UPDATE: Scotties win fourth straight title

By Joseph Terry

Final - Glasgow completed its title defense on Saturday capitalizing on its championship matches to stretch their point total to a comfortable 185-151 win over second-place Townsend. Forsyth finished third with 141.5 and Huntley Project finished fourth with 133.

The wrestling team's 12th team title sets multiple records. Glasgow's championship puts the team into a tie for second most team titles in Montana high school history and the fourth consecutive title is the longest such streak by a Class B-C school.

This is the 30th top-three finish for Glasgpw in the state wrestling championships, the most by any school in Montana history. This state title also ties the wrestling team for most state titles in Glasgow High School history.

In addition to the team title, three Scotties won individual titles on Saturday. 

Luke Zeiger won the 130-pound championship with a 3-1 victory over Huntley Project's Seth Snyder. This is Zeiger's second state title.

Parker Miller won the 215-pound title by a 7-4 decision over Cut Bank's Brock Calvi.

Tyrel Shumway completed his amazing season with a pin in the finals. The senior heavyweight took the 285-pound title by pinning Harlem's Josh King in 3:19.

Braden Hallock finished second at 119 pounds. Hallock wrestled admirably but was bested by Townsend's undefeated 128-0 Jade Rauser. This was Rauser's third state title.

Earlier in the night, Jacob Bethea, Tucker Holstein and Chaz Hopstad all finished third in their weight classes. Zeb Shawver finished in sixth place.

Poplar's Hunter Azure received a standing ovation from the sold-out MetraPark crowd shortly after pinning Conrad's Johnny Schlosser in the 145-pound championship. This was Azure's fourth state title, making the senior only the 17th wrestler in Montana high school history to win four individual state championships. The last wrestlers to complete the feat were Sidney's Jesse Obergfell and Cascade-Simms' Ryan Leonard in 2007.

Pick up a copy of Wednesday's Glasgow Courier for the full recap of this weekend's record meet and reaction from coaches and players.

1:15 - Glasgow has extended its slight lead as teams head into the final matches of the day.

Glasgow now leads Townsend 163-149, after leading by just two points earlier today.

Jacob Bethea, Tucker Holstein and Chaz Hopstad have all moved into third place matches and Zeb Shawver will wrestle for fifth place.

Bethea, a 112 pounder, narrowly escaped into the third place match by posting an 8-7 decision over Forsyth's Trey McDaniel. Bethea will wrestle Conrad's Kyle Judisch for the bronze medal.

The 160-pound Holstein pinned his opponent and will now take on Forsyth's Kyle Fulton for third place.

Hopstad, a 189 pounder, fought from off his back for most of the match against Colstrip's Jake Stewart before turning the tables and pinning Stewart. Hopstad will now face Thompson Falls' Erik Hilety for third place.

Shawver lost to Tanner Lund for the second time this tournament, but will compete for fifth place against Darby's Caleb Caicedo. Caicedo lost earlier in this tournament to fellow Scottie Braden Hallock, who is now in the 119-pound final.

Third and fifth place matches begin at 3 p.m. Follow the Glasgow Courier here and on Facebook and Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates on Glasgow's quest for a fourth straight team title.

11:30 - The Scotties hold just a two point lead over Townsend at the halfway point on Saturday.

Glasgow has a 144-142 lead over the Bulldogs. 

Four Scotties are in the finals later tonight.

Braden Hallock, at 119 pounds, will have a tough matchup with undefeated 127-0 Townsend wrestler Jade Rauser. 

Luke Zeiger made it to the 130-pound finals with a pin and will face Huntley Project's Seth Snyder later tonight. Zeiger has beaten Snyder twice previously.

Parker Miller, the 215-pound senior, was down late in his match with Chinook's Jorrell Jones when he was able to turn around and pin the No. 2 wrestler in the weight class. Miller will take on Cut Bank's Brock Calvi in the finals.

There was no drama for heavyweight Tyrel Shumway in his semifinal match. The senior quickly got a pin and will face Harlem's Josh King in the finals.

Jacob Bethea (112), Tucker Holstein (160) and Chaz Hopstad (189) all lost in their semifinal bouts but will wrestle this afternoon in the consolation semis.

Bethea will take on Forsyth's Trey McDaniel, Tucker will face Shepherd's Garrett Visser and Hopstad will wrestle Colstrip's Jake Stewart.

Zeb Shawver (119) is still wrestling in the consolation rounds. Shawver got a pin earlier today and will face Florence's Tanner Lund for the chance to wrestle in the third place match. Lund beat Shawver 12-7 in the first round of this year's tournament.

Gavin Holstein, the only other Scotty in competition on Saturday, was knocked out in the consolation quarterfinals.

DAY 1

The Glasgow wrestling team is off to a great start in its hunt for its fourth-consecutive state title.

After the first day, the Scotties sit in the lead with 88 points, narrowly in front of Huntley Project, with 81 points. Townsend sits further back in third with 76 points and Cascade-Simms and Forsyth are tied in fourth place with 63.5 points.

