Butte High wrapped up a good weekend at the Mining City Duals, as the Bulldogs finished the tourney with a 4-2 record.

The Bulldogs finished out of the placing round, winning one and losing two duals during Saturday’s competition. Butte knocked off Kalispell Flathead 45-42, then fell to Havre 45-31 and Missoula Sentinel 48-34.

“We’re still learning and we’re young,” Butte High head coach Jim Bob Humphrey said Saturday. “We have a lot of guys who found out this weekend that there are six minutes in a match.”

Sidney downed Havre for the overall title, while the Eagles beat Billings Skyview and Havre beat Bozeman in the semifinals.

In the first match of the day, Butte avenged its season-opening dual loss to Flathead, holding off a late Brave charge for the 3-point dual win.

The Bulldog coaching staff also shuffled the 145-, 152- and 160-pound lineup to give senior Tommy Challeen another chance at wrestling Flathead’s Suny Cheff. The pair met in the season-opening dual where Cheff claimed a 3-1 win after Challeen gave up two points to cautions and another to a free escape in his last-minute comeback effort.

In their Saturday rematch, Challeen scored the first points with a solid counter of a shot attempt by Cheff, though the Brave managed an escape in the waning seconds of the second period. Challeen managed an escape to begin the third period, while the pair waged a tight defensive battle on their feet. Challeen countered Cheff’s late takedown attempt for his own two points and left the mat with a 5-1 decision.

The wrestlers who moved to make the rematch possible also came out on top. Andre Vialpando moved down to 145 pounds and claimed a first-period pin of Jacob Ridgeway, while Bryce Armstrong moved up to 160, where he stapled Anthony Wright in 1:20.

Bridger Mooney picked up his first win of the weekend at 112, where he stapled Lucas DeCock in 42 seconds. Joey Blunt took just 35 seconds to end Daniel DeVall’s appearance on the mat, while Gage Weston, Levi Renz and Jarret Rowling each scored pins as well.

Butte charged to a 25-12 lead over Havre, collecting a hard-fought win by Renz over Gilbert Bara, Rowling’s first multiple-period match of the weekend – a 13-4 decision – as well as pins from Tommy Challeen and Bryce Armstrong. Lee Cannon posted Butte’s only other win of the dual when he earned a wild pin from the bottom position, as his opponent Jake Williams was trying to score back points. Cannon arched his back and forced Williams’ shoulders to the mat.

The loss knocked Butte out of contention for the title, and left them in a consolation matchup with the Spartans, who showed promise with a second-place finish in the first day in the hard-fought Pool 1.

Vialpando, who was 2-0 in his only appearances this weekend, got Butte a pin at 145, while Tommy Challeen was dominant in his 16-3 win over Justin Harbison. Johnny Walker earned his second win of the weekend with a 49-second pin of Jake Rebish, while Braxton Henningsen and Gage Weston tallied a pin apiece for the Bulldogs.

“I thought we were a match or two away from both the Havre dual and the Sentinel dual,” Humphrey said. “Now we need to go back to work. We have four hard days of work where we can fix the mistakes we made and build on the good stuff.”

Butte will be back in action next weekend at the CMR Holiday Classic in Great Falls.

Butte 45, Flathead 42

98 – Jed Cheff, Flathead, p. Blake Bowen 1:24. 105 – Dyan Guzman, Flathead, p. Tyler Ossello 1:46. 112 – Bridger Mooney, Butte, p. Lukas DeCock  :43. 119 – Gavyn Wilson, Flathead, p. Braxton Henningsen 3:46. 125 – Joey Blunt, Butte, p. Daniel DeVall :35. 130 – Gage Weston, Butte, p. Tyler Davis 3:18. 135 – Levi Renz, Butte, p. Tanner Fletcher 4:22. 140  – Jarret Rowling, Butte, p. Gauge Triplett 1:05. 145 – Andre Vialpando, Butte, p. Jacob Ridgeway 1:33. 152 – Tom Challeen, Butte, d. Suny Cheff 5-1. 160 – Bryce Armsgtrong, Butte, p. Anthony Wright 1:20. 171 – Jacob Egley, Flathead, p. Lee Cannon 3:12. 189 – Mitch Stivers, Flathead, p. Daniel Kloepfel 1:21. 215 – Rieley Leigh, Flathead, p. Johnny Walker 3:15. 285 – Axel Bladholm, Flathead, p. Billy Robinson 3:50.

Havre 45, Butte 31

98 – Keegan Keneally, Havre, p. Blake Bowen :08. 105 – Logan Plenninger, Havre, p. Tyler Ossello :59. 112 – Grayson Brenna, Havre, p. Bridger Mooney 1:34. 119 – Dylan Stewart, Havre, d. Braxton Henningsen 12-8. 125 – Joey Blunt, Butte, won by forfeit. 130 – Thomas Gruber, Havre, d. Gage Weston 8-5. 135 – Levi Renz, Butte, d. Gilbert Bara 7-1. 140 – Jarret Rowling, Butte, d. Gunnar Aageson 13-4. 145 – Tommy Challeen, Butte, p. Kody Pribyl 1:41. 152 – Bryce Armstrong, Butte, p. Jordan Schoreder 2:51. 160 – J.T. Belcourt, Havre, d. Nick Challeen 12-8. 171 – Lee Cannon, Butte, p. Jake Williams 5:26. 189 – Grant Pattison, Havre, p. Daniel Kloepfel :52. 215 – Dustin Odegard, Havre, p. Johnny Walker :47. 285 – Tyler Adams, Havre, p. Billy Robinson 5:59.

Missoula Sentinel 42, Butte 34

98 – Jake Hegel, Sentinel, p. Blake Bowen :34. 105 – Jace Kovalicky, Sentinel, p. Tyler Ossello 2:26. 112 – Dylan Duffalo, Sentinel, p. Bridger Mooney 2:41. 119 – Braxton Henningsen, Butte, p. Dylan Evans 1:49. 125 – Dylan Schulte, Sentinel, p. Joey Blunt 1:54. 130 – Gage Weston, Butte, p. Jake Marr 3:01. 135 – Jordan Hegel, Sentinel, d. Levi Renz 5-0. 140 – Jarret Rowling, Butte, won by forfeit. 145 – Andre Vialpando, Butte, p. Chase Stack 3:04. 152 – Tommy Challeen, Butte, md. Justin Harbison 16-3. 160 – Michael Cloud, Sentinel, d. Bryce Armstrong 2-1. 171 – Tanner Price, Sentinel, p. Lee Cannon 3:59. 189 – Colin Hammock, Sentinel, p. Daniel Kloepfel 4:36. 215 – Johnny Walker, Butte, p. Jake Rebish :49. 285 – Jadyn Wilson, Sentinel, p. Billy Robinson 1:55.

Photos for this story were taken by Bret Graden. To buy high-quality copies of these photos or others by Graden, go to gradenphotography.com.

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