113-pounder Fainter earns state wrestling championship
Wildcat Traic Fainter wrestles a Corvallis Blue Devil in Columbia Falls in this file photo.
The Wildcats boys wrestling team took fifth at state in Billings this weekend, with senior Traic Fainter (113) earning an individual state champion title.
Fainter started out wrestling with the Wildcats his sophomore year, taking fourth that season, then moving up to third his junior year, and now, a champion. “He came out hungry this year,” coach Jessie Schaeffer said. “He’s very disciplined.”
Teammates Dylan Delorme (145), Blaise Cronk (160) and Rowdy Crump (182) took second and Winslow Peters (152) fourth.
When it was all said and done, Schaeffer was proud of how they represented the program.
On the girls’ side, sophomore Jaelynn Nace (100) was on the podium for the second time in two years with fourth place.
“She’s on track to accomplish a pretty big feat for our program with two more seasons,” coach Ben Schaeffer said. Teammates Samantha Larsen (152) and Jaici Watt-Duran (145) were close to the podium with 4-2 and 2-2 records for the tournament, respectively.
The boys program will hopefully see the return of Delorme, Cronk and Crump next season along with their underclassmen teammates, and the girls are looking at a mix of younger wrestlers on the mat, with upcoming freshmen and a few returning.