Lady Trojan Wrestlers Shine at State; Boys Dual in Whitehall Before Divisionals

The Whitehall girl's wrestling team headed to the state tournament at the new Lockwood High School this past weekend. They joined the other 145 girls from around the state for the first All-Class girls wrestling tournament. What an exciting weekend! When the dust settled, Alley Antonsen (120#), MacKenzy Best (138#) and Addi Sullivan (statistician) represented Whitehall well. Antonsen earned a third place medal and Best brought home a fifth place medal. As a team, Whitehall earned 43 points, placing 14 out of 47 teams.

Antonsen started the tournament with a match against Carbery from Billings Senior. She transitioned an early takedown into a 44 second pin. This advanced her to the quarterfinal match against Hernandez from host Lockwood. After building an 11-4 lead, Antonsen was able to earn a second period pin. Saturday morning's semifinal match pitted Antonsen against the eventual champion, Gubler from Livingston. Antonsen built a 6-1 lead, before a reversal put her onto her back where she was pinned. Not afraid of a setback, she rallied with a dominate win over Kary from Sidney, a second period pin. This put her into the consolation finals, for 3rd and 4th, again against Hernandez who had been on a winning streak. She again showed her dominance with a second period pin, and earned her the 3rd place state medal.

Best had the misfortune of starting the tournament against the third seeded wrestler. She lost the match against Gilmore of Miles City, by a first period pin. In a double elimination tournament, it is difficult to come back from a first round loss. Best was determined and used her signature cradle to win the next four matches by pin. First, a second period pin over Rivera-Rosa from Billings Senior. Next on her radar was Brewer from Flathead. The next pin was over Moreno from Butte. Her Saturday morning match would determine whether she would place or not. Best wasted no time in pinning Houtham from Frenchtown in 29 seconds, the fastest Whitehall pin for the weekend. This win advanced her to the consolation semifinal match, again against Gilmore. This time she gave Gilmore more of a challenge, but again lost the match. This set up a final match for fifth and sixth place against Amundson from Belgrade. She again used her cradle to control and pin her opponent in the second period, earning her the 5th place state medal.

The boys of the Whitehall wrestling team were able to stay at home for the week. Before Thursday's duals, the team's five seniors (Trentin Walker, Jamus DuBois, Dawson Powers, Dallen Hoover, and manager Anna Nelson) were honored for their hard work and dedication to Whitehall's wrestling program throughout their high school careers. The night started off with matches against White Sulpher Springs and Mission-Charlo. The matches started with a loss by Isaac Skogen. Dane Hoover, Dawson Powers, and Gavin Watson followed up with pins. Trentin Walker and Dallen Hoover continued the team's pinning streak. Miles Hoerauf was able to pull out a tight 6-4 win up at 170. Jamus DuBois finished off the opening matches with a pin.

The final dual of the night was a battle of Jefferson County rivals, Whitehall and Boulder. It was a tight dual that saw Whitehall pulling out a 37-36 win. The dual started off with losses from Skogen and Lanes. Dane Hoover and Dawson Powers got the Trojans going with back-to-back pins. Following a loss by Nick Denny, Trentin Walker won an exciting 13-7 decision. Dallen Hoover and Miles Hoerauf both secured pins. Karson Klapan lost his match, and a Whitehall forfeit followed. Jamus DuBois got Whitehall back on track with a quick pin. In perhaps the most exciting match of the night, Leo Scafani got the 4-3 win, scoring a reversal in the last 15 seconds to get the win and seal the dual for the Trojans.

The Trojans were back in action Saturday morning against Cut Bank, with Whitehall pulling out a hard fought 42-30 victory. Starting with losses by Skogen and Lanes, Dane Hoover and Dawson Powers both got pins to bring the score to 18-12. Trentin Walker lost a tight match 5-3. Dallen Hoover and Miles Hoerauf followed up with pins to put Whitehall in the lead 24-21. Karson Klapan lost his match. Justin Kuehl received a forfeit and Jamus DuBois got the pin putting the dual out of reach for Cut Bank. To finish up the dual, Leo Scafani dropped a close 4-1 match. Whitehall will be back next weekend, when they head to the Western B/C Divisionals in Cut Bank.