Trojans Place Fifth as Team at Divisionals, Will Take Six Wrestlers to State

The Whitehall Trojan Wrestling team traveled to the Butte Civic Center February 4-5 for the Class B/C Western Divisionals. This tournament consisted of the 24 class B and C wrestling teams in the western half of the state. With 223 wrestlers competing, this was the largest class B/C tournament in the state this year.

Whitehall entered 12 wrestlers and placed 5th as a team. The final results had Boulder at first place with 204 points, Cut Bank (199), Eureka (123), Superior ( 122), and Whitehall (117). Six of the Whitehall wrestlers placed and qualified for the state tournament in Billings, held February 11-12 at MetraPark.

Congratulations to Miles Hoerauf (160lbs) for his first-place finish. His quest for the top spot started with a first-period pin against Bucher from Thompson Falls. He next added another pin over Ramos of Valier. In his semifinal match against Pendlay from Big Fork, he earned his third pin. His championship match was against the talented Reishus of Thompson Falls. Hoerauf handed him just his 5th loss this year. Miles gained this with a second-period pin for the championship.

Congratulations also to Isaac Skogen (103lbs) for a third-place finish. His third-place efforts started with a pin over Munski from Cascade. He then lost to Rogers of Three Forks, the eventual champion. Skogen bounced back with pins over Courville of Plains, Dillard of St. Ignatius, and Lancaster of Eureka. Finally, he won his last match over Fainter from Big Fork for third place.

Leo Scafani (HWT) also placed third. His efforts started with a pin over Simpson from Shelby. He then earned a win over Vulles of Superior to put him in a semifinal battle with Morgan of Choteau. Morgan earned a last-second point to hand Scafani a 7-8 loss. Scafani responded with a win over Hume from Eureka before beating Gallagher from Cut Bank for the third-place medal.

Michael Reiff (145lbs) placed 6th in his class. He limped through the tournament with a severe hip injury but was still able to earn his way to state. He started with a pin over Schrenk from Plains. His injury caused him to forfeit his next match. He recovered enough to beat Killorn of St. Ignatius 11-2. He then beat Ward of Fairfield 9-7. He had to forfeit his next match and lost his final match to Hunt of Townsend.

Kyle Denny (170lbs) finished the tournament in 7th place. He started with a 39-second pin over Michaud from Boulder, before falling to the eventual champion, Anderson from Boulder. He responded with a pin over Larson of Florence but lost to Perez of Fairfield. He finished strong with a pin over Woodson from Superior.

Wesley Biggers (132lbs) also earned his way to the state tournament with an eighth-place finish. He started with a pin over Fields of St. Ignatius, before losing to Carter of Fairfield. He responded with a pin over Kerbis from Anaconda. His hard-fought last matches were losses to Skovalsky from Superior and Williams from Anaconda.

Other to compete at Divisionals were Harley Dunn (103lbs) with losses to Eureka and St. Ignatius. Cody Fuller (126lbs) with a win over one Simms wrestler and a loss to another. He also lost to Boulder. Gavin Watson (132lbs) lost to Anaconda, beat Simms, and lost to Superior. Dane Hover (138lbs) lost to Eureka, beat Deer Lodge, and lost to Three Forks. Karson Klapan (170lbs) lost to Manhattan and an overtime loss to Conrad. Ethan Wock (182lbs) lost to Eureka and Choteau.

The six placing wrestlers will compete at the state tournament this weekend at the Metra in Billings.