Perfect 48-0!

BILLINGS — The field probably hoped he was taking it for granted.

They hoped he’d gotten lazy, conceited, lost his focus.

After all, he’d already done all there was to do: win a state title, beat the Class AA champ, collect full scholarship offers to wrestle in college.

But Jacen Petersen doesn’t tire of winning.

“I was super, super pumped up for the championship, actually,” Petersen, fresh off his second consecutive 170-pound state championship, said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more focused than that.”

The Mission-Charlo senior pinned Belt’s Hunter Croff in 5 minutes, 4 seconds in the title bout at Montana’s State All-Class Wrestling Tournament in Billings, leading the Bulldogs to a seventh-place team finish.

Ronan’s team placed 15th and Arlee came in 29th after the dust had settled Saturday evening.

Petersen pinned three of his four opponents in the tournament, and beat Choteau’s Steeler French—ranked second in the state behind Petersen most of the season—decisively in a 10-0 major decision in the quarterfinals.

Though many speculated the French-Petersen quarterfinal was, in essence, the title bout, Petersen didn’t agree.

“It was super tough. [Croff] was so strong,” Petersen said. “I couldn’t turn him because he kept getting out of bounds.”

Petersen did eventually pin Croff, though, capping off a 48-0 season, undefeated for a second straight year.

Prior to state, one of Petersen’s many crowning moments of the season came Jan. 31 in Arlee, when he and Class AA 170-pound champ Luke Entzel faced off. Petersen won 2-0 in overtime. He said he and Entzel, who happen to be friends, shared a moment on the podiums in Billings.

“When I looked over at [Entzel], he gave me a big smile and a thumbs up,” the four-time state placer said.

…

Petersen wasn’t the only Mission-Charlo grappler to find himself on the podium.

Bulldogs’ 106-pounder Morgan Schultz lost an 8-6 decision to three-time state champ Maestro Martinez of Wolf Point in what may have been the most exciting championship match of the entire tournament.

“I just can’t even tell you how good Morgan wrestled and how close he was to winning that thing,” Mission-Charlo coach Lyle Cronk said. “It was bittersweet.”

The feisty Schultz kept Martinez from following through on any of his signature throws and managed to tie the match in the third period thanks to a clutch reversal.

“We got an escape with less than a minute left, and we took him down out of bounds,” Cronk said.

Off the out-of-bounds call, Martinez proved just a hair quicker than Schultz, tying up his legs for the two-point takedown that would prove the difference.

Cronk, though, didn’t discount his senior’s efforts. He noted that Schultz’ goal from the beginning of the season had been a state title.

“He put himself in a position to compete for a state championship,” Cronk said. “It came down to one take down right at the end, and he’d done everything right to get there.”

The Bulldogs also saw Jamie Mullins (third at 126) and Steven Bravo (fifth at 182) to the podium.

Mullins had an exciting Saturday as well. The junior won two straight 7-5 matches in overtime to reach the third-place bout, where he beat Colstrip’s Lane Torgerson 6-4 with a takedown in the final minute of the match.

“After placing last year, the idea of not placing is totally unacceptable to Jamie,” Cronk said. “Anybody that watched him couldn’t help but be inspired.”

Mullins overtime victory to send him to the third-place match came over Deer Lodge’s Connor Rogers, who was 4-0 against Mullins this season before the match.

…

Arlee sophomore Alex Bertollt capped off a solid season with a sixth-place finish at 160 pounds.

Bertollt may have found himself in the finals had he been able to get by Malta’s Nolan Simanton, who pinned him in overtime. Simanton had beaten Bertollt in Choteau earlier this season by technical fall.

“That kind of carried me through,” said Bertollt, referring to the confidence gained from a quick first-round pin and the overtime loss. “I think the match with Simanton was really what gave me the edge.”

Every other 160-pound placer in B-C was a senior, so Bertollt could enter next season as one of the favorites in the state.

Ronan gained a pair of fifth-place finishers in 145-pounder Brandon Dumont and heavyweight Michael Irvine.

Chase Rhine, Lauren Christopher and Tanner Mead missed placing by just one match as well.

Mission-Charlo Results

Team score, 91.5 (7th)

106, Morgan Schultz, 2- 1 2nd Place

W, Ben Galloway, Col, 7-5; W, Donte Wohlfeil, HP, M-Dec 11-1; L, Maestro Martinez, WP, 8-6.

