Hunt, Hazlett, Stepan, Stepan, Blow and Abad crowned divisional champs

Five Butte High wrestlers and one Butte Central grappler claimed divisional titles to highlight the weekend as a total of 36 Mining City wrestlers qualified for the state tournament.

The State All Class Wrestling tournament begins Thursday afternoon at MetraPark in Billings.

Butte High will send 22 boys and nine girls. Central will send five boys to compete.

The Bulldog boys posted a very strong showing at the Western AA Divisional Friday and Saturday in Kalispell. Butte High placed second with 279.5 points, trailing only Kalispell Flathead’s 332.5. Missoula Sentinel took third at 236.5.

Senior Will Stepan, junior Keegan Hunt and sophomore Bode Hazlett took home divisional titles and will be the No. 1 seed from the Western AA at state.

Hunt won the title at 113 pounds, pinning teammate Renzy LeProwse in the championship match. LeProwse, an eighth grader, will continue his impressive season in Billings.

Hazlett rolled to the title at 144 pounds. He pinned Aiden Downing of Flathead in 1 minute, 39 seconds in the title bout.

Stepan is the divisional champ at 157 pounds after edging Luke Widman of Missoula Sentinel in a 12-8 championship battle.

Junior Ryder McEwen wrestled to second place in the 138-pound weight class, while a pair of Bulldogs placed third after beating teammates in the third-place match.

Freshman Reveles McEwen edged Bulldog teammate Bradey Doyle, a sophomore, in a thrilling 3-2 bout for third at 118 pounds. Junior Darryn Rossiter topped Butte High classmate Lincoln Zell in a 7-5 decision for third place at 126 pounds.

The top eight boys from each age group move on to state. That includes senior Ben Tierney (fourth at 110 pounds), sophomore Bridger Garrison (fourth at 138), senior Brayden Pierce (fourth at 190), senior Waylond Hicks (fourth at 215), senior Gavin Rowe (fourth at 285) junior Bridger Brancamp (fifth at 175), freshman Kuley Queer (sixth at 110), junior Joey Ward (sixth at 132), sophomore Jaeger Hansen (seventh at 144), sophomore Finn Wortham (seventh at 150), senior Jake Bailey (seventh at 157), sophomore Reece Cunneen (eighth at 165) and sophomore Kasen O’Keefe (eighth at 175).

On the girls’ side in Kalispell, juniors Jessica Blow and Mattie Stepan walked away with divisional titles for the Bulldogs.

Blow beat Glacier’s Mikaela Julius in a 9-4 match for the title at 120 pounds. Stepan stuck Flathead’s Elisa Bernabe in 57 seconds to win the 145-pound crown.

Bulldog junior Peyton Liva placed second in the 100-pound division, while sophomore Rylee Radcliffe took second at 190 pounds, and freshman Cheyanne Robinson finished second in the division with a 235-pound weight limit.

With the girls’ state tournament not being separated by classes, the number of wrestlers moving on from to the state tournament varies with each weight class. Other Bulldogs moving on include junior Allie Ballensky (third at 190 pounds) eighth grader Irelynn Cullen (fourth at 105), sophomore Brooke Johnson (fourth at 140) and eighth grader Sage Queer (fourth at 170).

Bulldog eighth graders Brooklyn Hettick (fourth at 100) and Deerea Smith (fourth at 125) and freshman Mattison Neighbor (fifth at 155) placed, but were squeezed out by the variable equation determined before the start of the meet.

Butte High placed third in team standings with 178 points. Flathead won with 363.5 points, and Missoula Big Sky took second at 184.5.

In Browning, Butte Central junior Marquis Abad claimed the Western A Divisional crown at 110 pounds. He pinned Brander McCullum of Ronan in 4:54 in the championship match.

Senior Devin Rossiter placed third at 126 pounds for the Maroons, and freshman Kelsen Brackett took fifth at 110. Also, senior James Holmes qualified with a seventh-place showing at 138 pounds, and sophomore Jack Holmes moves on after placing seventh at 126.

On the girls’ side, Butte Central sophomore Amira Gonzlales placed third at 125 pounds and will represent the Maroons in Billings.

Divisional meet results and real-time state results can be found at trackwrestling.com.

Click the links below for tournament brackets.

Class AA boys; Class A boys; Girls

‘Mr. Clutch’ delivers some déjà vu

If it seems like Butte High senior Tocher Lee has done this before, it is because he has.

Whether it is basketball, baseball, football or whichever sport Lee is playing at the time, he has long been known as player who comes through in the clutch.

The latest bigtime moment from Lee came Friday night in Butte High’s 61-57 victory over Missoula Hellgate at the Ross J. Richardson Gymnasium.

Lee took a pass from junior guard Hudson Luedtke and swished a 3-pointer with 18.5 seconds left. The shot put the Bulldog on top for good.

