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Each tournament wrestled provides all the proof you need: the grappling youths of Thompson Falls will not stay down on the mat, they will keep getting back up to wrestle more.

The Blue Hawk Wrestling Club has kept their grapplers in the wrestling fight the past few weeks, taking 30-some wrestlers into battle two weeks ago at the Kootenai Classic in Libby March 2, and sending approximately 15 into last weekend’s Montana AAU championships in Great Falls.

At the Montana AAU, which doubles as a qualifier for Montana All-Star teams to be put together for the annual National Duals tournament in Des Moines, Iowa, five Falls grapplers placed in the top five, and two of Thompson Falls’ finest grapplers earned spots on those prestigious National Duals teams.

Elijah Ratliff, who won second place in the Montana AAU in the Schoolboy-125 pound division will join a Montana Middle School team to compete in Iowa, while Roman Sparks, a rising junior at Thompson Falls High School who won second place in the recent Montana State B-C tournament at 120 pounds, will join up with a Montana High School team to compete in Iowa. Sparks wrestled in the Cadet-126 pound class in Great Falls but did not manage to place in the tourney, annually one of the toughest in Montana.

The AAU tournament draws competitors from all Montana high school classes, making it perhaps the toughest prep tournament of any season in Montana wrestling.

“I would estimate that there were 1,500 to 2,000 kids in it this year,” coach Mike Thilmony said. “Placing in this tournament is quite an accomplishment so we were happy to get five in this time.”

Besides Ratliff, Hartleigh Block won second place in the Tot-45 pound class, Andrew Sundstrom took fifth place in the Midget-95 division, Paul Sundstrom placed fourth in the Novice-65 class and Noah Stevens also won fourth in the Novice-112 division. Coach Thilmony said Stevens also got a chance to make one of the National Dual teams but lost a wrestle-off match to do just that.

Thilmony’s son Trae, who won third at 113 pounds in the State B-C meet, has not been wrestling recently due to an injury sustained in the high school season, but is also listed as an alternate for one of the high school teams from Montana that will be attending the National Duals. Coach Thilmony said Trae is also looking at possibly attending a national singles tournament which will be held in Cedar City, Iowa, during the same time-frame the National Duals will be held.

Weston Haun (Tot-50), Neala Block (Tot-35), Lane Thilmony (Midget-55), Tristan Kelly (Midget-60), Grayson Stevens (Midget-65), William Baldwin (Midget-65), Max Hannum (Schoolboy-125) and Josh Baldwin (Elite-160) were the other Falls wrestlers competing in Great Falls last week.

A large contingent of Blue Hawk Wrestling Club members also competed in the Kootenai Classic tournament in Libby March 2.

In Libby, Ratliff won first place in the Junior-126 division and Hannum took third in that class, Noah Stevens was third at Middle-105, Andrew Sundstrom won second at Novice-100, Liam Pallister was second at Novice-90, Brylon VanElswyk second at Novice-89, Alex Hensley won first place at Beginner-108, Mikael Kair was fourth at Beginner-60 “B” division, Weston Block took fourth at Beginner-60, Tristan Kelly won first place at Beginner-60 and William Baldwin placed third at Beginner-55).

Wrestling but not placing in Libby were Beginners Jax Hensley, Neala Block, Hartleigh Block, Caleb Butler, Grady Dana, Layton Smith, Caz Zeretzke, Lane Thilmony, Chase Geigling, Rachel Cooper, Easton Deal, Kamden Hensley and Grayson Stevens, and Novice grapplers Emory Butler, Brandi Smith, Trevor Peterson and Owen Frank.