Windauer earns state title, Matcats 8th
Ben Windauer needed only just over eight minutues to earn a state wrestling title this weekend as he pinned all four of his opponents to earn the Class A 170-pound championship in Billings.
Windauer pinned opponents from Custer County, Sidney/Fairview, Havre and Fergus to earn the title and help lead the Cats to an eighth-place finish as a team.
“I was pretty confident about getting a pin in the first two matches, but I knew the final two would be tough. I thought I could win, but I was not expecting to be able to pin them all,” Windauer said. “He (final opponent) just happened to be in the wrong position when I was in the right position and I was able to take him down. When that referee hit that mat, it was crazy. It was unbelievable. It took a moment for me to realize I was a state champion.”
The Cats had five other wrestlers finish in the top six as Taylor Gladeau was third in the 285-pound division and Kyler Koski was fifth. Jakob Freeman earned sixth at 205, Nathan Hader was sixth at 145 and Brandon Thomas was sixth at 132.
Head coach Jessie Schaeffer said the competition was tough at state, but he was hoping for a better finish at the event.
“We were hoping to finish in the top five, but every kid has to perform and sometimes things happen,” he said. “We had a couple of difficult matches and it was tough. It all comes down to winning matches and putting points on the board.”
“My hat is off to Ben, though. He had a great season and he was in a tough weight class. He pinned some quality kids to get that state title,” Schaeffer added.
For Windauer, the state title capped off a season that saw him set a new school record for pins in a season with 35, two ahead of Shonn Roberts, who previously held the record with 33. Windauer also received the Quick Fall Award at the state tournament for having the most number of pins the shortest amount of time of all competitors.
Columbia Falls state wrestling results:
Class A
Team scores: Sidney-Fairview 250, Havre 188, Lewistown 185, Polson 134, Frenchtown 130, Glendive 117.5, Hardin 110, Columbia Falls 108, Ronan 70, Hamilton-Darby 66, Libby-Troy 53.5, Dillon-Twin Bridges-Sheridan 42.5, Miles City 39.5, Belgrade 38, Browning 30.5, Laurel 29, Billings Central 23, Stevensville-Victor 20, Corvallis 17, Livingston 16, Butte Central 15, Whitefish 10.
Brandon Thomas (132)
Def. Jackson Dalton (Custer County) fall, 1:56
Def. Trey Thompson (Libby/Troy) dec. 11-4
Lost to John Mears (Belgrade) fall, 1:25
Lost to Ethan Boyce (Billings Central) MD 10-1
Lost to Waylon VanBuren (Sidney/Fairview) MD 10-0
Ayden Role (132)
Def. Kolton Reid (Sidney/Fairview) Dec. 2-1
Lost to Bridger Wenzel (Polson) fall 0:54
Lost to Triston Davis (Corvallis) MD 8-0
Easton Sempf (138)
Lost to Keaton Potter (Fergus - Lewistown) fall 3:43
Lost to Ronald Anderson (Hardin) dec. 2-1
Nathan Hader (145)
Def. Kayne Johnson (Laurel) dec. 7-5
Lost to Kyler Pancake (Stevensville) fall 1:11
Def. Daylon Moore (Hamilton/Darby) dec. 17-12
Def. Duane Otto II (Fergus - Lewistown) dec. 7-6
Lost to Cameron Brown (Polson) dec. 11-5
Lost to Kyler Pancake (Stevensville) dec. 7-5
Braydon Stone (160)
Def. Rob Gunderson (Billings Central) dec. 9-5.
Lost Brent Tezak (BCDT) fall 3:22
Def. Hyme Anderson (Hamilton/Darby) dec. 15-9
Lost to Avery Gurney (Sidney/Fairview) fall 4:15
Ben Windauer (170)
Def. Colton Derenberger (Custer County) fall 1:24
Def. Trevor Dean (Sidney/Fairview) fall 1:23
Def. Mason Dione (Havre) fall 3:36
Def. Alex Wickens (Fergus - Lewistown) fall 1:38
Colton McPhee (182)
Def. Gavin Kewish (Belgrade) fall 1:02
Lost to Gidion Herbel (Hardin) dec. 16-14
Def. Noah Humphrey (Polson) fall 1:26
Lost to Nelson Crisafulli (Dawson County) MD 17-3
Fisher Billsborough (182)
Lost to Wyatt Blythe (Fergus - Lewistown) fall 5:09
Def. Ethan Borden (Libby/Troy) fall 1:46
Lost to Ryan Wyman (Sidney/Fairview) dec. 5-2
Jakob Freeman (205)
Def. Bo Hakert (Billings Central) fall 0:51
Lost to Brady Boyce (Fergus - Lewistown) fall 4:46
Def. Levi Downard (Frenchtown) dec. 5-2
Def. Cody Miller (Frenchtown) fall 4:13
Lost to Sawyor Thogerson (Sidney/Fairview) Dec. 4-3
Lost to Brady Boyce (Fergus - Lewistown) fall 4:10
Kyler Koski (285)
Def. Preston Bad Bear (Hardin) fall 2:53
Def. Wacey Zuback (Browning) fall 3:06
Lost to Ryan Horner (Sidney/Fairview) fall 4:24
Lost to Taylor Gladeau (Columbia Falls) SV-1 3-1
Def. Jesse Mecham (Frenchtown) injury
Taylor Gladeau (285)
Def. Enrique Ruiz (Belgrade) fall 0:27
Lost to Jesse Mecham (Frenchtown) injury 0:33
Def. Sam Mocabee (Ronan) fall 2:09
Def. Kyler Koski (Columbia Falls) SV-1 3-1
Def. Wacey Zuback (Browning) fall 3:00