In total, seven Scotties are in the championship semifinals, all in different weight classes. Two more Scotties are still alive in the consolation bracket. Huntley Project has six wrestlers remaining in the top bracket and only one wrestler in the consolation rounds. Third-place Townsend also has six wrestlers in the championship rounds but has two wrestlers in the consolation rounds.

The Scotties made it through the first day without too many surprises. The only major upset of the day for Glasgow came when 119-pounder Zeb Shawver, who coaches expected to compete for the championship, was knocked out in the first round, losing a 12-7 decision to Florence’s Tanner Lund.

Shawver, the second place qualifier out of the Eastern Divisional, has since rebounded nicely winning two matches in the consolation bracket. In the first round of the lower bracket, he defeated Whitehall’s Drew Leibers by pinfall at 2:11. His second match was much tougher, a 9-4 decision over Fairfield’s Caylor Jacobsen. Tomorrow, Shawver will face Circle’s Flynn Stormer in the consolation quarterfinal, a wrestler he has beaten twice before.

At 112 pounds, all went as planned for Jacob Bethea, who came back from injury just last week. Bethea won both of his matches on the opening day, both by pinfall. He pinned Thompson Falls’ John Gunderson in 2:15 and Conrad’s Kyle Judisch in 3:41. Bethea will face Townsend’s Chris Wagner in the semifinal tomorrow morning.

Braden Hallock, who along with Shawver, was supposed to compete for the 119 pound title, has made good headway on that goal. Hallock pinned Deer Lodge’s Dustin Morigeau in 3:04 and earned an 11-2 major decision over Cascade’s Christian Smith. He will continue in the semifinals against Darby’s Caleb Caicedo.

Luke Zeiger, who came into the tournament undefeated at 41-0, continued to mow through the 130-pound weight class. Zeiger didn’t spend much time wrestling on Friday, pinning Belt’s Dustin Hicks in 1:07 and Florence’s Corbin Newbary in 37 seconds. The sophomore, looking to win his second individual state title, will wrestle Cascade’s Derek Rogers in the semifinals tomorrow.

Tucker Holstein edged his way into the 160-pound semifinal by winning a 4-3 decision over Choteau’s Owen Debruycker. The big win came after a first round pin of Conrad’s Ramsey Offerdal in 1:34. Tucker will look to complete an even bigger upset tomorrow morning when he faces Chinook’s Robert Stroh in the semifinals. Stroh, the top seed at 160 pounds, is 37-0 this season, including two quick pins on Friday.

Chaz Hopstad, Parker Miller and Tyrel Shumway, all of who have been at or near the top of their weight class all season, have made it into the semifinals with relative ease.

Hopstad, wrestling at 189 pounds, pinned Chester’s Ethan Wolery in 2:22 and Choteau’s Jack Clark in 4:33. Hopstad will take on Harlem’s Trent Jones in the semifinals.

Miller, like Zeiger, didn’t spend a whole lot of time on the mats Friday. The 215-pound senior beat Cut Bank’s Dylan Johnston in 40 seconds and Boulder’s August Lorenzen in just 45 seconds. Miller will see familiar foe Jorrell Jones in the semifinals, the Chinook wrestler who has been ranked behind him at No. 2 in Class B-C for most of the season.

Shumway dominated the heavyweight division, as he has all year. In his first match he pinned Shepherd’s Cody Nelson in just 28 seconds then took 2:28 to pin Townsend’s Tate Pool. Shumway will wrestle Broadus’ Maverick Quiroz in the semifinals tomorrow.

Gavin Holstein joins Shawver as the only other Scottie in the consolation rounds. Gavin won his first match on Friday, pinning Choteau’s Michael Moore in 3:16, but lost his temper in a second round 12-2 major decision loss to Conrad’s Johnny Schlosser. Fortunately, he regained his composure and pinned Cut Bank’s Justin VandenBos in 2:18.

Senior 135-pounder Simon Helland and 140-pounder Ryan Bergtoll are out of the tournament after losing twice on Friday. Helland lost both of his matches, getting pinned in the first round before losing a close 3-1 decision in the consolation bracket.

A couple close losses nipped Bergtoll. He lost 7-4 in the opening round to Colstrip’s Derek Zeigler, then pinned Harlem’s Sheldon Hofer before losing 4-2 to Drummond’s Barret Stanghill.

In other news, Poplar’s Hunter Azure has stayed on course to win a fourth individual state title. The 145 pounder got pins of 59 seconds and 3:55 to advance to the semifinals. If he wins on Saturday, Azure would be just the 17^th wrestler in Montana history to win four individual titles. Azure has previously won titles at 135, 125 and 119 pounds.

Glasgow sits in a great spot heading into the final day of the tournament, with the most wrestlers left in the tournament. All of the Scotties remaining have a legitimate shot to place and with a seven-point lead have plenty of ammunition to hold off both Huntley Project and Townsend.

For up-to-the-minute updates on all of tomorrow’s matches follow Glasgow Courier on Facebook and Twitter. Check in tomorrow night at GlasgowCourier.com for all of the results.

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