Eleven Highlanders extended their season at this weekend ‘s prestigous Black Hills Nationals / AAU World Folkstyle Wrestling Championships in Spearfish, South Dakota. There were a record 1,472 wrestlers in attendance at the 20th Annual event. GWC may have brought a small group, but they would prove mighty! 9 of the 11 found their way onto the podium with a Top 8 finish to earn individual “AAU All-American” Honors.
FIVE Highlanders would make the finals; with TenLea Sundeen, Taden Sundeen, Saunten Gamas, and Brenley Flaten finishing runner-up and Collins Flaten winning an Individual Championship. Tate Lehner, Madison Lamb, Lyla Lehner, and Harlee Vandermars would also snag podium spots at the 2-day event.
The Glasgow Wrestling Club ended up finishing in 13th Place overall out of 228 teams in attendance. Securing 3rd place among ALL Montana teams. Trailing only Team Champs (Billings West) and Heights Wrestling Club (Billings Skyview). The Highlanders were the smallest team in the Top 20 of the final Team Standings. An overall impressive showing by the local squad.
Eight Highlanders will travel with Team Montana this coming weekend to Des Moines, Iowa for the AAU National Duals! William Kirkland, Tyler King, Madison Lamb, Hunter Pierce, Jack Morehouse and Aiden Aune have ALL qualified. Chloe Lamb and Bailey Dooley will travel as Middle School Girl alternates.
Our annual End of the Year Pizza/Bowling Party will take place at El Cor Del Lanes this Sunday April 7th from 1:00 to 3:00 PM. ALL current Glasgow Highlanders and their immediate families are invited to close out this highly succesful season in grand fashion.
The most prestigious tournament in our home state is the Montana Open at the Billings Metra! GWC brought the 6th largest team to the event this year with 55 wrestlers. It was a total team effort to put up 221 points and finish in 13th place overall out of 195 clubs in attendance. The Highlanders were 3rd place amongst Class B/C feeder programs.
Leading the way were four Individual Champions and four runner-ups! TenLea Sundeen, Ryan Gamas, Aurora Markle, and Walker Kirkland would each collect a tournament title and WIN the coveted “Skull”. 31 out of 55 wrestlers reached the podium with a Top 6 finish. The 4 champions and 31 individual placers both make up the 2nd most in club history at the premier event.
The Open signals the end of the season for the majority of the Club. The Highlanders, however, will send a smaller contingent to Black Hills Nationals in Spearfish, South Dakota this coming Friday and Saturday. Eight Highlanders will also join Team Montana and head to the AAU National Duals in Des Moines, Iowa the first weekend in April.
Montana Open Individual Results:
6U Brands Casterline 4th Theo Marks 6th Nels Redfield Newt Knaff 3rd Aurora Markle **Champion** Saylor Thompson Brenley Flaten 6th
8U Howard Redfield Dayton Markle Rowen Thompson Ledger Kaufman CJ Sillerud Colt Knaff 5th Buddy Cole Olive Marks 6th Archer Henry Taryn Sundeen 4th Collins Flaten 5th Rygan Gamas **Champion**
WOW! The Highlanders put on one heck of a show in Montana’s greatest venue this weekend. For the first time in club history; the Glasgow Wrestling Club Boys WON the Large Team AAU State Championship. The Girls won the Large Team title in 2022 and the Boys have claimed Small and Medium team titles throughout the storied history of the program, but had never went up against every single Class AA feeder program to win the highest honor. Until this year!
There was a record 1,271 boys in attendance representing 85 different youth clubs. The Highlander boys brought 43 wrestlers to the big dance and scored a whopping 463 points. It was good enough for the 4th most points overall; which in itself is the best finish in program history! Only Team Champs (Billings West), Sidney, and Billings Wrestling Club finished with more total points. The 463 points is the 2nd most the Glasgow Boys have ever scored at a State AAU tournament. (492 points in 2022) According to Montana AAU By-Laws. The small, medium, and Large Team Titles are determined by a club’s total points divided by their total number of wrestlers. That formula gave Glasgow 10.767 points/per wrestler just ahead of Class AA power Team Champs (Billings West) with 10.535 points/per wrestler. 2-time defending AAU Large Team Champion, Huntley Project, finished in 3rd place and Billings Wrestling Club finished in a close 4th. It was the strength of six Individual CHAMPIONS and twenty one state placers that put the mighty Highlanders over the top!
