Four AHS girls place at the CMR; team finishes in top 10, second in Class B

The Copperheads traveled to Great Falls over the weekend for one of the biggest tournaments of the season outside of the postseason – the CMR Holiday Classic – and came home with some accolades, as four girls placed as individuals and the team took the 10th spot across all classes and second among Class B schools. 

Anaconda was led by senior Kendra Redd and sophomore Jaidyn Holdaway, both of whom took fifth place in their respective weight classes. Also placing in the tournament were freshman Maddia Johnston, who took sixth place, and junior Rachael Rogers who finished seventh. 

Starting off with the 100-lb. class, Taylor Niland went 2-2 with two wins by pin, including one over teammate Grace Richter. They were joined by a third teammate, Katie Waite, also wrestling at the 100-lb. class. 

In the 105-lb. class was Rogers, who went 4-2 with three of her wins by pin including in the seventh-place match, with her other win coming by major decision, 16-5, in the consolation bracket. 

Johnston wrestled in the 110-lb. class, where she went 4-3 with all four of her wins by pin. She advanced as far as the consolation semi-finals, before being pinned in the fifth-place match. Also wrestling in the 110-lb. class was Faith Stainer, who went 1-2 with her win by pin coming in the consolation round.

Ady Hoiland went 3-2 in the 115-lb. class, with all three of her wins coming by pin. 

Aislyn Eamon wrestled in the 120-lb. class, and while she came away without a win she had a close match in the third round of the consolation bracket that came down to a 9-7 decision. 

The Copperhead girls had three wrestlers in the 125-lb. class, including Redd who went 5-2 with all five of her wins by pin. She advanced to the quarterfinals, then the consolation semifinals, before winning her fifth-place match. Anna Kerbis went 1-2 in the 125-lb. class, with her win coming by major decision, 13-3, and Natalie Holdaway also wrestled in that class at the tournament.

Jaidyn Holdaway wrestled at the 130-lb. class, going 5-2 with two wins by pin, two by decision and one by major decision. Interestingly it was both her first match and her final one at the tournament that ended with pins, while her 12-1 major decision sent her to the quarterfinals. In the consolation bracket she won a close match, 8-7, and then handily won 6-0 to advance to the consolation semis, then winning her fifth-place match by pin. Megan Warner also wrestled at the 130-lb. class for Anaconda. 

Alli Mari wrestled at the 145-lb. class, going 1-2 with her win coming by pin in the second round of the consolation bracket, and Macy Burnett also wrestled at that class. And Catie Burgman wrestled at 190 for the Copperhead girls, who as a team racked up 94 points, second only to Conrad (104 points) out of all Class B schools in the 23-team tournament. 

The boys placed 37th out of a larger field of 57 teams. 

Gage Fonk went 1-2 at the 110-lb. class, with his win coming by pin in the fourth round of the consolation bracket. 

Owen Pesanti went 1-2 at the 118-lb. class, with his win coming by pin in the first round. 

Wrestling at the 126-lb. class was Roddy Wyant, who went 2-2 with one win by decision, 15-8, in the second round and the other by major decision, 14-4, in the fourth round of the consolation bracket. 

Zach Blodnick also went 2-2, wrestling at the 144-lb. class, with both of his wins coming by pin. 

Liam Herriman went 1-2 in the 157-lb. class, with his win coming by decision, 4-2, in the second round of the consolation bracket before an even closer decision, 2-1, went against him in the third round. 

Soren Keeland went 2-2 in the 165-lb. class, winning his first two matches by pin before falling in the third round of the championship bracket and the fourth round of the consolation bracket. 

And Colton Peters went 1-2 at the 175-lb. class, with his win coming by forfeit in the consolation bracket.

Also wrestling for the Copperhead boys were Ben Kerbis (150), Braden Molina (190), Tommy Lovett (215) and Remy Bussard (285). 

The Copperheads, who also wrestled at Fairfield on Thursday (results not available as of press time), are off until January when they will travel to Bozeman for a two-day tournament Jan. 3-4, 2025.