They came through all year and the state finals proved to be no exception.

As a result of individual championship titles earned by 126-pound senior Decker Milender and 285-pounder Chandon Vulles, the Superior Bobcats wrestlers finished atop the victory stand for Class C schools at this past weekend’s Montana State Championships in Billings.

Two wrestlers from Thompson Falls also came home with hardware as Blue Hawks junior Max Hannum won the individual Class B title at 170 pounds, while 160-pound favorite Eli Ratliff, a senior, finished second in the 160 pound category.

Another local wrestler expected to be in the running for an individual championship, sophomore John Waterbury from Plains/Hot Springs brought home third place at 132 pounds by battling back in the consolation rounds to earn a place on the victory stand.

Local girl wrestler Lillian MacDonald, competing for Plains/Hot Springs, also brought home some hardware via her fourth place finish at 145 pounds in the all-Class girls portion of the meet, commonly known as the Mat Classic.

Superior amassed 73 points in the B/C competition to emerge as the top team from a Class C school. The Bobcats were seventh overall among B/C schools.

Thompson Falls/Noxon, meanwhile picked up 57 points to finish twelfth among B/C schools, and Plains/Hot Springs was 18th in the B/C standings with 32 team points.

One other area wrestler finished in the top six when Superior’s Micah Acker, a junior wrestling at 120 pounds, took sixth place.

Milender, who wrapped up his senior year with a 30-4 overall win/loss record, won his championship match against Anaconda’s Nate Blodnick in a down-to-the-wire 9-6 decision. Blodnick, a senior, finished the year with a 38-5 mark.

The State champion title completed a season of top finishes in area wrestling meets for both Milender and Vulles, including top honors at the prestigious Ted Kato tournament in Thompson Falls.

Vulles was a pin machine on his way to the state title in the 285/heavyweight division. He won his first round match over an opponent from Jefferson High in 1:25, then scored a first round pin over Damian Ort of Fort Benton in the quarter finals. He then dispatched Riley Hume of Eureka at the 1:10 mark to advance to the finals.

In the championship match, Vulles made quick work of challenger Ethan Sullivan, Cut Bank, pinning him in 1:35.

Hannum, who was runner-up at 170 pounds the week before State in the Divisional tournament, also had an all-pin path the championship podium. He scored a pin over a Shepherd wrestler in the opening round, gluing him to the mat at the 3:08 mark. In the quarter finals, Hannum scored a fall over Trevin Bradley of Colstrip in 2:58, then took care of Glasgow’s Mason Donaldson with a pin at the 3:04 mark.

Hannum secured his title with a win by pin over Whitehall heavyweight Miles Hoerauf, who beat Hannum in the Divisional finals, stopping Hoerauf at the 3:40 mark of the second period.

The other Blue Hawk who finished with high honors, Ratliff, made it to the championship match before losing to Huntley Project senior Wylee Lindeen via a razor thin 3-2 decision. Along the way Ratliff dispatched of his first round opponent just 48 seconds into their match, then won his quarter final meeting with Ian Willoughby of Colstrip by a 13-2 major decision.

Ratliff advanced to the finals when he beat Circle’s Jaron Taylor in a 3-1 decision.

Ratliff won several meets during the year and was the 160 pound divisional champion two weekends ago. He finished his season with a sparkling 41-3 record.

Savage Horsemen wrestler Waterbury, a student at Hot Springs High, opened his 132 pound title quest with a 3:19 fall over an opponent from Conrad. He then lost in the quarters to Stran Lytton of Red Lodge via a 2:59 pin.

Waterbury fought back through the consolation round with a pair of victories to wind up with the third place medal. He closed out his sophomore year with a 44-5 season record.

MacDonald, wrestling in the 138 pound girls weight class, had a first round bye, then won her second round match with Polson’s Nizhani Haynes via a pin at the 1:04 mark.

She advanced to the semi-finals with a victory by fall, before losing to East Helena’s Dakota Peterson in that match for fourth place. The 138 pound title was won by Gretchen Donally from Huntley Project, who beat Billings West wrestler Makenzee Neal for top honors.

MacDonald’s top five finish helped the Plains/Hot Springs girls amass 18 team points, good for 41st among the state girl wrestling teams.

For Milender, the path to the title was perilous but ultimately successful.

Milender opened his title chase with a first-round pin over his opponent from Valier, then won his quarter final match when he pinned Plains/Hot Springs’ Jacob Schulze in 1:12 of the first round.

In the 126 pound semis, Milender locked horns with Poplar’s Navarjo Escarcega in a contest that ended when Milender earned a 7-6 win to advance to the finals.

Superior qualified eight wrestlers for the State tournament during the Divisional event, while Plains/Hot Springs and Thompson Falls/Noxon had five competitors each.

All three area squads return some solid talent for next season.