Houle, Baccaro, Kenfield place at state wrestling

Kelly Houle, Sal Baccaro and Kodie Kenfield of Columbia Falls were place winners at the Class A State Wrestling Championships held Friday and Saturday (Feb. 13-14) at MetraPark in Billings. Houle was second at 215 pounds. Baccaro earned third at 98, and Kenfield was sixth at heavyweight.

Houle, a junior, decisioned Brennan Fisher of Frenchtown 7-2 in the semifinals. In the championship match, Houle lost a 4-0 decision to Justin Graham of Libby. Baccaro, just a sophomore, won an exciting 9-8 decision over Ethan Bristol of Belgrade in the match for third and fourth. Kenfield lost to Kaden Thomas of Polson 6-1 in the consolation semifinals, then the Mat Cat senior was pinned by Mike Lucier of Anaconda in the match for fifth and sixth.

The Mat Cats finished in 14th place, scoring 70.5 points. Havre ran away with the team title, totaling 294.5 points. Belgrade was second (179 points), Ronan was third (134) and Corvallis fourth (132).

Read about the Mat Cats' performance in the state tournament in the Feb. 19 issue of the Hungry Horse News.