Havre High's Martin Wilkie voted HDN Male Athlete of the Year

It wasn't long ago that, as good as the Havre High wrestling program was, the one thing it couldn't boast was, a Class A four-time individual state champion. That is until star wrestlers Parker Filius and Jase Stokes changed all that on one night in February of 2017.

Maybe overshadowed a bit on that same night in the Metra in Billings was then Blue Pony sophomore Martin Wilkie winning his second straight Class A state title and, by doing do, keeping his chances at becoming Havre's third four-time state champ alive.

It wouldn't be long, though, and Wilkie wouldn't be overshadowed again. Instead, he went on to absolutely dominate the Class A, 145-pound wrestling landscape the next two years and, as per his goal, become a four-time state champion for his hometown Blue Ponies.

Wilkie's career numbers for the Blue Ponies were absolutely staggering, including his senior year where he not only won his fourth straight state championship, but went a perfect 50-0.

Actually, Wilkie could have just as easily been unbeaten in both his sophomore and junior season and, he didn't lose a single match inside the state of Montana. But the Ponies tested themselves each year at the prestigious Tri-State in Idaho, where he fell a couple of times, that is, until his senior year when he climbed that mountaintop, too.

So, when he stood on the podium last February in Billings, a champion for the final time in his high school career, he also stood with an incredible 194 wins and just nine losses. After his freshman year, Wilkie went an impressive 146-2.

But, Wilkie wasn't just a standout wrestler during MHSA winters. He was a fixture on the AAU circuit, and, just like in his Havre High career, he capped his amateur career with a national championship, too, back in the summer of 2019. Wilkie also toured Japan as part of Team Montana, and, between his amateur exploits and one of the most dominant Class A careers in history, he earned a scholarship to NCAA Division I University of Minnesota.

Wilkie red-shirted for the Gophers in the fall, before making the decision to continue his career at hometown Montana State University-Northern. Wilkie's joining of the Lights was announced earlier this month, to the delight of head coach Tyson Thivierge, who has been watching the maturation of Wilkie for years.

"I've known Martin for a long time," Thivierge said. "He's always been a very impressive kid, on and off the mat. He eats, breathes and sleeps wrestling, and that's contagious to everyone around him. He's a killer on the mat. He's dangerous. He can do it all. He's just a very impressive kid and an amazing talent and we're very excited about him coming home."

Home is where Wilkie's incredible senior season of high school also earned him the first-ever Havre Daily News Male Athlete of the Year honor. And, now that he's wrestling for the Lights, it wouldn't be surprising if Wilkie is up for the honor many more times before he puts his wrestling shoes away for good.

"I feel honored to be selected, and I feel like the community as a whole has given me a lot of support that I am beyond grateful for," Wilkie said. "A special thanks to Beau Lasalle and Scott Filius, a lot of my accomplishments wouldn't have been possible without the time these two gentlemen sacrificed for myself."