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The Plains-Hot Springs Savage Horsemen were Choteau Classic team champions last year and are champions again after last week’s wrestling show, one of the biggest of any Class B-C season, in northern Montana.

Maybe not team champions, but champions nonetheless.

Led by Choteau individual champs Daniel Uli and Josiah Vanderwall (at 126 and 132 pounds), second place winner Conrad Vanderwall (120), fourth place finisher Austin Stafford (145) and fifth place earner Luke Lile (160), the Savage Horsemen scored 119 team points and finished a highly respectable fourth in final Choteau team scoring.

Not too bad for a team with only six scoring wrestlers entered in the main draw.

“We may not have that many kids but the ones we do have are a good tough group,” coach Jeff Kujala said. “I was very impressed with how we did considering most of the teams we were up against had 10 or more kids.”

Malta won the 31-team meet with 180 points, Thompson Falls was second with 164.5, and Whitehall third with 121.5.

Uli and Josiah Vanderwall were dominant in the runs to their Choteau titles. Uli pinned his first three opponents in just over two minutes of total mat time and then scored a convincing 9-2 decision win over Townsend’s Easton Held in the championship final.

“Daniel has been having a great season,” Kujala said. “He hasn’t been pushed too hard very often this season so it was good for him to get a tougher match.”

Josiah Vanderwall was every bit as impressive as Uli in Choteau, scoring first period pins in his first two matches, then winning his semifinal and championship matches with second period pins.

Josiah keeps his coaches on their toes during his matches. “Josiah is a dynamic wrestler, he is so fun to watch,” Kujala said. “He gets himself in some strange situations but always seems to be able to work his way out.”

Josiah earned his Choteau gold by pinning Malta’s Callan Mears in 2:29 of the championship final.

Josiah’s little brother Conrad won three matches by pin before meeting up with Thompson Falls’ Kaleb Frank in the championship match at 120 pounds. Frank won the title with a 12-3 decision win.

Stafford went 4-2 on his way to fourth place at 145, winning three of those matches by pin and the other by major decision. Stafford lost 13-6 to Shepherd’s Wyatt Brusven in the conso final.

At 160 pounds, Lile pinned his first opponent and won a decision in his next match before falling to Cut Bank’s JR Seewald by decision. Lile eventually won a 6-3 decision from Farifield’s Dillon Anderson in the fifth-sixth place match.

Freshman Peter Carey ended up one win away from placing at 113 pounds, and won two matches before being eliminated.

“Peter wrestled really well,” Kujala said. “In fact, I am happy with how all our kids are progressing.”

The Savage Horsemen will wrestle in the Ted Kato Invitational in Thompson Falls Saturday. They will wrestle in a triangular in Thompson Falls Friday night as well in their only scheduled action this week.