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The Circle Wildcats competed in the Eastern B/C Divisional Tournaments in Wolf Point on Feb. 2-3, where athletes hoped to earn a berth in the upcoming MHSA All-Class State Wrestling tournament. The number of wrestlers in the Eastern and Western divisions to qualify for state competition in each weight class is not simply based on where they place at the divisional tournament. MHSA changed how state qualifiers are determined in Class B/C last year by voting to use the equitable distribution of qualifiers (EDQ) formula for each weight class. The EDQ formula is the total number of divisional participants divided by total potential qualifiers in both divisions multiplied by 16 (the number of state qualifiers) with no less than six per division. The use of this formula allows for

Keri Taylor

Anson Taylor

After two long days of competition, the Wildcats had four wrestlers qualify for the state tournament: Paden Nelson (8th grade, 103 pounds), Anson Taylor (8th grade, 103 pounds), Ruben Nelson (junior, 113 pounds), and Bryce Becker (sophomore, 145 pounds). The pressure of qualifying at the divisional tournament is hard on the athletes, according to head coach Ty Taylor, but the Wildcats handled it well. "They all competed well. We have a young team...there were some nerves getting in the way, but we saw improvement in all of them," said Taylor. The MHSA All-Class State Wrestling tournament will be held at the First Interstate MetraPark Arena in Billings on Feb. 9-10.