WHS Trojans Place Third Overall at Choteau Invitational

The Whitehall High School Wrestling team placed third at the Choteau Invitational Tournament, held January 13 and 14 in Choteau. It was a full team effort, as 21 of the Trojan wrestlers had matches. After a total of 96 individual matches, Whitehall earned 178.5 team points to earn third place. Close behind were Boulder and Cut Bank.

Highlights for the weekend were senior Miles Hoerauf winning his weight class with wins over wrestlers from Florence, Big Fork, and Thompson Falls, ending with a perfect 3-0 record.

Senior Leo Scafani placed second with wins over Choteau and Townsend before falling in the finals to Cascade, earning a 3-1 record.

Senior Dane Hoover won the third-place medal. He had wins over wrestlers from Fairfield, Choteau, and Simms before losing the semifinal match to a different Fairfield wrestler. He finished up the consolation bracket with wins over a second Choteau and a Big Sandy wrestler.

Sophomore Cody Fuller had a 5-2 record and placed fourth with wins over Conrad, Big Fork, Thompson Falls, and Boulder. His losses were to Plains and Wolf Point.

Junior Wesley Biggers also placed fourth with a 3-2 record. He beat a wrestler from Choteau and two from Shelby, losing to Boulder and Three Forks.

Harrison freshman Cassidy Collins earned a fifth-place medal with wins over Deer Lodge and Shelby and losses to Simms and Florence.

Sophomore Ethan Wock also placed fifth; he was busy with a 6-2 record, earning wins over Anaconda, Arlee, Three Forks, Plains, and Deer Lodge. His losses were to Boulder and Big Fork.

Bringing home the sixth-place medal was Gavin Watson. He earned wins over Fairfield, Thompson Falls, and Choteau, losing to Anaconda, Great Falls Central, and Simms.

Others who competed and their records were:

Nick Denny 4-2, Karson Klapan 3-2, Ivar Radcliffe

2-2, Kyle Denny 2-2, Reilly Slater 2-2, Tucker Witzel 2-2, Blake DuBoise 1-2. The rest were able to compete hard but did not win any matches including senior Blake Ritz, freshman Cinch Cogdill, and eighth-graders Joey Beebout, Jack Raty, Adam Martinez, and Anthoney Porter.

This upcoming weekend the WHS grapplers will travel to Townsend for their two-day tournament. Looking ahead, the wrestling senior night will be held Friday, January 27th in the Whitehall Varsity Gym.

See more photos on page 5