WHS Trojan Wrestlers Take Third at Divisionals

The Whitehall High School Trojan wrestling team traveled to Polson for their divisional tournament.

Several years ago, Montana adopted a super-divisional format for class B-C moving from four divisions to two. The western super-division consisted of 25 teams and 250 wrestlers. Fourteen wrestlers made the trip and represented Whitehall well.

With a full team effort they were able to overtake several of the top-ranked teams on their way to the third-place team finish. Even with the large super-division, Whitehall maintained their strong wrestling tradition. Under head coach Mark Nelson's guidance, Whitehall has placed in seven of the last eight divisionals.

In wrestling, team points are earned with every individual win. Whitehall had 66 individual matches over the two days and earned a total of 230 team points. This was surpassed only by Eureka with 236 and Three Forks with 335. The rest of the top 10 were Boulder (211), Cut Bank (187), Florence (167), Anaconda (160), Conrad (159), Plains (145), and Superior (139).

Whitehall made many individual trips to the awards podium. Senior captain Leo Scafani (205lb) placed first with a 4-0 record, and senior captain Miles Hoerauf (170lb) also placed first with a 3-0 record. Senior captain Dane Hoover (138lb) 5-1 and senior Kyle Denny (160lb) 4-1 showed their leadership by placing third. Harrison junior Ivar Radcliffe (132lb) lost his first match but battled back to earn the fourth spot with an 8-2 record. The fifth place medal went to junior Wesley Biggers (145lb) 4-2, junior Isaac Skogen (113lb) 4-2, and Harrison freshman Cassidy Collins (126lb) 2-2.

Finishing out the medals at sixth place were sophomores Ethan Wock (182lb) 2-3 and Cody Fuller (132lb) 2-3. Others participating were senior Karson Klapan (182lb), sophomore Sam Valov (120lb), and junior Reilly Slater (126lb).

This weekend the team travels to the Metra in Billings for the All-Class State Wrestling tournament. If you see a wrestler, wish them well.