If it seems like that play looked familiar, it is because it does. The Bulldogs used basically the same play to set up Lee’s buzzer beater to give Butte High a 58-56 win over Kalispell Glacier on Saturday morning of the Western AA Divisional basketball tournament last March at the Butte Civic Center.

That shot sent the Bulldogs to the state tournament in Missoula.

In Friday’s thriller, the future Montana Tech football player hit the shot from almost the same spot on the court, behind the right elbow. Butte High trailed 57-56 when Lee let go of the ball.

This time, though, Lee wasn’t quite as deep as he was in the divisional game-winner, when he sank his shot from the old CBA 3-point line.

Lee and the Bulldogs also left a little more time on the clock, too. That, though, only lead to more theatrics as the Bulldogs closed out the huge Class AA victory.

Glacier called timeout with 2.5 seconds left after Lee’s bucket in March. Hellgate didn’t have a timeout, but the Knights raced down the court, only to be whistled for a traveling violation.

Hellgate didn’t have enough fouls to send the Bulldogs to the line in an effort to get the ball back. After two quick Hellgate fouls, Bulldog sophomore Braylon Larson broke free to catch an inbounds pass from Dylan “Bobby” Bache. Larson then threw home a two-handed dunk as time expired, sending the hometown crowd into delirium.

The dunk by the 6-foot-9 Larson was the first slam in a varsity game by the Bulldogs this season.

Luedtke finished the night with a game-high 24 points. Lee scored 14, while Bache joined Larson with 10. Butte Also got a. three out of Spencer Callaghan as the Bulldogs improved to 9-5 overall and 5-4 in conference.

Freshman Brady Hanson, junior Kendel Noctor and Torre Teampel also played for the Bulldogs in the win.

Easton Sant’s 17 points paced the Knights, who fell to 9-4 and 6-3.

Lee’s game-winning 3-pointer was his fourth trey of the game, he now has 10 through six games of a season that was limited first by a toe injury suffered a in football. Then, Lee suffered a concussion just after the Christmas break, forcing him to miss more time.

His latest game-winner was also his 100th career varsity 3-pointer for the Bulldogs, through 77 career games. Lee recently passed Kenley Leary (95 threes), Mike Hawbaker (94) and Trevyn Roth (93) on the school’s all-time list.

The only Bulldogs with more career 3-pointers than Lee are Ryson Lovshin (101) and Chad Jonart (115). Jonart and Lovshin both played 59 career varsity games, according to Butte High’s official team records.

Starting with this week’s home games against the Kalispell schools, Lee has five more home games then likely a playoff game and possibly the state tournament to pass Jonart for the top spot.

Of course, if Lee does eclipse the record, it might be a short-lived time in the top spot. Luedtke, who assisted on so many of his teammate’s threes, is hot on Lee’s tail with 87 made 3-pointers, including 29 this season.

The big win over Hellgate came two nights after Butte High fell 60-49 to Missoula Sentinel in Missoula. Luedtke scored 15 points to pace the Bulldogs in that game. Bache scored 13, while Larson tossed in eight, Lee netted seven and Temple scored six.

Bulldog girls split nail-biters

Butte High’s girls’ basketball team, meanwhile, played a pair of thrilling games last week.

The Bulldogs beat Missoula Sentinel 51-49 Tuesday at the Richardson Gym. Then they fell in a 54-52 contest Tuesday night at Missoula Hellgate, putting Butte High at 9-5 overall and 5-4 in Western AA play.

Sophomore Cadence Graham poured in 27 points to lead the Bulldogs in the home win over the Spartans. That included a huge 3-pointer with 20 seconds left to break a tie.

After a key rebound by junior Franki Salusso, Graham then hit two free throws to secure Butte High’s second victory in three nights. Graham made 9 of 10 shots from the free throw line in the win. She also buried four 3-pointers while scoring more than half of Butte High’s points.

Senior Brittyn Stewart scored six points, while eighth grader Ellison Grahm joined Salusso and junior Emma Johnson with five points.

The Bulldogs also got three form senior Dylann Bartoletti.

Peyton Size scored 12 points to lead the Spartans. Avery Ogren and Lucy Pfahler each scored 11.

In Missoula, Paisley Johnson and Shannon Kane each scored 13 points as the Knights avenged a 51-37 loss to Butte High Jan. 9 in Butte. Elly Reed scored 10 points.

Stewart scored a season-high 28 points to lead the Bulldogs, who fought until the end.

“I’m super proud of the girls,” Bulldog coach Bryan Arntson said. “They played tough. It just wasn’t in the cards.”

Cadence Graham tossed in 16 points for the Bulldogs, who got six from Salusso and two from senior Addie Hiatt. Bartoletti, Ellison Graham, Johnson, sophomores Autumn Clary and Allie Becker and junior Gracie Jonart also contributed to the Bulldog effort.