The Boys also finished in 2nd place overall for the famed Bobby McKinley Trophy; which is given to the best “10-man” team at the event. Huntley Project would score 82 to win the plaque, GWC would come just one point short by scoring 81, and Team Champs was 3rd in the McKinley race with 79 points.
The Highlander Girls would shine bright right alongside the boys this weekend as they were simply DOMINANT from start to finish! The event featured a record 448 girls and GWC brought their own record of 24 girls to the State Meet. It was the 3rd largest female team in attendance. At the end of three intense days of Wrestling; the Highlander Girls would finish in 2nd Place overall out of 64 clubs with a team record 243.5 points. The girls added an Individual Champion and a team record nineteen individual state placers! Only Class AA Billings Darkhorse Girls (Billings Senior) would put up more team points this weekend in the Metra. It is the 4th consecutive year that the Highlander Girls have finished in the Top 3 overall at the State AAU tournament and the 4th consecutive year of finishing above ALL other Class B/C feeder programs. The future is extremely bright for the ladies of Glasgow Wrestling.
The Girls also finished in 3rd place overall for the Walt Egged Award; which is given to the best “10-man” team at the event. Billings Darkhorse would score 77 to win the plaque, Billings Heights scored 56 to finish runner-up, and the Highlanders rounded out the top three with 52 points.
It was another year of records being smashed by the local club. The 67 wrestlers was the second most GWC has ever brought to a State AAU Meet. The 40 combined Boys and Girls Individual State Placers breaks last year’s record of 37! The 706.5 combined Team Points is also a NEW standard for a youth Wrestling Club that has been around since 1968. To top it all off, six Highlanders used their performances from this weekend to earn a spot on the AAU National Duals team. William Kirkland, Jack Morehouse, Aiden Aune, Hunter Pierce, Tyler King, and Madison Lamb will now represent Team Montana in Des Moines, Iowa on April 5th-7th. Bailey Dooley and Chloe Lamb have both been named as Team Montana alternates for the trip to Iowa. Outstanding all the way around.
GWC will do it all again next weekend as the Highlanders will head back to the Billings Metra for the premier event in the region, the Montana Open! Action will begin late Friday afternoon and continue through Sunday afternoon. The event is expected to smash more attendance records.
State AAU Individual Results–
Tot Theo Marks 5th Rhett Murch 5th Brands Casterline 3rd Frank Pattison Jax Pankratz Newt Knaff Kayson Murch 5th Saylor Thompson 6th
Cadet Cody Kuka Tyler King Alex Earll Ernie Vandall 3rd Madison Lamb 5th
Elite Joaquin Torres 5th James Landles 5th William Kirkland **State Champion** Michael King 3rd Avery Pedersen 2nd
Team Montana Qualifiers — AAU National Duals in Iowa:
William Kirkland — 9th/10th Grade Silver Team Jack Morehouse — Middle School Gold Team Aiden Aune — Middle School Gold Team Hunter Pierce — Middle School Team Tyler King — Middle School Team Madison Lamb — Girls High School Team Chloe Lamb — Girls Middle School Team (Alternate) Bailey Dooley — Girls Middle School Team (Alternate)
The Highlanders closed out the 2024 “Regular Season” this weekend at the Annual Brodie Gorder Memorial Iron Eagle Team Duals and Individual Tournament in Sidney!
The Glasgow Wrestling Club has been attending the Team Duals for the last decade and this year’s marks the best finish in club history. GWC finished in 3rd Place overall out of 20 Dual Teams. Saturday brought high-intensity action to Sidney High School and our team responded by going 4-0 and winning the “D Pool”. During these preliminary duals; Glasgow defeated Williston, Butte, Sidney (JV), and Lewistown. That effort landed them in the “Gold Bracket” late Saturday afternoon.
