State Wrestling 2018: Beeters, Wildcats, Horns have high hopes

Over the years, the Chinook Sugarbeeters have been a force to be reckoned with at the Class B-C State wrestling tournament and with six wrestlers headed to the Rimrock Auto Arena at the Metra in Billings this weekend, the Beeters are looking strong once again.

Certainly, the All-Class State Tournament will have a different feel to it, since the Beeters will be competing without former state champion Tate Niederegger for the first time in four years, but with a mixture of talent and experience, Chinook is ready to take the Class C tournament by storm.

Of the six wrestlers who will be in action this weekend at the state tournament, which gets underway Friday at 10 a.m., only J.T. Hauer, who will wrestle at 152 pounds for the Beeters, has previous experience on the big stage at the Metra. Yet after finishing third in the Northern B/C Divisional last weekend, Hauer is just one Chinook wrestler who is hoping to find the podium.

Freshman Rebecca Stroh, who will be the first female to compete at state wrestling for Chinook, got the top spot at divisionals after no one else was in her bracket, so she will start from a favorable position. She will be among the higher seeds in her bracket, as will Garrett Pruttis, who finished second at 120 pounds at the Northern B/C.

While Pruttis and Stroh might have the best chance of reaching the podium, Hauer, Ross Reed (145), Favion Couturior (160) and Reubin Swenson (205) are others who will try to make a name for themselves.

Chinook isn't the only local team that will be sending wrestlers to the state tournament. Harlem also has a number of individuals that will head to Billings to compete, led by Ken Todd, who knocked off Pruttis in the 120-pound championship match at divisionals. The Wildcats will also send Curtis Humphreys to state after he finished second at divisionals in the heavyweight division, while Gavin Horn will compete at 113 pounds, following a third-place finish at the Northern B/C.

Fort Benton/Big Sandy is another team that will be in attendance at state this weekend. It's been a competitive year for the program, which finished seventh at divisionals, thanks to an individual title by Connor Schnabel at 126 pounds. Landon Taylor also qualified for state after finishing as the runner up at 152 pounds and lastly, Weston Allderdice made his way to state after notching a third-place finish at 170 pounds.

In terms of the team race in Class C, it's hard to predict, but Cascade, the defending Class C state champions and Circle, the 2017 runner-up, are both coming off strong performances at divisionals, just like Chinook which was fifth in the Northern B/C. Arlee is another team that could contend for a trophy this weekend. Yet, with six wrestlers and a wealth of coaching experience with co-head coaches Perry Miller and Adam Tilleman, Chinook should be part of the fight. At the very least, the Beeters can't be counted out.

The All-Class State Tournament kicks off Friday morning at 10. The tournament concludes Saturday, with the finals set to take place Saturday afternoon at the Metra.