Catina takes second at state tournament

Whitefish 205-pounder Travis Catina capped off his stellar senior season with a second place finish at the Class A State Wrestling Tournament in Billings.

Leading into Saturday’s championship match, Catina racked up wins by fall over Dawson County High School’s Matt Fulton and Hardin’s Jesse Murdock. Catina won by decision over Park’s Tyler Laverty in the semifinal before losing by fall to Havre’s Jase Stokes in the championship.

“He wrestled really, really well,” head coach Ryan Boyle said of Catina’s performance at the tournament. “He’s just a great young man all around. The leadership he had on the team — he just was the leader. It was pretty amazing to watch him mature and grow and be the man that he is now.”

Boyle pointed to a previous loss to Stokes in a Cut Bank tournament as sparking a fire in Catina’s attitude this season.

“From then on there was kind of a switch. I think he won something like 34 in a row after that. He didn’t lose until the state finals,” Boyle said.

Havre easily took first overall with 257.5 points to earn the state championship, with Columbia Falls earning 131 points for second and Glendive earned 125 points for third. Whitefish finished 18th overall with 33 points.

Whitefish sent 10 wrestlers to the tournament, but Catina was the only Bulldog who ended up placing. Dakota Flannery (132) and Malik Heydon (160) also advanced to day two of the tournament but came up short.

“I was hoping there would be another guy or two in the placings,” Boyle said, adding that with a team of mostly underclassmen, lack of experience on a big stage is an obstacle. “You could tell that, being there for the first time, they were a little nervous.”

“We knew from day one it was going to be a young team without a lot of experience all year. We had to get down there and see what it’s like, and next year they’ll be ready for it,” Boyle said.

2017 MHSA State Championships Results for Whitefish

A - 103 - Anwar Mirza (11-17) place is unknown and scored 1.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Kaiden Cline (Sidney) 26-23 won by decision over Anwar Mirza (Whitefish) 11-17 (Dec 7-5)

Cons. Round 1 - Anwar Mirza (Whitefish) 11-17 won by decision over Will Flowers (Corvallis/Darby) 8-14 (Dec 13-12)

Cons. Round 2 - Roy Russell (Butte Central) 9-6 won by decision over Anwar Mirza (Whitefish) 11-17 (Dec 11-4)

A - 113 - Nathan Buckley (5-13) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Matthew DeWitt (Laurel) 44-6 won by fall over Nathan Buckley (Whitefish) 5-13 (Fall 3:33)

Cons. Round 1 - Everett Jensen (Sidney) 27-26 won by fall over Nathan Buckley (Whitefish) 5-13 (Fall 0:32)

A - 120 - Carlitos Bertlesen (8-14) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Keagan Campbell (Laurel) 48-9 won by fall over Carlitos Bertlesen (Whitefish) 8-14 (Fall 0:45)

Cons. Round 1 - Auston Stevens (Frenchtown) 7-5 won by fall over Carlitos Bertlesen (Whitefish) 8-14 (Fall 2:30)

A - 126 - Eli Taylor (9-10) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Ethan Boyce (Billings Central) 28-17 won by fall over Eli Taylor (Whitefish) 9-10 (Fall 2:59)

Cons. Round 1 - Keagan Thompson (Laurel) 19-14 won by decision over Eli Taylor (Whitefish) 9-10 (Dec 6-4)

A - 126 - Sidney Cooke (0-13) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Martin Wilkie (Havre) 43-1 won by fall over Sidney Cooke (Whitefish) 0-13 (Fall 0:43)

Cons. Round 1 - Brandon Rockwell (Belgrade) 16-16 won by fall over Sidney Cooke (Whitefish) 0-13 (Fall 0:54)

A - 132 - Dakota Flannery (9-7) place is unknown and scored 7.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Dakota Flannery (Whitefish) 9-7 won by fall over Jose Rodriquez (Billings Central) 31-26 (Fall 4:30)

Quarterfinal - Riley Gurr (Frenchtown) 18-0 won by fall over Dakota Flannery (Whitefish) 9-7 (Fall 1:11)

Cons. Round 2 - Dakota Flannery (Whitefish) 9-7 won by fall over Matt Glennon (Laurel) 17-18 (Fall 2:09)

Cons. Round 3 - Connor Harris (Havre) 30-20 won by fall over Dakota Flannery (Whitefish) 9-7 (Fall 2:16)

A - 132 - Jack Eisenbarth (7-13) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Caleb Birdwell (Fergus (Lewistown)) 28-6 won by tech fall over Jack Eisenbarth (Whitefish) 7-13 (TF-1.5 3:44 (17-2))

Cons. Round 1 - Matt Glennon (Laurel) 17-18 won by fall over Jack Eisenbarth (Whitefish) 7-13 (Fall 2:27)

A - 138 - Robert Bertlesen (6-10) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Ben Stortz (Dawson Co. (Glendive)) 34-11 won by major decision over Robert Bertlesen (Whitefish) 6-10 (MD 10-0)

Cons. Round 1 - Austin NewBreast (Browning) 12-19 won by major decision over Robert Bertlesen (Whitefish) 6-10 (MD 15-4)

A - 160 - Malik Heydon (8-10) place is unknown and scored 3.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Jett Jones (Sidney) 31-23 won by fall over Malik Heydon (Whitefish) 8-10 (Fall 2:23)

Cons. Round 1 - Malik Heydon (Whitefish) 8-10 won by fall over Ryan Kipp (Browning) 12-16 (Fall 3:52)

Cons. Round 2 - Gidion Herbel (Hardin) 30-20 won by fall over Malik Heydon (Whitefish) 8-10 (Fall 1:33)

A - 205 - Travis Catina (26-2) placed 2nd and scored 22.00 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Travis Catina (Whitefish) 26-2 won by fall over Matt Fulton (Dawson Co. (Glendive)) 19-27 (Fall 1:37)

Quarterfinal - Travis Catina (Whitefish) 26-2 won by fall over Jesse Murdock (Hardin) 20-18 (Fall 1:21)

Semifinal - Travis Catina (Whitefish) 26-2 won by decision over Tyler Laverty (Park (Livingston)) 36-11 (Dec 7-3)

1st Place Match - Jase Stokes (Havre) 38-1 won by fall over Travis Catina (Whitefish) 26-2 (Fall 1:57)