Whitehall wins Divisional Title

For the first time since 1995, the Whitehall High School wrestling team captured a Divisional Championship. The Trojans had four individual champions and had another six finish in the top four to qualify for state at last Saturday's Southern B/C Divisional Tournament in Cascade.

Whitehall was the lone team over 200 points at the tournament finishing in the top spot with 203. Townsend was second with 173 and Columbus was third with 159.

Freshmen Michael Reiff (113 pounds) and Miles Hoerauf (160) both captured individual titles in their first year with the high school program. Seniors Mike Wilkinson (132), and Riley Forcella (152) also captured individual titles Saturday.

Dane Hoover (113), Dawson Powers (120), and Dallen Hoover each finished in second place for Whitehall. Alleck Holloway (126), and Trentin Walker (138) both finished in third place. Gaten Wassberg was the final Trojan to qualify for state with a fourth-place finish at 170 pounds.

Leo Scafani finished in fifth place. Tommy Emerson finished in sixth place at 120 pounds, and Kyle Denny was sixth at 145.

Assistant Coach Steve Sacry said a large Whitehall contingency battled slick road conditions to support the wrestlers and energy and excitement built as the day went on. He added the Trojans led in teams points by a small margin most of the day with Townsend and Columbus on their heels.

According to Sacry, Townsend made a run in the semifinals to close the gap a bit, but by the end of the round, Whitehall had actually extended the lead, and in the championship round the wrestlers continued their efforts to lock in the win.

Taking home the first divisional title since 1995 was a goal for this year's team.

"This took ongoing effort and improvements to accomplish, and I am very proud of this team. Each individual was important, including the statisticians, videographers, practice partners, injured teammates, parents and community supporters," he said.

SOUTHERN B/C

DIVISIONALS

The Trojans had two wrestlers compete at 113 pounds with Reiff finishing first and Dane Hoover taking home second place.

Sacry said both had been wrestling well and the coaching staff looked forward to how the freshmen would do.

"Both had been wrestling well and we looked forward to how the freshmen would do. By each winning a couple of matches, they advanced ahead of the rest of the field and wrestled each other in the championship match. After a close first two periods, Michael won by a pin in the third period," Sacry said.

Whitehall had two place at 120 pounds.

Sacry said after a first-round loss, Emerson made his way through the consolation bracket to finish sixth, adding he made significant improvements in his wrestling this season. Powers won his first two to advance to the title. Sacry said Powers competed against the top-ranked kid in the state, and while losing his match he wrestled well for the second-place finish.

Gavin Watson competed for Whitehall at 126 pounds. Sacry said Watson is always eager to learn and work.

"His improvements this year are impressive," Sacry said.

Alleck Holloway also wrestled at 126 pounds and qualified for state with a third-place finish.

Sacry said he wrestled well.

"After the second round, he came up against the tournament champion. After losing that match he won his next two to win the consolation bracket," Sacry said.

After finishing second last year, Wilkinson captured a title in 2020 with his first-place finish at 132 pounds.

"Mike continued to show his expertise by winning 4 straight matches to win the tournament. This included a thrilling, sudden victory, tiebreaker win in his championship match," Sacry said.

Junior Trentin Walker finished in third at 138 pounds and will also be headed to state.

"Trentin just got back from a long injury recovery, and still was able to come away with a 3-1 record and secure third place," Sacry said.

Kyle Denny finished in sixth at 145 pounds.

"Kyle had a successful freshman year. He had the busiest day of any of our wrestlers with six matches. He had a great day winning sixth place," Sacry said.

Dallen Hoover had a strong day for the Trojans placing second at 145. Sacry said Hoover advanced through the first three rounds to the title match where he fell 6-1.

Forcella had a tremendous tournament capturing the title at 152 pounds.

"Riley continued to show his dominance, winning each of his four matches with pins, including a 44 second pin the championship," Sacry said.

Wrestling at 160 pounds, freshman Miles Hoerauf took home the division title.

"Miles had an impressive weekend. Being a freshman in one of the upper weight classes is a challenge. Miles has never backed down. He locked in three wins and a divisional title," Sacry said.

For the second straight year, Gaten Wassberg qualified for state. He finished in fourth at 170 pounds.

Sacry said Wassberg was close to an upset win in the semifinals with a 1-0 loss the eventual champion, adding after two more battles earned fourth place.

Leo Scafani also placed for Whitehall, finishing fifth at 205 pounds.

Sacry said Scafani is always reading to test his skills.

"As a freshman, Leo often faced older, more experienced wrestlers. Because of his strength and determination, they rarely knew he was younger. After a first-round loss to LaBonte from

Three Forks, Leo battled through the bracket to meet LaBonte again for his final match. As evidence of Leo's ability to analyze and improve, this time he won by a second-round pin," Sacry said.

The 2020 State Tournament is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the Metra Park Arena in Billings. Wrestling will start February 14 at 10 a.m.

Sacry said other team members who have been critical to the Trojans success this season are Anna Nelson who has kept their stats in order, Dalten Denny who came aboard to help with managerial duties, Jessie Rios and Karson Klapan who have continued to work out with the team, but didn't compete last weekend, and Gage McMillan and Jamus DuBois who both had season-ending injuries, but continued to help where they could.

"It has been a team effort," he said.