Four Logger wrestlers place in State

At Saturday's All-Class State Wrestling Tournament in Billings this weekend four Loggers placed in the top five while the Greenchain took 11th in their division with 83 points overall.

More than 7,000 people watched three divisions wrestle simultaneoulsy on four mats, as Havre took first for Class A with 282.5 points, Ronan grabbed second with 167.5 points and Sidney placed third with 164.

Individually, juniors Justin Graham and Seth Wright placed third and fourth respectively, with senior Steve Gary and junior Brandin "Tank" Mills each nabbing fifth place.

"Some grew and I'm proud of the ones that placed," said Logger coach Jay Graham. "Hopefully the young kids see what they need to do if they want to be up on that podium."

Coach Graham said he had hoped to get Libby in the top eight, but their inexperience hindered that goal.

"We haven't had this young a squad in 10 or 12 years. In a lot of ways they grew quite a bit, and in some ways it's easier because the expectations aren't as high," he said, noting that in past years when they were ranked one or two there was a lot more pressure.

Coach Graham's son, Justin (189), pinned Brady Anderson of Hamilton in 2:32 to clinch third place.

Justin, who had previously lost to Hamilton at the Rocky Mountain Tournament, said that experience helped him to beat him this time.

"I knew that he was a 'leg rider,'" he said, adding he disliked that type of wrestling. "I was happy to get my name up on the wall."

Justin said going to state was exciting - he should know as he has been taking the bus to the state tournaments since his childhood.

"It's nice because you get to make friends down there," he said. "You talk to other teams."

Justin improved this year from last year in the state tournament, when he took sixth place by an injury default in the 170 weight category.

He said the Greenchain did OK, but should do better next year, as it's still growing.

"I think it was different because we didn't have as many skilled wrestlers as in the past," he said. "It's the first time since '97 that we haven't had a kid in the final championship."

Justin said the senior leadership will be stronger next year.

"There won't be as much messing around in the wrestling room," he said. "We'll get them up in the weight room more."

Coach Graham noted his son's pin.

"I was proud of him," he said. "That kid thumped him in Missoula, so it just goes to show, you're never done. You put yourself in the position and keep fighting."

Coach Graham also mentioned Wright's performance, who knocked off the defending state champion just to make it to the semi-finals, where he placed fourth in the 152 weight category.

"Some of the weight classes were really tough," coach Graham said. "That's just the way it is."

Wright agreed he had some stiff competition.

"The brackets this year were super hard," he said. "There were tons of good kids," adding last year's number of tough opponents were less.

Wright was major decisioned by Columbia Falls' Michael Hader, 13-4, who placed third.

Still, Wright was happy with the Loggers' performance.

"We could have done better, but we still did good," Wright said.

Mills also hit some snags in the semifinals of the Heavyweight category, settling for fifth place with a pin of Belgrade's Clint Robinson in 3:59.

"I tried launching a kid and I couldn't get him all the way and he ended up getting on top of me," he said of his match against Hamilton's Wes Sharman, who won by decision, 9-3.

Mills added he should have kept pushing in the match against Sharman, who went on to take second place, losing to Havre's Rider Warren by a pin in 1:30.

Gary, the only senior to place for the Loggers, pinned Colton Weigle of Hamilton in 4:00 for fifth place (160).

"It was exciting," he said. "I went out with a win on the last match of my life."

Gary credited his coaches with getting as far as he did.

"It took practice, hard work and being pushed by my coaches - coach Graham, coach Curtiss, coach Schatz, and Mike Puckett - that helped," he said.

"My coaches were proud, so I was happy," he added, noting he had a lot of support from the team overall.

Gary advised the younger wrestlers to work hard next season.

"Don't let the mental part get to you because wrestling is 90 percent mental - and listen to your coaches."

Gary plans to attend college to study radiology after he completes Army National Guard training in June in Fort Lee, Va.

Coach Graham is optimistic for next year, noting they have the tools the team needs to work between now and next year.

"We'll decompress a little bit and hopefully I'll get some of them going in free style coming up," he said. "It's the work ethic and the goal setting and the determination - part of the goal setting is doing the best they can, but they'll be better for striving."