Wildcat Wrestling

The Circle Wildcat wrestling season is coming to a close, with only one more tournament, in Malta on January 28, left in the regular season schedule. Then the post-season competition begins at the Eastern B/C Divisional Tournament on Feb. 2-4 which is being held in Columbus. The Wildcats, who have dominated in the boys' Class C team competition at the MHSA All-Class State Wrestling Tournament over the past few years, are looking for their sixth-consecutive team state championship this year. The Circle boys' team is currently ranked 4th for the Class C title, behind Superior, Chinook, and Cascade, according to recent polls. “We have our work cut out for us this year,” said head coach Ty Taylor.

There will be some changes at the divisional tournament this year. With the rapid growth of girls wrestling, there will be a separate girls' division, requiring girls to compete for a spot in the girls' state tournament. There are six divisional wrestling tournaments across Montana (two AA, two A, and two B/C divisions) and each tournament will have a separate girls' division to determine state qualifiers. But all the classes will compete against each other in the girls' division of the state tournament held at the First Interstate Arena in Billings.

Another big change in Montana wrestling this year is the addition of the Equitable Distribution of Qualifiers (EDQ) rule which only applies to the Class B/C division. In the past, each of the two Class B/C divisions (East and West) would allow eight qualifiers to advance to state, forming a 16-man bracket. Due to concerns about the variation in the number of participants in Class B/C across the state, the new rule considers the total number of participants in each weight class to determine how many qualifiers can advance from each divisional tournament. Each division is guaranteed a minimum of six wrestlers to advance per weight class, but the remaining two spots can vary, depending on the total numbers. For example, if the Eastern division has 25 wrestlers competing at 132 pounds and the Western division only has 12, the Eastern division will be allotted 10 qualifiers at that weight while the Western division would only advance six to the state tournament.

Because the girls' competition at state is across all classes, they will begin with 24-man brackets for each weight class but each of the six divisional tournaments is only guaranteed two advancement positions per weight class. The EDQ rule will be used to determine the remaining allotment of state qualifiers in each weight class. The girls' team awards will be divided out at the state tournament this year – trophies will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in Class AA and the combined Class A and B/C division.

There are a lot of changes this year in the post-season wrestling competition rules but one thing remains the same: the MHSA All-Class State Wrestling Tournament will offer the most exciting culmination of high school wrestling competition in Montana for wrestlers and fans alike.