Willpower + Maximum Effort = Success for Scottie Wrestlers

The Scotties placed three grapplers on the podium at the All-Class State Wrestling Tournament held in Billings Feb. 10 and 11.

In addition to Matt Reyling clinching his second consecutive state title, seniors Tony Kaiser and Gabe Hallock earned hardware for their second-and third-place finishes, respectively.

Noting that the weekend was a win for the Scottie wrestling program, head coach Jory Casterline praised the team for their hard work at the tournament and throughout the season. "We went down there with six guys and placed sixth overall," he explained. "There were teams there with more guys that we placed ahead of. It's about quality, not quantity."

While the freshman competitors did not place in the event, Casterline indicated that the experience was good for them. "There were some freshman jitters," he said, "but they got to see the work our upperclassmen put in and what they accomplished."

Reyling, who was undefeated in the tournament, clinched his first-place finish easily with a pin in the first round, followed by three consecutive wins by major-decision in his final matches.

"Matt capped off a good season," said Casterline. "He made a lot of sacrifices and worked hard all season."

Kaiser, a GHS senior in his final season, finished with an impressive match against the undefeated Garrett Graves of Eureka. Casterline described it as a "David and Goliath" match and stated, "We told Tony to just weather the storm and not let the match get away from him."

Kaiser did what he was told and wrestled for the full six minutes. Graves put Kaiser on his back in the first period of the match, but could not complete a pin and the match continued. In the second period, with sheer willpower and maximum effort, Kaiser brought the whole Metra to its feet by putting Graves on his back. Although Kaiser was defeated by a 13-9 decision, Casterline chalked the match up as a win for Kaiser and Scottie wrestling.

Hallock, who was ranked fourth going into the state tournament, finished in third place after winning in a thriller match against Kaleb Frank (35-3 record) of Thompson Falls. "Gabe battled the whole tournament," said Casterline of Hallock's efforts. "He seriously had the inability to lose a match."

Overall, Casterline was happy with the tournament and is already looking forward to next year. "I'm proud of the whole team," he said. "I'm ready to get into the weight room tomorrow and work with the kids."

2017 MHSA State Championships Results for Glasgow:

103 - Jacob Meiers (18-11) scored 4.00 team points. Championship round one - Robert Dempsey (St. Ignatius/Charlo) 21-17 won by fall over Meiers (Fall 2:58); Consolation round one - Meiers won by decision over Walker Murphy (St. Ignatius/Charlo) 12-15 (Dec. 11-9); Consolation round two - Meiers won by fall over Bridger Krumm (Anaconda) 16-13 (Fall 2:40); Consolation round three - Zane Walchuk (Ronan) 14-11 won by decision over Meiers (Dec. 7-5).

113 - Gabe Hallock (32-16) placed third and scored 18.00 team points. Championship round one - Hallock won by decision over Nathan Schmidt (Lincoln County (Eureka)) 34-14 (Dec 8-4); Quarterfinal - Hallock won by fall over Gavin Horn (Harlem) 19-18 (Fall 5:26); Semifinal - Colin Rogers (Anaconda) 36-3 won by decision over Hallock (Dec. 11-5); Consolation semifinal - Hallock won by fall over Nathan Schmidt (Lincoln County (Eureka)) 34-14 (Fall 4:28); Third-place match - Hallock won by decision over Kaleb Frank (Thompson Falls) 35-3 (Dec 9-6).

120 - Matt Reyling (36-6) placed first and scored 27.00 team points. Championship round one - Reyling won by fall over Bailey Wieble (St. Ignatius/Charlo) 20-13 (Fall 3:26); Quarterfinal - Reyling won by major decision over Pete Henderson (Choteau) 30-17 (MD 14-5); Semifinal - Reyling won by major decision over Kahden Bakkila (Lincoln County (Eureka)) 35-5 (MD 9-1); First-place match - Reyling won by major decision over Josh Pepos (Cascade) 37-8 (MD 13-0).

126 - Kaden Zimmerman (27-19) scored 6.00 team points. Championship round one - Hank Dunn (Lincoln County (Eureka)) 40-10 won by fall over Zimmerman (Glasgow) 27-19 (Fall 4:35); Consolation round one - Zimmerman won by fall over Andrew Andersen (Cut Bank) 24-32 (Fall 1:31); Consolation round two - Zimmerman won by fall over Callan Mears (Malta/Whitewater) 29-14 (Fall 1:24); Consolation round three - Jack Dolan (Broadwater (Townsend)) 33-10 won by decision over Zimmerman (Dec. 5-1).

138 - Cale Swanson (15-27). Championship round one - Mike Roach (Cascade) 26-12 won by fall over Swanson (Fall 3:50); Consolation round one - Sam Ostwald (Thompson Falls) 22-12 won by fall over Swanson (Fall 0:38).

182 - Tony Kaiser (35-10) placed second and scored 24.00 team points. Championship round one - Kaiser won by fall over Brett Monroe (Valier) 27-21 (Fall 2:21); Quarterfinal - Kaiser won by fall over Austyn Sherwood (Lincoln County (Eureka)) 26-9 (Fall 2:30).Semifinal - Kaiser won by fall over Gus Bosley (St. Ignatius/Charlo) 31-5 (Fall 4:28); First-place match - Garrett Graves (Lincoln County (Eureka)) 39-0 won by decision over Kaiser (Dec. 13-9).

B/C Team Results:

1. Eureka .....................198.0

2. Colstrip ....................164.0

3. Ronan ......................120.5

4. Huntley Project .........89.0

5. Plains/Hot Springs ....86.0

6. Glasgow .....................79.0

7. Libby/Troy ................73.5

8. Baker .........................61.0

8. Malta/Whitewater .....61.0

10. Conrad .....................59.0

11. Anaconda .................51.5

12. Townsend ................47.5

12. Shepherd ..................47.5

14. Fairfield/Simms .......45.0

14. Forsyth .....................45.0

16. Thompson Falls .......44.0

17. Cascade ...................43.0

18. St. Ignatius/Charlo ..41.5

19. Circle .......................39.0

20. Whitehall .................37.0

21. Choteau ...................36.0

22. Cut Bank ..................29.0

23. Wolf Point ...............27.0

24. Columbus/Absarokee 21.0

25. Valier .......................20.5

26. Shelby ......................20.0

27. Bigfork ....................19.0

28. Chinook ...................18.5

29. Broadus ...................16.0

30. Harlem .....................13.5

31. Poplar ......................11.0

32. Fort Benton ...............9.0

33. Florence-Carlton .......6.0

33. Jefferson (Boulder) ...6.0

35. Belt ............................3.0

36. Highwood ..................0.0

36. Powell Co. .................0.0

36. Superior / Alberton ....0.0