Glacier will be in town Friday to take on the Butte High boys and girls. Flathead will visit on Saturday. The girls will be featured in the nightcap of both doubleheaders.

Friday’s boys’ varsity game starts at 4:30 p.m., while the girls play at 6. Saturday’s games are set for 3 and 4:30.

Maroons overcome snow, sickness

A heavy winter snow storm and about with influence did not keep the short-handed Butte Central boys’ and girls’ basketball teams from winning — and winning big — in Southwestern A games against Stevensville.

The games were set for Friday, but moved back to Saturday after the heavy snow blanked the western half of the state.

In Stevensville, Butte Central’s boys jumped out to a 39-16 lead, and the Maroons rolled to a 78-34 victory.

Senior Owen McPartland poured in 25 points to lead the Maroons in the lopsided victory, which completed the season sweep of the Yellowjackets. Sophomore Cade “Buzz” Kelly added a varsity career-high 19 points.

BC also got 17 points from sophomore Joshua Sutton, seven from eighth grader Noah Sutton, six from senior Justus McGee and four from senior Patrick Stimatz. Sophomore GG Fantini and freshman Jaxon Hiatt also played for the Maroons, who evened their conference record at 3-3. Central is 6-8 overall.

BC played again without junior Ryan Peoples.

Central coach Brodie Kelly said his players were dropping like flies during the game. The Maroons finished the game with just six healthy players.

Healthy enough, anyway.

At the Maroon Activities Center, the Maroons beat the Yellowjackets for the second time this season. This time it was a convincing 43-17 victory, even though BC’s leading scorers — freshmen Kenzie McQueary and Zayonna Otherbull — stayed home.

Junior Arika Stajcar paced Central’s balanced attack with 11 points. In all, seven different BC players scored points.

Freshman Jaedyn Maldonado tossed in seven points, while freshmen Rylee Forbes and Evyn Smith joined sophomores Marly Mansanti and Meika Boyer with four points apiece.

Junior Caden Tippett, freshman Natalie Osterman and eighth grader Evyn Tippett also contributed for the Maroons.

Butte Central’s girls will hit the road for a pair of key conference games this week. BC plays at Frenchtown on Thursday before heading to Hamilton on Saturday.

Central’s boys, meanwhile, will celebrate Senior Night Thursday at home against Frenchtown. They will honor Stimatz, McGee, McPartland and their parents before the game. The BC boys will then join the girls for a doubleheader Saturday in Hamilton.

Michael Peck commits to Carroll

When Michael Peck entered high school, he was not even sure he was going to play football.

The Butte Central senior had so many other interests.

As it turns out, his stellar career in the trenches for the Maroons opened some eyes. That includes Carroll College football coach Troy Purcell.

Peck, the son of Josh and Mariya Peck, will officially sign an NAIA Letter of intent to play football at Carroll College on Wednesday. A signing ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. at the Butte Central Rotunda.

A two-year team captain and recipient of BC’s Last Man Standing Award, Peck was offered a spot on the Carroll team after a visit to the Helena school last week.

According to a statement, Purcell was drawn to Peck’s leadership, work ethic and strong character.

“We are excited to add Michael to our football program,” Purcell said of Peck, who started on offense and defense for the Maroons. “He is a hard worker, an outstanding young man, and possesses a great deal of promise as an athlete. He is a perfect fit for Carroll College.”

In addition to football, Peck is a dedicated student and a musician. He plays and sings for the Butte Central band. He also plays in the local band “Hesitation.”

He is the student council president, a member of the National Honors Society and a community volunteer. He mentors young students and supports the local theater productions.

Last summer, Peck was a participant at Boys State and then Boys Nation near Washington, D.C.

Family, friends, school staff and community members are invited to attend as Michael signs to continue his athletic and academic career with the Saints.

Peck made an appearance on the ButteCast in October.

Swimmers head to state

The Butte High and Butte Central swimming teams will close out the season at the state meet at the Great Falls High School pool.

Swimmers had to qualify for events during the season. The top 32 entries will compete in each event in the Class AA competition. The top 16 in each event in the Class A/B event. (Psych sheet)

In addition to relays, Butte High athletes to qualify in individual events were Bryher Fitzpatrick, Gracie Ferriter, Tatum Trefts, Nimalka DeAlwis, Gage Plum, Tucker Kissell, Olivia Thurmond, Sophia Fladger, Bella Corrales, Elgin Hoar, Ayvahn Mann, Gunner Benson, Nathan Stone, Blair Hamry, Grayson Lynch, Alex Cranny, Adalie Grochowski and Alex Sonnemann.

Individual qualifiers for Butte Central are Morgan Hardy, Jim Bradshaw, Shamus Peck and Connor Hardy.