It's not often the Brave Brawlers get to play spoiler, but that's what they look to do at the State All Class Wrestling Tournament.

Billings West comes into the tournament as the favorites in the team race, but Flathead hopes to be a thorn in the Golden Bears’ side. 

"The Flathead boys are 26 strong heading into the Metra this weekend,” Braves coach Jeff Thompson said. “We placed 11 in the finals (at divisionals) and 14 in the top three which puts us in the hunt. We really feel like we are peaking at the right time and we most definitely will battle.” 

Of those 11 finalists at divisionals, five picked up the individual crown and the Braves took home the team title over Butte. 

Flathead placed two wrestlers into each weight class except 103 and 138 pounds and the 26 wrestlers competing tie a school record and matche West with the most in this year’s tournament. 

Kellen Downing, Hunter Arriaga and Diesel Thompson all look to improve off third place finishes at state last February after taking individual titles at divisionals. Daniel Evert and Loki Bigras also claimed divisional championships a week ago and go into state as the top seed in Western AA. 

Across town, Glacier may not be sending as many wrestlers — just eight boys — but the Wolfpack have quality to compete for individual titles. 

At the top of the list are brothers Jerin (150) and Niko (165) Coles, who enter as divisional champions and the top ranked wrestlers at their weight. Niko looks to defend his state title from a year ago — that was at 152 — while Jerin makes a splash as the top seed as a freshman. 

“We have a lot of good seeds going into the tournament,” Glacier coach Ross Dankers said. “I think the message is to take it one match at a time and not look too far ahead.” 

Aiden Sweat also looks to cap off an incredible season with a state title at 110 after claiming a divisional crown. 

Girls 

The Bravettes raced ahead of the competition at divisionals last week and qualified 17 girls to the state tournament. 

Ten Bravettes reached the finals, while three brought home individual titles. Flathead nearly doubled the team score of second-place Missoula Big Sky. 

“Overall, I feel like we performed really well,” Bravettes coach Amber Downing said after the Western AA. “We are excited, I think it was a fantastic showing and it's going to pay off in the long run when we hit Billings.” 

Julliette Cuevas (105), Kiera Lackey (135) and Aspen Smart (190) look to convert their divisional success into state success. 

Bella Downing looks for her second consecutive state title after defeating Helena Capital’s Taylor Lay a year ago. 

For Glacier only five girls make the trip to Billings, but three are divisional champions. 

Brooke Yeadon hopes to place for the fourth consecutive year and nab her first state crown, while Kaura Coles looks for her third state title in a row. Katelyn Sphuler also looks to make her mark in her third state appearance. 

“We have a lot of positive energy,” Dankers said. “The girls had some great seeding on their end with the seeding meeting and I think everyone is just really excited to get out there.” 

Kylee Shine makes her second appearance at the state tournament for the Wolfpack, while Mikaela Julius makes her first appearance as a senior.