AA wrestling: Lockart repeats, Furthmyre takes title for Great Falls High
BILLINGS – Brendan Lockhart wasn’t on the wrestling mat very long.
Just a few ticks over four minutes total in four matches.
But it was more than enough time for the Great Falls senior to steamroll his way to a second straight 205-pound Class AA state champion Saturday at the All-Class State Wrestling Championship at First Interstate Bank Arena.
The two-day event crowned individual and team state champions and added another page in the state’s history book.
Teagan Vasquez of Kalispell Glacier and Bozeman’s Avery Allen became the 39th and 40th wrestlers to become four-time state champions. Vasquez won his final title at 132 pounds while Allen followed at 145.
Lockhart was joined atop the podium by teammate Irish Furthmyre, who won the 152-pound state championship.
Billings West unseated two-time champion Kalispell Flathead for the Class AA championship while Columbia Falls won its first Class A title since 1990. Sidney’s consecutive championship streak stopped at five.
Huntley Project was the Class B-C champion while Billings Senior won the Class AA girls and Ronan the same for the Class A-B-C girls. It was the first time in three years of competition that the girls tournament were divided by classes in the team standings.
Great Falls High finished third, while Great Falls CMR was eighth.
Lockhart, a senior, was must-watch wrestling. He had pins of 56, 50 and 43 seconds en route to the championship match.
“He’s a man. Brendan is strong,” marveled Great Falls coach Luis Carranza. “He is very focused and aggressive in the right way. He is always looking for a way to get better.”
Lockhart pinned Sawyer Troupe of Flathead in 1:48 for the title. It was his longest match of the tournament.
“You should take what you want and not let them take what they want,” he said of his approach. “Being second my sophomore year motivated me. It got me to the point where I am now.”
Lockhart, who only lost once as a junior, finished 35-0. He won the Quick Pin Award for Class AA.
“Being undefeated, it was a goal of mine,” said Lockhart who plans to visit some schools before deciding where to wrestle collegiately. “It shows I’m one of the best to come out of Great Falls. It’s a legacy.”
Furthmyre defeated familiar foe Chris Acuna 6-2 in the title match. He closed his high school career with a flourish, turning a back flip after the victory.
“I started working on that backflip my freshman year just for this moment,” he said. “It took me five, six months to learn it.”
Furthmyre finished 26-1, his only loss to Kaleb Shine of Glacier who was third this year. Furthmyre was third last year and second as a sophomore.
“Man, after losing in the semifinals last year, I was heartbroken,” said the senior, who will continue wrestling at Ottawa University in Kansas. “I just wrestled everywhere during the summer with the best guys in the state.
“This means a lot, being able to win a state championship.”
Other state champions were: 103, Makael Aguayo, Billings West; 113, Zach Morse, Billings West; 120, Keyan Hernandez, Billings West; 126, Mason Gutenberger, Belgrade; 138, Carter Schmidt, Belgrade; 160, Israel Moreno, Missoula Big Sky; 170, Paolo Salminen, Billings Skyview; 182, Noah Poe-Hatten, Flathead; 285, Mason Christian Butte.
The Bison had eight placers for the boys. They were: Kale Baumann, 145, second; Dylan Block, 160, third; Gage Clothier, 132, third; Jace Komac, 132, fourth; Ross Tolliver, 120, fifth; Gavin Cotton, 138, fifth.
Kaylin Taylor finished second at 114 for the Bison girls.
The Rustlers had six places, double their total from 2022. Placing were: Landon De La Garza, second 126; AJ Lafurge, 182, second; Paydon De La Garza, 103, fourth; Logan Younkin, 113, third; Dalton Eklund, 120, fourth; Nick Bodge, 170, sixth.
De la Garza fell to Mason Gutenberger of Belgrade in the title round, while LaFurge dropped his title match to Noah Poe-Hatten of Flathead by a close score of 9-7.
"Our kids competed really hard. I’m proud of the effort," CMR head coach Aaron Jensen said. "We doubled our placers from a year ago and had two in the finals. They are really a fun group of guy and I will miss the seniors. Mighty proud of their effort and they will go on and do well in life."
Class A
Columbia Falls became only the second team from the Western A to win a state championship in the past 20 years. Corvallis won the title in 2012.
Miles City was second while Laurel was third. Sidney finished fourth.
Havre produced two state champions: Tristan Stygles at 138 and Kale Van Campen at 182.
