BILLINGS - Hania Halverson was the lone individual state wrestling champion for Kalispell Flathead's girls, but she and the Braves also wrapped up a repeat team title Saturday night at First Interstate Arena.
PHOTOS: State wrestling championships
This was the girls' first chance to wrestle in this raucous all-class atmosphere after deciding championships at Lockwood High School in last year's pilot season due to COVID-19 precautions.
"This huge arena and this whole experience, it's like, a lot," Halverson told MTN Sports. "It's everything I've been thinking about for the last, like, couple years."
Halverson took the title at 120 pounds while Flathead's girls (205) beat Billings Senior (157) for the second straight year. Billings Skyview placed third with 115.5 points.
With title matches predetermined to start with the 205-pound weight class, Skyview's Kassidee Savaria became Montana's first two-time girls state champ with a pin over Ronan's Tirza Two-Teeth at 1:53 in the first.
"I heard somebody say 15-seconds, and I knew if I wanted it I had to go get it," Savaria told MTN Sports. "As soon as I sunk my half in, I could just feel the adrenaline going and it felt really good."
Huntley Project's Gretchen Donally won her first title with an 8-5 decision over Miles City's Kya Gilmore in one of the few girls title matches not decided by pin.
"I wrestled Kya four times this year and it's been close every time," Donally said. "I've gotten the win every time, but it was a little nerve racking going into it."
Donally was thrilled with her improvement from last year's fourth-place state finish.
"It was crazy, astronomical. I was a newbie, you're not going to be very good," she said with a smile.
For full results of the girls wrestling championship matches, click here.
