Daniel Horton Column: Blue Ponies, girls, small schools, whatever it is, state is never dull

If you have seen one state wrestling tournament at the Metra Park Rimrock Auto Arena, you have not seen them all, not even close.

I have had the privilege of covering the all-class tournament for several years now, and every year the story lines which come away from the 12 mats are some of the best in prep sports in all of Montana.

The 2014 state tournament was no exception, as some of the hardest-working athletes in the state accomplished things they will never forget.

And it wasn’t just the Havre High squad writing those memories. I witnessed amazing things coming from many different classes, athletes, and teams. I know Huntley Project’s Koni Dole received a lot of press coverage over the last couple of years, losing his leg to a horrific football injury, but choosing to return to the gridiron, but I got to see him wrestle in person, and it was great to see.

Dole took on the B-C competition at 195 pounds and pulled off an emotional third-place finish and 3-1 record. I only got to see one of Dole’s matches, but it was the best one. In the consolation final, Dole pinned Antonio Lopez of Malta in 2:37, and the Metra erupted with chants, cheers, and clapping, as a teary-eyed Dole went from having his arm held up in victory, to wrapping his arms around coaches and family.

I think that is one of the bravest high school athletes I have ever seen in competition, and that is the kind of thing that keeps fans, wrestlers, referees, and volunteers coming back year after year.

Remember the name Abi Gontarek as well ... she is another prep athlete that had everybody in Billings talking.

And I have seen a female wrestler take on the guys on the mat, but I have never seen the amount of success on such a big stage. Gontarek wrestled at 98 pounds and finished in fifth place. I didn’t see her 10-8 decision win to start the weekend, or her 7-4 decision two matches later, but I did see Gontarek pull off a great reversal with time literally running out to take out Manny Guzman of Columbia Falls with a 6-4 fifth-place win.

By Gontarek’s reaction you would have thought she was just crowned the state champion. And by the way the crowd reacted, it was clear there were plenty of people who took notice when she took the mat Saturday.

It’s also nice to see a little local history being made at the state level.

Big programs like the Class AA Great Falls Bison got a lot of attention over the weekend, and they deserved it. I mean, they did send more than 20 kids to state and 17 of them earned medals during their second consecutive team title. Six earned individual titles as well, as the Bison’s 353.5 points almost seemed unfair to the rest of the AA field.

But the Bison are used to the spotlight, and I was really impressed with the small-town Harlem Wildcats from right here on the Hi-Line. I have seen some great individuals come through the Wildcat program, but they continue to take steps forward and find a way to compete with the bigger schools It was great for me to see Harlem make some history, pushing four individuals into the championship round for the first time.

Yes, Havre High is pretty good at making state memorable as well.

It is one thing to see a senior finally accomplish a long-awaited No. 1 finish, but it is another thing entirely to see a freshman storm onto the scene and force his dominance on the rest of the state. Tyler Adams was able to get his title at 220 pounds, over his younger brother Travis Adams, and that is a great story in itself, but I want to know what gives a freshman grappler the right to come in and outperform the rest of the field in their first season out?

Whatever it was driving freshmen this weekend, it was working and it was special.

Parker Filius (138) and Jase Stokes (160) did that for the Ponies. I was expecting them to erupt with emotion after winning their respective titles, but maybe that was the photojournalist in me looking for a great picture opportunity.

But the athlete in them trumped my hopes as they were calm, cool and collected before and after every match. They were fun to watch take in the whole state experience, and if I didn’t know they were just freshmen, I wouldn’t have guessed it by their performances on the mat.

I don’t think there is such thing as a dull moment when it comes to state wrestling. One athlete might be hunting their first ever title, while another may be capping off a great prep career before moving on to the college ranks.

Either way, if you can find the stories in between the bigger stories, state weekend turns into more than just one wrestler versus another wrestler.

In other words, the big picture is what makes this weekend so great.