Since 1994, the Malad Dragon Wrestling team has established a remarkable and exciting record as they have won every District 5 Tournament except three.  On the evening of Friday, February 17, the team added one more year to their impressive total as they were crowned the 2022-2023 district champions once again, making it 26 district titles in 29 years. 

Malad had the honor of hosting the district, giving fans one last chance to cheer on their favorite athletes on their home mats.  It was a full day of wrestling for the seven teams, Malad, West Side, Bear Lake, Aberdeen, Soda Springs, Grace and North Gem, the first matches starting at 10 am.  As the wrestlers worked their way through the brackets, the MHS athletes began to rise to the top, scoring points for their team that would ultimately give them that first place finish once again.

         At 98 pounds, Jack Willie (36-8) earned the second place win.  In his opening match, Willie won by a pin and then by points in his second match, only to lose in the championship round.  Porter Mills (21-12) took fourth place, losing by points to West Side wrestler,  Colter Barzee, in the 3rd place match.

 Jace Potter (30-16), won first place in the 106 weight bracket, pinning all of his opponents of his three matches in the tournament.

In the 113 pound bracket, Tommy Angell (33-16) took second place, winning his first two matches by pin to put him in the championship round.  Grace wrestler, Hans Newby, bested Angell by a fall to win the championship match.  Kimball Carter (15-12) managed a 5th place finish in the 113 weight class.  Carter won his first match, but fell to Newby in his second match and then again in his third match.  He went out with a win, pinning West Side wrestler Danny Sharp.

Malad took both 2nd and 3rd place wins in the 120 weight bracket.  Trevor Mills (30-16) won his semi-final match by just one point (11-10) against Brett Hobbs of Grace to put him in the championship round where he fell to Soda Springs' Tucker Bowen.  Zane Komrofske (16-10) won his opening quarterfinal round and then lost his next matchup against Bowen.  Komrofske came back to win his final two matches to take third place over Devan Hoge of Bear Lake.

Zach Mills (34-10) dominated the 126 pound bracket, winning with a pin in his first match, by a tech fall in his second match and then by major decision, (7-2) in the championship round against Stellar Tew of West Side.  Cael Seamons (14-16) placed 6th, taking to the mat in three matches over the day.

Sam Willie (28-16) earned 3rd place in the 132 pound bracket after winning his first match and then losing by one point in overtime of his semi-final match.  Willie came back to win his final two matches by pin.

In the 138 bracket, Malad’s Gabe Hooste (27-25) took fourth place, winning his opening match and then falling to Bear Lake wrestler, Immy Williams.  He then won his consultation semi-final round to put him in the 3rd/4th place match where he lost by major decision (11-13) Cam Bingham (19-22) took 6th place.

Senior Kole Willie (35-10) won second place, pinning his first two opponents from Bear Lake and West Side, respectively.  In the championship round, Willie lost Hiatt Beck from Aberdeen by just one point in the low scoring matchup (3-2).

In the 152 weight division, Senior Ruxton Tubbs (37-10) took home the 1st place win, pinning opponents from West Side, Soda Springs, and Bear Lake on his path to the top spot.

Hunter Wray (28-18) earned the second place finish in the 160 pound weight class, winning his quarter and semi-final matches.  In a close matchup in the championship round, Wray lost to Colten Gunderson of West Side by major decision (2-1).  Dylan Moss (12-5) took 4th place, splitting his four matches for the day.

Lex Driskel (20-14) placed 4th in the 170 weight bracket, winning two of his four matches.  

In the 182 weight class, Blaiz Wright (37-14) won second place, falling to Walker Pelto (40-2) of Bear Lake by major decision (5-0) after pinning his first two opponents of the day.

 Caleb Matthews (23-24), wrestling in the 195 pound bracket, placed second after pinning Trae Priestly from West Side in his semi-final round and then losing by pin to Elijah Dilworth from Soda Springs in the championship match.

To qualify for state a wrestler must place in the top three at the district tournament. Wrestlers that place 4th have the possibility of qualifying based on their record for the year compared to the  4th placers in the other districts.  Moving on to state for Malad HIgh School are:

98lbs Jack Willie

98lbs Porter Mills

106lbs Jace Potter

113lbs Tommy Angell 

120lbs Trevor Mills

120lbs Zane Komrofske 

126lbs Zach Mills

132lbs Sam Willie 

145lbs Kole Willie

G145lbs Cale Carter

152lbs Ruxton Tubbs 

G152lbs Cambree Howe 

160lbs Hunter Wray

160lbs Dylan Moss

170lbs Lex Driskel 

182lbs Blaiz Wright

195lbs Caleb Mathews

The Dragon Wrestling Team will be taking 15 male wrestlers and 2 female wrestlers to  compete at the state tournament February 23-25 in Nampa, Idaho.  With both boys and girls division wrestling simultaneously at the state tournament, the matches will take place over the course of three days.  

Coaching the Dragon team this year is Devin Morrison, Allen Edwards, Caleb Williams, Jonny Blaisdell, Josh Davis and Thomas Maddox.  This great group of coaches have tirelessly worked with these kids to help them grow both on and off the mat.  The Lady Dragons were coached this season by Russ Clark with the help of Kade Price and Tyson Haven.  As the team moves into their culminating tournament this season, Coach Morrison shared, “We have an awesome staff of coaches and volunteers that give their time to this team. So many people in the community ask how they can help support the team and that means a lot to the coaches and kids. We are grateful for such a supportive wrestling family here in Malad.”

Speaking of his team, Coach Morrison said,  “This is a great team, they work hard and have accomplished a lot together. We as coaches are very proud of them and excited to see what they can do at state. This is what they have worked for and I have no doubt they will finish strong.

“The Dragons would like to thank the Malad staff that helped make the district tournament a success. It was a long day of wrestling and we couldn’t have done it without the amazing Malad staff and the wrestling parents that showed up in a big way to keep everything running smoothly.” 

The Dragons will have their state send off Wednesday and then load the bus with only one thought in mind- State or Bust!

District Team Totals

Malad 257

West Side 222

Bear Lake 195

Aberdeen 142.5

Soda Springs 140.5

Grace 119

North Gem 10