beau McGillivray, Superior, dec. Frank Schwartz, Butte, 12-7.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS - Brandon Haman, Great Falls, dec. Robbie Kinkel,
Kalispell, 4-1; Jason Fairley, Clarkston, dec. Beau McGillivray, Superior,
11-10.
130 lbs
CHAMPIONSHIP - Tyler McGillivray, Superior, dec. Trace Bradburn, Mead, 11-3.
THIRD-FOURTH - Jeremy Montang, University, dec. Kaine Zetterberg, Polson, 5-3.
FIFTH-SIXTH - Noah McEwen, Butte, major dec. Seth Cummings, Whitefish, 11-3.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS - Trace Bradburn, Mead, dec. Noah McEwen, Butte, 3-2;
Tyler McGillivray, Superior, dec. Kaine Zetterberg, Polson, 7-1.
135 lbs
CHAMPIONSHIP - Mike McPeak, Clarkston, dec. Sean Dellwo, Polson, 13-10.
THIRD-FOURTH - Jace Oeleis, CMR, dec. Ryan Nelson, Kalispell, 13-6.
FIFTH-SIXTH - Tyler Bothman, Libby, won by injury default over Nate Sawhill,
Mead
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS - Mike McPeak, Clarkston, pinned Ryan Nelson, Kalispell,
1:45; Sean Dellwo, Polson, dec. Jace Oeleis, CMR, 14-9.
140 lbs
CHAMPIONSHIP - Tom Daniels, CMR, dec. Colt Heger, Clarkston, 1:46.
THIRD-FOURTH - Jeremy Noble, Great Falls, dec. Kyle Yonago, Ferris, 6-4 OT.
FIFTH-SIXTH - Brady Nagel, Corvallis, dec. Jack Lowney, Big Sky, 7-3.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS - Tom Daniels, CMR, dec. Kyle Yonago, Ferris, 3-2; Colt
Heger, Clarkston, major dec. Jeremy Noble, Great Falls, 12-3.
145 lbs
CHAMPIONSHIP - Devin Eystad, Kalispell, dec. Jake Spencer, Libby, 13-7.
THIRD-FOURTH - Brandon Henry, Great Falls, dec. Nick Zumwalt, University, 7-2.
FIFTH-SIXTH - Thomas Whittum, Clarkston, dec. Ryan Buck, Columbia Falls, 4-3.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS - Devin Eystad, Kalispell, dec. Ryan Buck, Columbia
Falls, 9-5; Jake Spencer Libby, dec. Thomas Whittum, Clarkston, 7-5.
152 lbs
CHAMPIONSHIP - Austin Ouellette, Hellgate, dec. Caleb Cousins, Corvallis, 6-3.
THIRD-FOURTH - Neil Didier, Mead, pinned Bandy Earl, Clarkston, 1:26.
FIFTH-SIXTH - Logan Kugler, Polson, won by injury default over Ryan McCracken,
CMR.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS - Caleb Cousins, Corvallis, pinned Bandy Earl,
Clarkston, 3:57; Austin Ouellette, Hellgate, dec. Logan Kugler, Polson, 7-3.
160 lbs
CHAMPIONSHIP - Kevin Owen, Polson, major dec. Chris Thompson, Kalispell, 12-2.
THIRD-FOURTH - Ty Aiken, Clarkston, dec. Russ Jessop, Corvallis, 4-2.
FIFTH-SIXTH - Tyler McPherson, Mead, dec. Cameron Prinzing, Great Falls, 5-1.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS - Kevin Owen, Polson, dec. Russ Jessop, Corvallis, 5-1;
Chris Thompson, Kalispell, dec. Ty Aiken, Clarkston, 8-4.
171 lbs
CHAMPIONSHIP - Josh Erickson, Libby, pinned Brett Owen, Polson, 4:46.
THIRD-FOURTH - Randy Hazlett, Butte, dec. Jarod Cooper, Clarktson, 5-2.
FIFTH-SIXTH - Dan Alexander, Superior, won by injury default over Joey Korn,
University.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS - Josh Erickson, Libby, pinned Joey Korn, University,
3:13; Brett Owen, Polson, dec. Dan Alexander, Superior, 5-0.
189 lbs
CHAMPIONSHIP - Greg Thompson, Kalispell, pinned David Ampudia, Columbia Falls,
4:50.
THIRD-FOURTH - Logan Labbe, Superior, dec. Travis Hagen, Clarkston, 6-4, OT.
FIFTH-SIXTH - Nick Horst, Big Sky won by injury default over Lars Bouge,
University.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS - David Ampudia, Columbia Falls, dec. Logan Labbe,
Superior 8-7; Greg Thompson, Kalispell, dec. Travis Hagen, Clarkston, 5-3.
215 lbs
CHAMPIONSHIP - Josh Robinson, Butte, pinned Larry Johnston, Kalispell, 1:00.
THIRD-FOURTH - Travis Hjort, Libby, won by forfeit over Aaron Silva, University.
FIFTH-SIXTH - Peter Clark, Mead, pinned Cody Jessop, Corvallis
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS - Josh Robinson, Butte, pinned Travis Hjort, Libby,
3:59; Larry Johnston, Kalispell, pinned Peter Clark, Mead.
HWT
CHAMPIONSHIP - Keevin Bertelsen, Libby, won by injury default over Tiger Harris,
Kalispell.
THIRD-FOURTH - John Turrin, CMR, pinned Darred Sybrant, Corvallis, 1:55.
FIFTH-SIXTH - Troy Parker, Whitefish won by injury default over Randy Ross,
Ferris.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS - Keevin Bertelsen, Libby, major dec. Troy Parker,
Whitefish, 9-1; Tiger Harris, Kalispell, dec. John Turrin, CMR, 5-4
