28 Highlanders joined the nearly 1600 wrestlers that converged on the Billings Metra for the Montana Open this past weekend. The Open is the premier amateur wrestling tournament in the state and this years version was one of the largest ever held in the State of Montana. Glasgow native Jason Weirs, Montana Open tournament director, has done an outstanding job over the past several years helping build this tournament into a powerful regional event.

Led by tournament Champion Kohl Kittleson, the Highlanders came away with an impressive 10 total placers on the weekend. A number of others were just a match or two away from placing. “There is nothing but good that can come from a tournament like the MT Open, said Coach Jory Casterline. “The kids that wrestled this weekend have gotten better each tournament. Their 5th & 6th places earlier in the year are turning into top three finishes”.

The State tournament in Butte this weekend wraps up the long and difficult season for the Highlanders. Expect another grinder, which caps off an extremely challenging stretch for the youngsters. “These kids are doing everything that’s asked of them and they’d run through a brick wall for their coaches. Their will to compete is strong”.

It’s not just the placers that are impressing Coach Casterline though. “You either win or you learn. That’s the way we look at it. All of our kids got better this weekend.”

The Highlanders conclude their season this weekend with the State AAU tournament in Butte.

MT OPEN PLACERS
KJ Ingram 5th
Grady Nielsen 2nd
Kohl Kittleson 1st
Alex McNew 2nd
Dylan Nieskens 5th
Trevor Overvold 3rd
Matt Reyling 2nd
Kasey Seyfert 5th
Tony Kaiser 6th
Tel Aune 6th

Picture: KJ Ingram cradles his opponent on his way to a 5th place finish.