Call it the ultimate reality check for wrestlers.

The Western B-C divisional tournament is definitely not for the faint of heart, this is heated hand-to-hand combat intended to determine which grapplers are worthy of entry into the biggest Montana high school event of any season, the All-Class tournament in Billings Thursday through Saturday.

Fighting their ways through their sometimes-stacked weight classes at the Western B-C last week, three Blue Hawks emerged from the divisional tournament fracas, often referred to as the super divisional nowadays, and will move on to the State B-C portion of the All-Class meet this week.

Sophomore Weston Block won his way into the championship final at 118 pounds and eventually settled for second place at that weight (claiming a spot in his third straight State B-C), freshman Ethan Traver placed eighth, also at 118, and freshman Zarek Pallister surprised everyone by overcoming illness, winning several big matches and claiming seventh at 215.

Also wrestling well in Butte but not coming away with a placing efforts to gain entry to the State B-C were eighth graders Billy Albano (103 pounds) and Jonathan Toyias (126), and high school boys Carson Kenney (138), Easton Helvey (157), Liam Pallister (215) and Jacobe Wood (285), and Hawk girls Lexi Volk-Ocacio (110), Aubree Cribbs (115) and Matea Keefe (115).

Blue Hawk coaches Nate and Ashley Block and their remaining three grapplers are relishing their opportunities to keep things going another week in Billings. “These tournaments are always high drama, there is so much at stake,” Nate said. "There are always upsets, there’s always heartbreak and always last-second wins.”

Unfortunately, the coaches’ own son Weston fell victim to a little of that upset, heartbreak and last-second business in the Western B-C at the Civic Center Saturday. After winning his way to the semifinals with wins in the first round and quarterfinals Friday, first pinning C. Boyce of Cut Bank in 1:03 and then sticking H. Zeiler of Mission in 1:34, Weston

started his day Saturday by pinning Conrad’s Printy-Smith in only 31 seconds of the semifinal match, setting up a finals berth with Boulder’s R. Douglas.

Things appeared to be continuing to go Weston’s way in the final as he quickly built a big lead. “He was up big, it looked like he may even tech fall him there for a while,” Nate offered. “But then it happened. We got caught and got pinned right at the buzzer ending the second period,” he added, casting a slight shadow of doubt as to whether the pin actually beat the clock or not.

Weston was leading 13-7 when that shadow was cast, coinciding with the buzzer or not.

“It’s tough but it happened and we have to move on,” Nate said. "I actually think he can use it as motivation, it might be good to go in to state with a little bit of a chip on your shoulder.”

The Hawk coaches were also very impressed with yet another solid tournament performance from Traver, who as a freshman has already earned his second State B-C tournament berth, as there was no easy way out of the tough field of wrestlers at 118, and also with the mat performance of the still-improving Zarek Pallister at 215.

“Zarek was really sick when we got to Butte, he even contemplated pulling out,” Nate said. “But he stuck it out, ended up competing and wrestled great, earning his way to state.”