Stygles, a junior, needed just one minute to pin Chris Rathjen of Columbia Falls for the crown. He was the third seed out of the Eastern A.
Van Campen, a senior, defeated Noah Rausch of Frenchtown in the title match. It was a matchup of the top seeds out of the Eastern A and Western A.
Other state champions were: 103, Isaac Stewart, Frenchtown; 113, Logan Barnes, Dillon; 120, Brody Ketterling, Lockwood; 126, Cole Krutzfeldt, Lockwood; 132, Reece Graves, Sidney; 145, Zander Dean, Sidney; 152, Danyk Jacobsen, Livingston; 160, Justin Windauer, Columbia Falls; 170, Camden Johnson, Laurel; 205, Jace DeShazer, Libby; 285, Holden Meged, Miles City. DeShazer earned the Quick Pin Award with four first-period falls: 53 seconds, 1:41, 28 seconds, 53 seconds.
Dean won his third state title for the Eagles while Meged finished 28-0. He is the younger brother Haven Meged, the 2019 PRCA tie-down roping world champion.
Class B-C
Tyler Schoen plans to play football for Montana Western this fall. And the future inside linebacker has a very good reason.
“The main reason I chose football is so I can eat,” he said with a smile.
Hunger pains didn’t stop the Chinook senior from winning his second straight state title and finishing his senior season unbeaten.
Schoen edged Brady Armstrong 3-2 for the 182-pound state title.
“That was a tough match,” Schoen said. “He’s strong and only a sophomore. He’s good.”
Schoen, who won at 170 last year, finished 45-0. He had to make some last-minute adjustments after pulling his right quad muscle during Thursday’s practice session.
“I had to change my wrestling strategy,” he said.
One thing he had was confidence. He got a big shot of confidence after winning the CMR Holiday Tournament in December.
“Winning the CMR Holiday, that was insane,” said Schoen. “It proved I could compete against Class AA and A competition. I came in (the state tournament) with a whole bunch of confidence.”
He won his first three matches by pin to finish his season 45-0.
“I’ve had great coaches,” said Schoen, listing off Perry Miller for his first two seasons and Ben Stroh and Kenneth Pruttis for the final two. “This has been incredible.”
Other Class B-C winners were: 103, Baylor Burton, Huntley Project; 113, Timothy Schmidt, Eureka; 120, Cole Rogers, Three Forks; 126, Decker Milender, Superior; 132, Riley Davis, Baker; 138, Levi Wagner, Three Forks; 145, Dylan Kamps, Three Forks; 152, John Armstrong, Jefferson; 160, Wylee Lindeen, Huntley Project; 170, Max Hannum, Thompson Falls; 205, Spencer Gibbs, Malta; 285, Chandon Vulles, Superior.
Vulles was the Quick Pin Award winner.
GIRLS
Lili Schubarth gained more than family bragging rights.
She earned bragging rights for the entire state.
The Simms junior ended the back-and-forth needling between her and older brother Steven by winning the 132-pound title.
Steven Schubarth finished third at 120 pounds last year in his senior season.
Schubarth put together a 6-2 win over Amaiya Kim of Sidney. Kim was chasing her third consecutive state championship after winning twice at 126 pounds.
“I can’t wait to show him,” said Schubarth of the placard confirming her state championship status. “We go back and forth all the time. ‘Are you a state champion? Are you a state champion?’ I was motivated by brother.”
Schubarth earned a first round by then won by pin in 50 seconds, followed by a 9-5 decision in the semifinals. She was sixth last year.
“I worked hard in the offseason. I got a lot stronger,” Schubarth said. “This means a lot.”
Other girls state champions were: 100, Angeline Escarcega, Poplar; 107, Rebecca Birdwell, Lewistown; 114, Kaura Coles, Glacier; 120, Taylor Lay, Helena Capita; 126, Brynn Bower, Billings Skyview; 138, Gretchen Donally, Huntley Project; 145, Kaitlyn Thorn, Bozeman; 152, Trinity Barrus, Custer-Hysham; 165, KyLee Lindsley, Belgrade; 185, Kassidee Savaria, Billings Skyview; 23, Tirza Two Teeth, Ronan.
Escarcega finished 37-0. Lindsley won the Quick Pin Award.
This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: AA wrestling: Lockart repeats, Furthmyre takes title for Great Falls High
