Wrestlers Win Junior Battle on the Big Horn

Eighteen teams competed in the Junior Battle on the Big Horn in Hardin on Saturday, Nov. 16. The teams competing were Absarokee, Baker, Colstrip, Columbus, Fergus, Forsyth, Hardin, Huntley, Lockwood (Billings), Malta, Miles City, Red Lodge, RiverSide (Billings), Roundup, Shepherd, Sleeping Giant (Livingston), St. Francis (Billings) and Tongue River (Wyoming). The top five team scores were Malta 288, Lockwood 277, Tongue River 245, Huntley and Miles City 196, and Hardin 190.

Clyde Lankford, Cord Newman, Kaiden Tharp, Trent Blunt, Taije Stiles and Mira Tharp were 0-3 on the day and received 4th place. Kaiden Tharp lost two matches by major decision and one by technical fall but fought hard and did not give up a pin.

Malta had five wrestlers get 3rd place. Titus Carnahan (1-2) won a crazy match 19-18 and lost by technical fall and pin to a couple of wrestlers that outweighed him significantly. Cooper Pankratz (1-2) lost his first match in overtime but received the Most Exciting Match Award for his proper technique in the match and his never give up attitude. Nathan Domire (0-2) gave good effort in not being pinned all day, losing by decision and technical fall. Trax Simanton (1-2) finished the day strong by winning his last match of the day with a pin. Corby Mears (1-2) found some tough competition at Hardin, losing matches by decision and pin and winning by major decision.

Seven Malta wrestlers took 2nd place. Julian Hilliard went 1-2 on the day, but finished the day at 2nd place because of his effort of losing by technical fall and decision instead of a pin. Beau Merriman (2-1) won by pin and major decision and lost by pin. Kallie LaBrie (1-2) won two matches by decision and lost 15-0 to a tough Fergus opponent. Tryan Anderson (2-1) had a good day with one of his wins being an exciting come-from-behind win, throwing his opponent to his back in the final seconds. Kasen Jones (2-1) won two matches by pin and lost one match by pin. Kasen will share the Quick Pin Award this week with a pin of 31 seconds. Cameron Spencer had victories by decision and pin. Cameron also receives the Quick Pin Award with a pin of 31 seconds. Cameron lost a tough 6-3 decision to a St. Francis opponent but wrestled real well. Beckett Squires (2-1) opened up the tournament with a 7-2 victory over a Miles City wrestler who beat Beckett 7-0 last week at Miles City. Beckett shares the Most Exciting Match Award for his effort in this match. Beckett won another match by pin and lost to a tough Huntley opponent by technical fall.

Six Malta Middle School wrestlers were champions at Hardin. Colby Wright and Braun Sims were dominant in the tournament with three pins each. Calvin Squires and Karsten Davis won their second tournament in a row. Calvin ruled his weight class with two pins and one technical fall. Karsten won by technical fall, major decision and decision. Beau Nelson broke out of his slump and wrestled well with one win by pin and winning two matches by decision. Gunner Stenberg was 2-1 on the day, but still took first because of his effort in his loss. Gunner won a 5-0 decision and a match by pin. One of these victories was a great comeback win. Gunner lost 7-0, but because of his effort of not giving up the pin and the way his opponents lost to each other, Gunner was the champion of his weight class.

The Wrestler of the Week Award will go to the entire team for their effort in winning the Junior Battle on the Big Horn Tournament. Too many kids gave incredible performances this week and we are very excited about their improvement. The next competition for the Malta Middle School wrestlers will be Tuesday, December 19 in Lewistown at 3:00 pm.