State Wrestling 2017: Chinook a ways back in B-C ranks

Billings -- The All-Class state wrestling tournament has been a special place for the Chinook Sugarbeeters over the years, but Friday inside the Rimrock Auto Arena at the Metra, things didn't go quite as planned.

The Beeters, who brought just two wrestlers to Billings for the Class B-C state tournament, were hoping to make a run at a trophy with two-time defending state champion Tate Niederegger and freshman JT Hauer.

But Niederegger, a three-time finalist at the meet, suffered a surprising upset in the quarterfinals, ending his hopes of finishing off his career as a three-time champion. The Chinook senior won his first match of the day against Kyler Alm of Florence, but it wasn't easy, as he held on 8-4 in a match that was tighter than the score indicated.

Then, in the quarterfinals, he and Ty Bradley of Colstrip, who came into the match with a record of 44-11, waged an all-out war for six minutes. Niederegger scored an escape point in the second period, which gave him a 1-0 lead. But in the final seconds, with the score still 1-0, Bradley notched a late, two-point takedown, with three seconds left.

Niederegger did his best to score in the final seconds, but came up short, giving him only his second career loss at the state tournament. However, facing elimination in the second-round consolation, he earned an 8-1 victory to keep his hopes of reaching the consolation finals alive.

"Tate is doing alright," Chinook head coach Perry Miller said. "Obviously, he is disappointed, but he came back and got a big win. That's the kind of person that he is. He is going to come back strong. After all, it's our losses not our wins that tell us who we are, depending how he come back from them. It's just hard after you are a two-time champion and you don't expect to lose."

Hauer, the other Chinook competitor, lost his first match, before winning in the opening round of the consolation bracket. Yet, in the second round, Hauer was beaten soundly, which eliminated him.

After one full day, Chinook, the two-time defending Class C state champions, finds itself well behind the pack with six points. Hot Springs sits in first place with 47 points, while Fairfield/Simms is in second place with 32. Fort Benton, another Hi-Line team, scored nine points on the first day in the Class C race as Connor Schnabel (120) advanced to Saturday after notching two wins. Landon Taylor also got a win for the Longhorns, but lost out in the second round of consolation matches.

In the Class B race, Harlem scored 13 points and got two victories from 113-pounder Gavin Horn, who still has a chance to place for the Wildcats. Reece Hutton (205) and Curtis Humphreys each scored points for Harlem, but have both been eliminated.

The action at the All-Class state tournament will resume Saturday morning at 9:30.