113, Danny Helmer, 0- 2

L, Brodey White, Shel, .06; L, Michael Wark, Shep, 2.24.

120, Gregory Weatherwax, 1- 2

W, Franki Taylor, Har, T-Fall 16-0; L, Gage Currier, Col, 1.14; L, Jake Reinschmidt Wth, 4.53.

126, Jamie Mullins, 5- 1 3rd Place

W, Jake Norby, Chi, 2.48; L, Matt Weber, For, 3.28; W, Keenan Schipman, M-W, .27; W, Jake Hall C-A, 7-5; W, Connor Rogers, DL, 7-5; W, Lane Torgerson, Col, 6-4.

145 Trent Dennison, 1- 2

W, Billy Raville C-A, 2.24; L, Reid Vandenbos, CB, 2.46; L, John Manning, HP, 2.27.

170 Jacen Petersen 4- 0 1st Place

W, Kevin Frigon, Glas, 1.04; W, Steeler French, Cho, M-Dec 10-0; W, Evander Wilbur, Twn, 1.12; W, Hunter Croff, Belt, 5.04.

182 Steven Bravo, 3- 2, 5th Place

W, Jackson Wolfe, For, Def; W, Drew DeBolt, C-S, .56; L, Mason Melby, Baker, 2.00; L, Hunter Mycke Con, 3.56; W, Kian Brown, HP, Dec 14-7.

182 Shane Morgieau 1- 2

L, David Hopson, WP, 2.59; W, Ty Otness, Fair, 1.52; L, Drew DeBolt, C-S, .52.

HWT Tyler Spidel, 1- 2

L, Dustin Irgens, Baker, .59; W, Logan Williamson, HB, Frft; L, Gerome Lamb, M-W, 1.22.

Ronan Results

Team score, 49 (15th)

132 Chase Rhine 2- 2

L, Cache Giles, Fair, M-Dec 14-5; W, Alexander Rimkus. Chi, 3.28; W, Hunter Meier, C-A, 1.47; L, Torren Lawson, Flor, M-Dec 12-2.

145 Brandon Dumont 4- 2 5th Place

W, David Finley, Cho, 1.15; L, Brenden Johnson, Har, 5-2; W, Spencer Dougherty, Shep, 2.50; W, Adam Lesofski, Fair, 1.26; L, Reid Vandenbos, CB, 7-5; W, Ben Rauscher, Con, M-Dec 9-1.

152 Connor Benn 1- 2

L, Joel Graf, Fair, 3.11; W, Quincy Stormer, Cir, .49; L, John Pepos C-S, 2.33.

170 Ronny Cullis 0- 2

L, Blake Jessen, HP, M-Dec 13-1; L, Denton Cornell, Har, M-Dec 12-2.

195 Lauren Christoph 2- 2

W, Gage McClanahan, HP, 2.12; L, Jake French, Cho, 2.15; W, Ron Kinyon, Shel, 2.43; L, Kaelan Yanak, Eur, 2.26.

HWT Tanner Mead 2- 2

L, Tucker Yates Col, Fall; W, Joe Stewart, Twn, .22; W, Justin Pfiefer, CB, 2-1; L, Dustin Irgens, Baker, 4-1.

HWT Michael Irvine, 3- 2 5th Place

W, Lucas Dekker, Shep, 5.36; W, Justin Pfiefer, CB, 8-1; L, Kelin King, Malta, 6:33; L, Gerome Lamb, Malta, 2:27; W, Dustin Irgens, Baker, 3.24.

Arlee Results

Team score, 18 (29th)

106 TJ Knoll 1- 2

W, Baxter Roach, Twn, Frft; L, Maestro Martinez, WP, T-Fall 16-1; L, Trevor Moore, Cho, .44.

132 Daniel Dunlop 1- 2

L, Hunter Meier, C-A, 7-3; W, Randon Anderson , CB, 14-9; L, Cache Giles, Fair, 4.33.

160 Alex Bertollt, 3- 3, 6th Place

W, Dalton Feeler, Fair, 1.19; L, Nolan Simanton, Malta, 6.10; W, Cody Beyers, Baker, 3.54; W, Zack Dunning, HP, 3.24; L, Joe Detienne, Pla-HS, 4-0; L, Robert Jennings, CB, M-Dec 14-0.