The Gold Bracket featured three other regional power house programs; Team Champs Black (Billings West), Dakota Rattlers (Minot, ND.), and Team Brodie (Sidney Varsity). The Highlanders were defeated by the eventual 1st place squad, Team Champs Black, during semifinal action, but it was a very competitive effort by our local kids. To close it out, GWC was pitted against their Northeast Montana rival, Team Brodie out of Sidney. In the end, it was the Highlanders that grabbed the convincing 65-50 victory over the host club. AWESOME job GWC.
On Sunday, it was time for the Individual tournament. The Highlanders were the 3rd largest team at the event, with 48 wrestlers taking the mat. This year’s Brodie Gorder Iron Eagle featured a record 38 teams and 696 competitors. GWC would crown 8 Individual Champions and 36 out of 48 Highlanders would find the podium with a Top 6 finish! The club finished with the 4th most Pins/Tech Falls at the event and an overall 55% winning percentage.
Postseason begins this week as the club will head to the Billings Metra to compete at the STATE AAU Tournament on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. 70+ Highlanders are expected to make the trek to the big dance.
Brodie Gorder Iron Eagle Team and Individual Results–
Saturday Team Duals:
Glasgow Wrestling Club 109 Fergus Wrestling Club (Lewistown) 12 Glasgow Wrestling Club 74 Coyote Wrestling Club (Williston) 39 Glasgow Wrestling Club 86 Butte Wrestling Club 33 Glasgow Wrestling Club 108 Sidney Wrestling 16 Team Champs Black (Billings West) 83 Glasgow Wrestling Club 26 **Semifinals** Glasgow Wrestling Club 65 Team Brodie (Sidney) 50 **3rd/4th Place Consolation Finals** — Glasgow Finishes in 3rd Place / out of 20 —
Sunday Individual Tournament:
Tot– Saylor Thompson 2nd Theo Marks 1st Rhett Murch 5th Arlie Hoerner Brands Casterline 3rd Harrison Kemmis 2nd Newt Knaff 1st
The Glasgow Wrestling Club has officially entered the “stretch run” of the 2024 season and 58 Highlanders were back on the mats over the weekend! When the calendar flips to March it always represents the most crucial four weeks of competition. The Middle School State Tournament is traditionally held on the first Saturday of March in Lewistown, Montana and provides the youth club’s 5th thru 8th graders with a chance at ALL-Class recognition! This year’s Montana Middle School State Championships had a record 772 wrestlers in attendance. GWC brought a club record 20 wrestlers to the premier event. When the dust settled, the Highlanders would tie a club record with SIX individual place winners. Jack Morehouse and Tyler King would lead the way with both finishing runner-up in their respective weight classes. The Highlander boys finished 12th place overall out of 55 teams with 117.5 team points. It was good enough for 3rd place among Class B/C feeder programs. The Highlander girls finished in 11th place overall out of 44 teams with 64.5 team points. It was good enough for 6th place among Class B/C feeder programs.
Also on Saturday, 25 young Highlanders attended the Battle in the Badlands in Glendive. GWC’s small contingent impressed with 7 individual Champions and 19 top three finishers. A 61% overall winning percentage was tops among the 16 clubs in attendance!
Finally on Sunday, a group of Highlanders closed out the weekend at the Big Spring Brawl in Lewistown. The team finished in 2nd place overall out of 13 clubs with 81 team points. Only finishing behind the tournament host; the Fergus Wrestling Club. 13 Highlanders showed up and showed out, finishing with 5 individual Champions and putting all 13 on the podium with top five finishes. Again, Glasgow would finish with the best team winning percentage at the event. Winning at a 65% clip on Sunday!
This Thursday will be the club’s most important annual fundraiser. The Glasgow Wrestling Club’s 19th Annual Spaghetti Feed and Pie Auction will get underway at the Glasgow Elks Lodge at 6:00 PM. Auction will begin at 7:00 PM. The final 4 weeks of the season will feature incredible competition. Sidney’s Brodie Gorder Memorial, State AAU and the Montana Open (both in the Billings Metra), and Black Hills Nationals in Spearfish, South Dakota.
Middle School State Individual Results–
Varsity Boys Ryker Nixdorf Aiden Aune Hunter Pierce Taden Sundeen 5th Jack Morehouse 2nd Saunten Gamas 3rd Weston Kirkland Tyler King 2nd DC Flaten Alex Earll Ernie Vandall
