The Thompson Falls-Noxon wrestling team got some good competition with a mixer on Friday and the Bob Kinney Classic in Superior on Saturday. Thompson Falls finished fourth in Superior as a team and Coach Mike Thilmony said team wise, they were right where they wanted to be.

The Hawks added some wrestlers to the lineup this week, with Shane Reishus and Hayden Hanks seeing their first action of the season. “Shane came out and wrestled really strong,” Thilmony said. Reishus took the top spot in the 160-pound bracket in Superior, beating Henry Bennetts of Whitefish 13-8 in his first match and then pinning Mission-Charlo’s Shayden Friedlander in 41 seconds. RJ Knoll of Arlee was no match for Reishus in the championship match, as the senior from Noxon pinned Knoll in 11 seconds. Ryan Bucher also wrestled for the Hawks at 160 pounds in Superior, pinning Lexi Lunceford of Deer Lodge in 54 seconds before losing to Jack Akey of Whitefish. Bucher’s tournament then ended with a loss to Libby’s Wyatt Gregg. Thilmony is excited to see Bucher’s progression in the season.

Junior Elijah Ratliff won first at 152 pounds in Superior, pinning his way to the title. Ratliff easily turned Mercedes Shindurling of Deer Lodge in 22 seconds in his first match, then Andrew Knoll of Arlee in 1:58 to advance to the championship match, where he pinned Corvallis’ Jonny Williams in 1:45.

At 126 pounds, Levi Wenz brought home fourth place for the Blue Hawks. He lost his first match to John Waterbury of Plains, then met Colton Rehl of Libby in the consolation bracket. Wenz won with a 12-0 major decision and went on to meet Shelby’s Jace May, beating him 4-0. Wenz lost to Libby’s Zekiah Meyers in the consolation finals. “Levi wrestled a really good tournament and had a great weekend,” Thilmony said.

Westin Brown wrestled for the Hawks at 132 pounds, losing to Columbia Falls’ Lucas Kovalsky in his first match but going on to beat Corvallis’ Clay Truth in the consolation bracket, pinning him in 1:41. Brown then lost to Florence’s Seth Wilson.

At 145 pounds, Aaron Gaiten pinned Mission-Charlo’s Codiak Killorn in 1:34 in his first match at Superior, then Deegan Martin of Corvallis in 1:58 to make it to the championship match. There, Gaiten was pinned by Nate Davis of Corvallis in 3:23.

Max Hannum finished second in Superior at 170 pounds. Hannum pinned Libby’s James Warner in 2:40 to advance to the championship match, but was pinned by Libby’s Jace DeShazer in 1:18.

Hayden Hanks battled his way through the heavyweight bracket. After falling to Libby’s Tyler Smith, Hanks went on to beat Paul Pavlik of Deer Lodge by technical fall 16-1. Hanks then lost to Kaleb Pearce of Columbia Falls.

In the mixer with Mission and Florence, Thilmony said his team saw some good matchups with conference opponents, which will help in seeding for the divisional tournament in February. Ratliff won a key matchup, Bucher got his first win, Hannum went 1-1 and Brown 1-1 at the mixer. Trae Thilmony and Reishus won their matches in the mixer, while Wenz went 0-1 and Hanks 0-2. It was a chance for younger wrestlers to get some matches, Thilmony said.

“I like where we are progressing,” Coach Thilmony said. “Our team has a lot of potential and we are looking to compete in a tough week ahead.” The Hawks went to Ronan on Tuesday for duals with Whitefish and Ronan. Results were not available by press time, but Thilmony said the duals would be a big test for his team. This weekend, Thompson Falls heads to Great Falls for the CMR Holiday Classic. “It’s one of the tougher high school wrestling tournaments in the state, with close to 60 schools,” Thilmony noted. The tournament will have 64-seed brackets. “We look forward to the high level of competition.” The Blue Hawk girls’ team will also see action this weekend, both at the duals and in the girls’ tournament at Great Falls.