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
Bantam
Nels Redfield
Howard Redfield
Silas Hopstad
Atikis Girard
Eli Pankratz
Rowen Thompson
Ledger Kaufman 5th
Colt Knaff **State Champion**
Olive Marks
Aurora Markle 6th
Brenley Flaten
Taryn Sundeen 2nd
Collins Flaten **State Champion**
Midget
Tate Lehner **State Champion**
Dayton Markle
Jett Morehouse 2nd
CJ Sillerud
Milo Marks
Murdock Pattison 5th
Whit Ozark 4th
Buddy Cole
Josiah Hernandez 2nd
TenLea Sundeen 2nd
Archer Henry
Rygan Gamas 4th
Gwen Torres
Harlee Vandermars 2nd
Novice
Walker Kirkland
Anders Aune
Knoxsen Harris
Eli Holinde
Taden Sundeen **State Champion**
Kennedy Flaten 4th
Riley Pattison 4th
Lyla Lehner 6th
Khloe Kaufman 4th
Josie Hartwell 4th
Madisyn Murch 6th
Schoolboy/Girl
Aiden Aune 3rd
Hunter Pierce 3rd
Jack Morehouse **State Champion**
Saunten Gamas 2nd
Weston Kirkland
DC Flaten
Kylie Aho
Riley Pedersen 3rd
Bailey Dooley 3rd
Chloe Lamb 3rd
Aubree Holinde 5th
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)