The Whitefish High School wrestling team was strong this year, with seven girls and seven boys on the squad, including four seniors, Jasper Jungwirth, Kacee Orvis, Taylor Dorvall and Sam Akey. 

After winning divisionals, Dorvall took second place in the state last month to top off a successful 30-3 season. Two of her three losses came at the hands of Flathead High School’s Julia Kay and the third was in a match with an Idaho wrester who was No. 1 in class. 

Her success is bringing her opportunities from North Dakota and Oregon. 

“I am undecided of which college I'm going to now,” Dorvall, the team captain, said. “But I do have two offers to go wrestle so I'm trying to figure out which one I want to go to.” 

Akey placed third in divisionals, and although his experience at state wasn’t what he would have liked, he wrestled well all season. 

“The season went really well, in my opinion. I worked on a lot of stuff and I felt like I had a lot of growth in wrestling this season,” Akey said. 

A three-sport athlete, Akey, who also runs track, is heading to Montana Tech in the fall to play football for the Orediggers. 

Akey and Dorvall each started wrestling when they were just 4 years old. Akey said wrestling and the training involved with wrestling has helped him learn about his body, thereby improving his football tackling technique. 

Dorvall missed her freshman wrestling season with a torn ACL. She had a good season as a sophomore until dislocating her elbow, and during her junior year, she was the only girl on the team, an added challenge. 

“It was hard for me because in practice I would have to go against the guys and just like strength-wise and size-wise, it was challenging,” Dorvall recalled. “The girls tournaments are separated from the boys [due to numbers] so I would just be by myself with a coach and ... it was hard to be included.  

“This year, I got my own girls team,” she said. 

The wrestlers are guided by a team of coaches, head coach Adrian (Tom) Gaultier and assistant coaches Brendan Barnes, Jared Odell and Logan Heyne. 

“They really helped us become a family this year,” said Dorvall. “I think that we owe them a lot, especially because they pushed us every day to be better.  

“It made me really want to work harder and be stronger at wrestling, and I think this year, I really proved that,” she said. “I was the first girl at Whitefish to win divisionals last year and now I'm the first girl to place and be a finalist at state. That's pretty exciting.” 

Part of the wrestling workouts involve weight training, but not with universal machines, smith racks and traditional weights. 

“We did weight training with each other. We would pick each other up and have to carry each other across the room,” she said. “It was all just about being able to pick up your opponent ...  and less about your ability to pick up a dumbbell.” 

Akey and Dorvall hope that after the four seniors leave, more students will become interested in wrestling. They said there is much to be gained by the mental aspect of the sport. 

“I think wrestling has definitely helped me be a better student and a better person just because of how mentally challenging the sport is,” Dorvall said. “I think that wrestling is one of those sports that it's just so good to do because of how it transforms you and really makes you think about life.” 

“It really humbles you and makes you more disciplined,” Akey added. “I'll definitely miss it.”