BILLINGS — In the tournament of tournaments, the Class B-C Mission/Charlo Bulldogs went into state with a full head of steam, took 12th place and placed four wrestlers.

There were ups and downs for the team. Some wrestlers exceeded expectations and others fell a little short – it’s all part of the mystique of the state tourney, Bulldog head coach Lyle Cronk said.  

“They’re a lot of hungry and talented people when you get there and it kind of has a way of finding our weaknesses,” Cronk said.

Some wrestled like they didn’t have any.

His team’s strongest performers at the tournament left with medals. These wrestlers were senior Michael Beebe who took the third place trophy, and freshman Russell Schultz, freshman Scotty Gilleard and junior Jame Petersen who each finished the tournament in sixth.

Going into the tournament, Beebe had expectations of placing. In his three previous seasons, he hadn’t done it yet. 

“I just wanted to come away with a medal. That’s all I wanted,” Beebe said.

That’s not quite all though. He also wanted to finish with only ten losses. That goal gave him room to fall only once in the state tourney.

Beebe got his medal and met his other goal, giving up just one loss in the tournament.

“It means a lot,” Beebe said. “It’s the biggest thing that’s happened to me in high school. I was so jacked to be able to stand up on that stand in front of all those people for the first and last time.”

Cronk talked to Beebe before his final third/fourth showdown.

“I told him in his last match, ‘Michael, your going to win this match and make my day,’” Cronk said.

Beebe wrestled his way through several close matches to get to that final, then came out like it hadn’t winded him a bit and defeated his opponent 3-1 for the medal he’d been seeking.

After the match, there was still fire in Beebe’s heart.

“I had so much adrenaline, I had no idea what to do with it,” Beebe said. “I was the happiest I’ve been in a while.”

Beebe said he thanks both coaches Cronk and Jim Petersen for their support and he couldn’t have done without the support of his teammates, friends and family.

Of all the wrestlers to take one from Beebe in the tournament, it was eventual 135-pound champ Hunter Azure of Poplar who won his final 18-2.

At 98 pounds, Schultz had it as hard as anyone to get into the placing round.

In his match to get into the fifth/sixth final, Schultz faced a strong wrestler in Fort Benton’s Molly Trindle. Trindle was ranked sixth going into the tournament according to the Billings Gazette and had plenty of steam going into the match against Schultz, with the possibility of becoming Montana’s first female state placer.

The duel was a barnburner as they say. Schultz took it in overtime with a takedown in the first sudden death period with five seconds left, beating the hype and his worthy opponent to place as a freshman.

In his fifth/sixth final, Schultz lost his final match but became the first state placer on the Bulldogs lineup.

“You can’t ask any more from a freshman to make the state tournament and place,” Cronk said.

Another Bulldog freshman, Gilleard, kept stride with Schultz’ accomplishment by finishing sixth at 112 pounds.

Gilleard’s first big test was Superior wrestler Taylor Gatchel. The two wrestlers met three times this year and Gatchel came out ahead three times. If Gilleard could win the match, he would be placing in at least the top six; if not, he would be out. 

“Taylor’s always a really strong opponent and we get into trouble a lot of time in that match,” Cronk said. 

There’s no better time to turn a losing streak around then the state tourney. And that’s just what Gilleard did, finishing Gatchel with his best wrestling of the year, Cronk said.

In his fifth/sixth final, Gilleard fell by a 7-3 decision in another well-fought battle.

“That was just great to have those two freshmen both place,” Cronk said.

Bulldog Petersen took sixth as well. Cronk said Petersen was hoping to finish better than fifth, which he placed the year before. 

“Jame has been so dominant on a local level,” Cronk said. “When you get to the second day of the state tournament that is where you meet your challenge.”

After a strong first day, Petersen ran into some trouble on Saturday but still came away with a medal. A junior, he’ll have another go next year.

Senior Matt Faroni also fell on hard times and was unable to wrestle back and place after a loss to Glasgow wrestler Myles Kittleson, who finished first at 189 for the second year in a row.

“That’s pretty hard for a senior, but Matt’s had an outstanding year and been a great leader on our team,” Cronk said. “That was kind of a heartbreaker for us.”