Crosstown Duals action begins at 4:30 p.m.
FRITZ NEIGHBOR | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 4 months AGO
SPORTS EDITOR Fritz Neighbor is the Sports Editor for the Daily Inter Lake. He oversees sports coverage across the Flathead Valley, including high school athletics, youth sports, and regional competitions. In his leadership role, he helps shape the newspaper’s sports coverage and editorial direction. Fritz’s column, Full Count, taps into his decades’ long career covering Montana sports. You’ll also see Fritz sharing his thoughts and insights on the Big Sky Now podcast. IMPACT: Fritz’s work celebrates the athletes and teams that bring Northwest Montana communities together. | January 8, 2025 11:00 PM
It’s time for the Crosstown Wrestling Duals, with Flathead High putting its mat under the spotlight to battle the Glacier Wolfpack.
Action starts at 4:30 p.m. the sub-varsity matches; the boys varsity teams battle at 5:30 p.m., with the girls varsity following at roughly 6:30.
“Any time you get to wrestle at home and show your hometown your product that you’ve been working on for years, it’s exciting,” Flathead boys coach Jeff Thompson said. “We always try to have an incredible atmosphere for our home meets that gets everyone pumped.
“On paper Glacier has five or six dudes that can really wrestle, so we need to be ready to battle and attack for six minutes. We are going to have fun and just let it fly at the old Flathead gym.”
Glacier has three wrestlers in the latest Class AA rankings: Aiden Sweat, No. 2 at 110 pounds; Nikola Coles, No. 1 at 165; and Mark Ahner, No. 6 at 190. Jerin Coles at 150, Matthew Ahner at 175 and Noah Horn at 275 have been impressive as well.
Nine Flathead boys are ranked, including Kellen Downing (118), Diesel Thompson (126), Hunter Arriaga (132) and Aiden Downing (144) all at No. 3. Caleb Poe-Hatten (110), Daniel Evert (138) and Dane Lake (157) are ranked fourth, Lane Chivers (165) fifth and Conor LeDuc (215) sixth.
“I think we have the possibility of a couple brother-brother matches,” Glacier coach Ross Dankers said. “We’d have Nikola against Lane Chivers, and Jerin against Brett Chivers. I think it’d be fun see two brothers wrestle.”
Glacier lost 215-pounder Tristan Hall to injury, and Dankers wonders if Flathead’s LeDuc might bump up to face his heavyweight, Horn.
Flathead is represented in the girls rankings by Julia Kay (first, 130 pounds), Bella Downing (first, 115), Kiera Lackey (third, 135), Bridget Smith (fifth, 155), Kyra McMahon (sixth, 120) and Haley Wilson (sixth, 140)
Brooke Yadon, who is No. 2 at 110, is Glacier’s lone ranked girl besides Kaura Cole. Either Yadon or Mikaela Julius could face Flathead’s Downing.
Cole, a two-time state champion Kaura Coles has yet to compete this season for the Pack, and she won’t go Thursday. The Pack also has Kylie Shine (125) and Kassidy Lingle (155) out with injuries.
“The girls that are wrestling will be ready to go,” Dankers said.
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