Talent equals History

If being a four-time state champion was easy, then more than 27 wrestlers would have done it in the history of Montana High School wrestling.

The fact is, winning state championships, as a team or as an individual, is incredibly difficult.

But being a four-time individual wrestling champion, which is what Havre’s Jase Stokes will be gunning for in Billings at the All-Class State tournament, is a different matter entirely.

Certainly, it’s not easy, not even close.

“It takes a lot of hard work,” Stokes said. “We have definitely put in a lot of hard work this year and we try to peak for the state tournament, so hopefully everything turns out good. The Metra is a special place and has always given me that extra boost to get it done.”

Stokes is right, it’s far from easy.

To be a four-time individual state champion, a wrestler must win 16 matches over four years; go from his freshman season through his senior year without an off night, without losing a match at the state tournament.

Yet, through three years, Stokes has navigated that route to perfection. And now he finds himself, along with fellow senior Parker Filius, four wins away from doing something no Blue Pony has ever done before.

“They don’t just give them to you,” Havre junior Tyler Schaub said of individual state championships. “You have to earn them, and Jase has put in a lot of work over the years. He works hard every single day and he deserves it.”

Schaub, who is Stokes’ stepbrother, knows a thing or two about state titles. He won one last season and over the years, he has gotten to know just how good Stokes has become.

“His cradle is deadly,” Schaub said referring to Stokes' patented move on the mat. “He could choke you out with that thing. He’s just so strong.”

Of course, the biggest challenge for Stokes or any wrestler attempting to become a four-time champion, is winning the first one. It’s almost always the hardest to get. But for Stokes, it seemed to come easy.

As a freshman, he wrestled at 160 pounds, and Stokes cruised to his first individual crown and did so with four pins, including a pin of Bryan Schaffer of Columbia Falls in 4:50 in the final.

“I was pretty shocked myself when I won my freshman year,” Stokes said. “I don’t think anyone was thinking that, maybe my coaches. Your freshman year, everyone is tough, everyone is stronger than you, you just have to technically beat them. So I definitely surprised myself.”

After getting his first state title in the 2014 state tournament, Stokes went for number two in 2015 and won in even more dominating fashion. As a sophomore, he again pinned all of his opponents, with the longest match lasting 3:29.

In the final, Stokes pinned Doug Rooney of Sidney and he did it in just 1:21. The victory gave him his second state title and also clinched a third-consecutive team title for the Ponies.

“Honestly, it was after my second year that I really started to think about it (four-time),” Stokes said. “That was when I thought I had a chance. But it was really after my freshman year that I really started to own my workouts. You have to put that extra work in to get to the top and that’s finally when I realized that I had that opportunity.”

Stokes, who has starred in both football and wrestling for the Ponies, is no stranger to working hard. That hard work has translated not just to success on the mat, but on the football field as well. This past season, Stokes earned All-State honors on both sides of the ball and also earned a scholarship to play on the gridiron at Montana Tech.

Ultimately, because of his care-free spirit, Stokes' work ethic is overlooked, but according to his head coach, you shouldn’t let his fun-loving attitude make you think twice about his dedication.

“Jase loves to compete,” HHS head coach Scott Filius said. “Jase wants to fool ya, but he very much enjoys working hard. The thing I enjoy the most about Jase is that he’s fun. We have a staff that is very versed in knowledge and we have a lot of fun-loving guys and Jase is very much involved with that, so he’s been a lot of fun to be around.”

Hard work is one thing, but talent is another, some have it, some don’t. Stokes has it and in terms of raw ability on the mat, he has been blessed with talents few can equal.

“Jase is a very good high-school kid,” Filius said. “But he’s just scratching the surface of what he could be. He’s put some efforts in other directions and he does well in those things, too, and I don’t want to take away from that, but if he had been eye-ball deep and in it (wrestling) like Parker, he would be in the same boat.”

Montana State University-Northern wrestling head coach Tyson Thivierge, who recruited Stokes to wrestle for the Lights, happens to agree.

“He’s just got a lot of natural talent,” Thivierge said. “He’s a football player that has a lot of natural wrestling ability. He’s god-awful strong and super competitive and those are pretty important things when you are looking at someone wrestling at the collegiate level. Jase has all the tools, and I don’t even think he has tapped into how truly good he could be as a wrestler and I think that’s ’cause he wants to play football.

“Especially at our level both (Parker Filius and Stokes) could have been multiple-time national champions, they are just gifted,” he added. “If Jase put in the time to wrestling, like he did in football, you are looking at a heavily recruited Division I athlete as well.”

The thought that Stokes has massive amounts of untapped potential, can’t be a comforting thought for the many opponents who have tried to beat him over the years and failed. But it’s a testament to just how good he’s been. And even if he hasn’t reached his peak, it hasn’t stopped him from dominating the competition. This season, he has just one loss, for his career, just a handful.

However, one match Stokes almost lost, was his final against Connor Murdoch of Hardin in the 2016 state tournament. After dominating his first three opponents en route to the championship, Stokes notched three pins and won his matches in a combined 2:13. But even still, his showdown with Murdoch would prove to be the most challenging of his career at state.

At one point, Stokes even trailed. But even without his best stuff, he was able to persevere and notch a 7-4 win by decision. It’s the only state tourney match the three-time state champion didn’t win by pinfall and it’s also the victory that set the stage for his shot at winning number four.

“That was definitely my toughest match,” Stokes said. “He was even beating me at one point. I am not sure if it was something I ate, but I just felt off. The atmosphere was there, I just didn’t feel right, but I was able to put it together at the end and get it done.”

Unlike many others, Stokes was able to overcome his off night. He was able to win, when he wasn’t at his best. That’s what great athletes are able to do. And according to Thivierge, that’s the kind of thing it takes to be a four-timer.

“Kids that don’t fold under pressure; kids that don’t shy away from the limelight,” Thivierge said when asked what makes a four-time champion. “You need someone that doesn’t allow that pressure to get to them.”

With a perfect 12-0 mark at the state tournament, three state titles, four divisional championships and hundreds of victories, many coming by pin, Stokes has proven his ability to handle the pressure. The question is, with the chance to make history, can he do it one last time?

“I am excited for it and it’s something that will mean a lot,” Stokes said. “It’s going to be bittersweet, since it will be my last time wrestling and there is some pressure obviously, but I have been pretty comfortable at the Metra and I am just going to go in and try to wrestle like it’s any other match.”

Regardless of what Stokes says, his final trip to the state tournament won’t be like any other and if it goes as planned, for he and Parker Filius, their experience will be the first of its kind, for any Havre wrestler.

“Whichever one of us gets there first won’t really matter,” Stokes said. “Obviously, we have to get there first, but I don’t think it will matter which one of us does it. It will be special either way. It will be like nothing I have ever experienced before.”