Area Wrestlers Earn Honors At State Meet
Five wrestlers from the area earned honors during the state wrestling meet held in Billings during the weekend.
Poplar’s Angelina Escarcega won second-place honors at 107 pounds in the girls’ tournament. In the championship match, Hayley Petersen pinned Escarcega in 1:33.
Angelina advanced into her third straight state title match by pinning Brooke Yeadon of Glacier in 4:38 during the semi-final round. Angelina pinned Simms’ Cadence Crookston in 25 seconds and Billings Senior’s Sophi Catt in 25 seconds during the first two rounds.
Poplar’s Navarjo Escarcega placed second at 138 in the boys’ Class B/C meet. Kohner Schipman of Malta/Whitewater edged Navarjo by a 3-1 margin in the title match.
Navarjo pinned Tash Murray of Florence/Carlton in 3:11 and Huntley Project’s Eli Broadbrooks in 5:58 during the first two rounds. Navarjo then earned a 12-1 major decision victory over Red Lodge’s Stran Lytton in the semi-final round.
Wolf Point’s Jesse Reed and Michael Bell each advanced to the semi-final round and then placed at the meet.
After Reed was pinned by Cut Bank’s Kanon Branch in the semi-final round at 145 pounds, Reed went on to pin Circle’s Bryce Becker in 2:32 for fifth place. Reed opened action by pinning Conrad’s Owen Jones in 54 seconds and defeating Circle’s Bryce Becker on an 8-2 decision.
Bell was pinned in the semi-final round match at 205 pounds, Bell earned a 5-2 victory over Baker’s Christopher Brawley in the fifthplace match. Bell pinned Lincoln County’s Wiatt Hume in 2:58 in the first round and then scored an exciting 3-2 overtime victory over Conrad’s Trysten Robertson.
Joli Beston earned fourth place in the girls’ tournament at 145 pounds. The senior lost on a fall in the quarter-final round, but she then came through with three straight victories. Beston pinned Billings West’s Elizabeth James in 1:56 and then won decisions over Hardin’s Carmelia, 5-3, and Polson’s Harli Kinney, 7-2. Jeina Reum won a match on a pin at 100 pounds.
Huntley Project won the Class B title with 206 points. Lincoln County was second and Conrad took third place.
Billings Senior earned the girls’ title with 236 points. Ronan placed second with 160.5 and Miles City was third with 103.5 points.
