By: Logan Parvinen
The Billings Metra was the host of yet another major wrestling tournament. The State AAU Folkstyle wrestling tournament was a three-day event with roughly 1,600 participants.
The Mine Yards Dogs (MYD) wrestling club sent 40 wrestlers to represent the Mining City. The Butte Wrestling Club could not be represented because the tournament was an AAU event. However, a handful of Butte Wrestling Club wrestlers still participated in the event. Twenty-seven Butte Wrestling Club (BWC) members wrestled under the ‘Butte Wrestling’ moniker.
At the end of the extended three-day tournament, six wrestlers stood atop the podium, with 32 others claiming podium spots.
Samson Rauch (MYD) put on a clinic in the Tot 45 class by going 5 and 0. All of Samsons’ wins were by pinfalls in less than one minute. Samson may have been one of the youngest wrestlers in the tournament, but he was arguably the most impressive in terms of sheer dominance. The stats don’t lie.
The Bantam 50 class saw three Butte kids standing on the podium with Elias McEwen (MYD) standing with gold around his neck. Tripp Johnston (BW) brought home the silver, and Paden Parks (MYD) finished in a hard-fought 4th place.
Elias McEwen won all five of his matches. After a first-round bye and a second-round pinfall victory, Elias won his third-round match in a 9-2 decision and his quarterfinal match in a 9-1 decision. The Semifinals were where Elias wrestled Tripp Johnston in a hard-fought whistle-to-whistle match. Elias won 10-4 to make it to the 1st place match, winning a 17-4 major decision.
Tripp Johnston finished an impressive 7 and 1, with his only loss being to Elias McEwen. Tripp won his first three matches by tech fall and decision while not giving up a single point. 15-0 TF in the first round, 9-0 in the second round, and 6-0 in the third round. Tripp’s quarterfinal match was won by pinfall. Tripp battled back from his semifinal loss with another 6-0 decision win in the consolation semis. Tripp was able to defeat Paden Parks in the 3rd place match by a score of 9-1. Tripp ended his tournament with an authoritative 11-second pin to finish in second place.
Paden Parks finished 4 and 2, with his first three wins coming by way of pinfall. His first loss was a grueling 13-12 slugfest in the semis. Paden bounced back with a 9-3 decision win to make it to the 3rd place match, where he faced Tripp Johnston.
Eme Rauch (MYD), much like her younger brother, also brought home the gold medal in the Girls Bantam 60 class. Eme won all three of her matches, with two wins being pinfall victories. After a quarterfinal pin, Eme won an 11-3 major decision which took her to the finals. Eme won her 1st place match with a 40-second pinfall to seal the deal.
Fresh off her trip to Nebraska, where she earned all-American status, Sophie Grunhuvd (MYD) went 3 and 0 in the Cadet Girls 126 class. Sophie won all three of her matches by pinfall. Sophie’s last match was an overtime pin against Lucia Schlapfer of Missoula. Lucia finished 4th at the All-Class state tournament at 126.
Ryleigh Warner (MYD), who represented Anaconda in the All-Class state tournament last month, won gold in the Elite Girls 120/126 class after going 2 and 0. Ryleigh’s first match ended in a 10-1 major decision, while her second match came by way of pinfall.
After winning the Washington high school state championship, Maverick McEwen (MYD) returned to his home state to win the Elite 170 class. Maverick’s first match was against Wyatt Elam of Fergus/Lewistown, the runner-up at 170 for Class A last month. Maverick won by a score of 4-2 to show why he is a Top Gun competitor. After a 15-4 decision in round 2, Maverick won a 7-3 decision over Christopher Graham of Conrad, who took 4th at 170 for Class BC last month.
Cole Parvinen (BW) walked away with the silver medal after going 1 and 1 for the day. After losing his first match, Cole bounced back with a 10-second pinfall victory in his second match. Cole would come away with the quickest pin among Butte wrestlers.
Noah Hollamon (MYD) finished second in the Bantam 60 class after going 6 and 1. Noah’s conditioning held up as five of his matches were by decision.
Odin Dixon (MYD) proved to be a competitor worthy of the gods after finishing second in the Bantam 75 class. Odin went 2 and 1 on the day, with his two victories being pinfalls in under a minute.
Trae Hansen (MYD) finished 2nd place in the Midget 70 class after going 5 and 1. Trae’s first two matches were won by pinfall, while his next two were nail-biting decision wins. After losing in the 1st place match, Trae stood tall and finished with a 4-3 decision win for the silver.
Paxton McEwen (MYD) battled back after a first-round loss to finish second in the Novice 70 class. After losing his first-round match by a score of 5-4, Paxton ran roughshod through the consolation matches by winning seven matches in a row. Pax had three quick pinfalls, three major decisions, and a medical forfeit victory.
Crew O’Conners (BW) finished 6 and 1 on his way to a silver medal. ‘Wrecking’ Crew’s only loss was a 4-2 decision in overtime. Crews finished with three pinfalls, two decisions, and one tech fall.
Aspen Garrison (BW) walked away with the silver medal in the Girls Midget 75 class after going 5 and 1. Aspen won her first two matches by pinfall but lost in the semifinals. Aspen would rebound to beat her next three opponents on her way to the silver medal. Elle Eckerson (BW) finished 6th in the same class.
Adalie Hazlett (BW) battled toward the silver medal after finishing 3 and 1. As is tradition for Adalie, all three of her wins came by way of pinfall. Adalies only loss would be in the 1st place match.
Remington Grunhuvd (MYD) also went 3 and 1 to take home the silver in the Schoolboy 85 class. Remington would finish with a hat-trick, with his wins coming by way of pinfall, decision, and tech fall. His only loss was a 4-2 overtime decision in the championship match.
Devin Rossiter (MYD) took second in the Elite 126 class after going 2 and 1. Devins’ two wins came by way of late pinfalls. Devins’ only loss was to Payne Reilly of Forsyth, who took 3rd place for class B/C at the all-class state tournament last month.
Cohen Grunhuvd (MYD), who finished 5th at the All-class state tournament at 205, took second place at the State AAU event after going 1 and 1. Cohen won by pinfall in his first match but lost his second match to the 2023 state champion at 160, Wylee Lindeen from Huntley Project.
Among the great wrestlers who also placed at the tournament include:
Tenley Osborne (BW)- 3rd at Girls Novice 75
Kherington Adams (MYD)- 3rd at Schoolgirl 85
Darryn Rossiter (MYD) 3rd at Cadet 113
Ryder McEwen (MYD)- 3rd at Cadet 126
Maddison Brown (MYD)- 4th at Girls Midget 55
Karly Kindt (BW)- 4th at Girls Midget 60
Logan Grunhuvd (MYD)- 4th at Novice 85
Reveles McEwen (MYD)- 4th at Schoolboy 100
Aalyiah Northey (MYD)- 4th at Girls Cadet 113
Neveah Grunhuvd (MYD)- 4th at Girls Cadet 132
Owen Hollamon (MYD)- 5th at Tot 40
Renzy LeProwse (MYD)- 5th at Novice 75
Aiden Maesar (BW)- 5th at Cadet 98
Keegan Hunt (MYD) 5th at Cadet 106
Rebekah Henke (BW)- 6th at Girls Novice 85
David Honer (MYD)- 6th at Schoolboy 85
Bridger Garrison (BW)- 6th at Schoolboy 100
Conner Espelin (MYD)- 6th at Schoolboy 115
The Montana Open will take place March 24th -26th in Billings as the Metra remains a hot spot for wrestling.
Go to Trackwrestling.com for more results, stats, and details
