MHSA Divisionals and State Wrestling

The MHSA Divisional and State wrestling tournaments are here! Freshman #110 Kaius Rivera took first place at Divisionals with an 11-2 victory over Fergus senior Preston Johnson. Rivera is ranked number one in Class A 110. Similarly, freshman G105 Emma Hernandez took first with a first-period pin. Junior #118 Aramis Rivera took second place in a tight finals match against Lockwood’s Philip Westrick. Joliet junior #157 Trystan Knight took third place with a pin over Lockwood’s Trace Steinmetz in the third-place match. Sophomore #132 Xander McCann took fourth after a close match against Sidney’s Brenner Mullin. Joliet junior #150 Trey Bazaldua took sixth, and sophomores Owen Wegner (#103) and DJay Wipf (#126) took seventh.

At State, the Rams showed up and showed out. Seven of the Rams’ eight wrestlers came home with hardware.

Wegner finished the tournament sixth in a tough #103 bracket. Wegner picked up key wins against Corvallis’ Chase Davis in the first round, and against Havre’s Tucker Stygles in the blood rounds to solidify his placement. McCann also took sixth, with a key win over Laurel’s Sebastian Mogan in the blood rounds.

Knight finished fifth, with key wins over Beaverhead County (Dillon)’s Tucker Crowe, and Ronan’s Jairyn Krause in the fifth-sixth match. Wipf finished fourth at #126, and had many upset wins such as Octavious Christianson of Columbia Falls (previously ranked third), Sidney’s Yuriah Camacho, and Laurel’s Emerson Nose, both of which beat Wipf in the regular season.

Hernandez took second after a tough 1-0 decision against Chinook’s Grace Buck in the finals. Hernandez beat Billings Senior’s Serina Catt by 1-0 decision in the semifinals, who defeated Emma during the regular season.

And last but not least, the Rivera brothers both took home state championships. Kaius took down defending state champ Tyson Syth from Sidney in the semifinals, with a 13-0 major decision. Kaius then defeated Fergus’ Preston Johnson in the finals 5-0 to secure the state title. Kaius ended a twelve-year championship drought for the Rams. He is the first state champion at Billings Central since George Smith in 2012.

Aramis took down Custer County (Miles City)’s Will Merkel in the semifinals with a takedown in overtime. Merkel ended Aramis’ run at the state tournament last year. Aramis then took down Laurel’s Konner Heath in the finals with a 9-7 decision. The Rams finished sixth in team score in Class A.

Some other notable finishes from the state tournament include:

Billings West’s Zach Morse (#118) captured his fourth state title, making him the 42nd wrestler in Montana to four-peat. Morse took down Skyview’s Danny Green in the finals with a 4-1 decision.

Hardin’s Jesse Grossman captured the title at 103 pounds as an eighth grader. Grossman defeated Lockwood’s William Alves in the finals with a pin in the third round. Grossman finished the year with a record of 45-3.

Choteau senior Asher Clayton (#132) took down Huntley Project’s Blake Ramaeker in the finals with a 9-1 decision in a clash of returning state champs. Clayton won at #126 last year and Ramaeker won at #103 last year as an eighth grader.

Poplar’s Angelina Escarcega (#100) and Ronan’s Tirza Two Teeth (#235) each took home their third state titles in the girls division.