Dragon Wrestling officially started with a night of duals for the women’s team with a double matchup for the men’s team in addition to a weekend tournament.  The 2024-2025 season started with some of the toughest competition they would see over the ensuing months and, fortunately, the Dragons were up for the challenge.

The season opener was Wednesday, December 4 as the Dragons dueled two strong Utah teams, Green Canyon and Sky View, in Logan Utah. Matching up against Green Canyon for their first dual of the year, the team wrestled hard to bring home the 42-34 win for the Varsity team.

Following their matches with Green Canyon, Malad next wrestled against the Sky View Bobcats. Varsity defeated the Smithfield team 63-18. To sweep the night, the JV Dragons beat Green Canyon JV 60-30 before winning over Sky View 42-30. 

Malad wrestling Head Coach Devin Morrison shared after their opening night, “It was a good way to start our season. As coaches we need to see how our team does under pressure and the boys all did very well. We have 10 freshmen who all have been working hard to get ready for the high school season and it was great to see them wrestle with confidence and show up strong for their first matches of the year.” 

Thursday, December 5, the Lady Dragon wrestlers competed in a night of duels against Rich and Ridgeline teams.  The coaches shared, “The girls did amazing. Against Rich, we didn’t lose a single match.  Against Ridgeline we lost only three matches. We tied the dual, but lost it in criteria because we forfeited more matches.”

The following day they competed in the Grace tournament with another tough showing. As a team, the Lady Dragons took second place with six girls earning individual medals. 

The MHS Varsity wrestling team competed at the Dahlke Duels in American Falls over the weekend. With 22 teams participating in the tournament, the two day tournament did not disappoint. 

Starting off with a strong showing, Malad went undefeated in their 5 duals on Friday, December 6. The wrestlers defeated fellow 3A team New Plymouth as well as four larger schools, Idaho Falls, Payette, Gooding and American Falls 2nd team.  Their time on the mats clearly demonstrated that Malad is ready to compete this season. 

Moving on to Saturday’s matches, Malad competed against the five toughest teams at the tournament in the Gold Pool Bracket. Wrestling against athletes from 4A, 5A and 6A schools, the Dragons faced some strong competition.  The MHS athletes wrestled fiercely with grit and determination, clearly showing that they wouldn’t back down or be intimidated by the larger schools. 

The duels against Caldwell and Snake River both came down to scores of a single match.  Malad beat the powerhouse 4A school Buhl and won some great matches against Century and American Falls.  Across the two day tournament, two Dragon wrestlers went undefeated- Jack Willie at 106lbs and Ayden Potter at 113lbs.

  “We don’t take it easy as a team,” said Coach Morrison.  “These boys push themselves from day one until the state tournament and as coaches we couldn’t be more proud. We have work to do, there is always more to improve on and our team will put in that work and continue to get better through the season.”

Team scores at Dahlke Duels 

Friday 

Malad 57  Idaho Falls 25

Malad 75  AF JV 12

Malad 84  Payett 6 

Malad 61  New Plymouth 18 

Malad 71 Gooding 18

Saturday (Gold Pool) 

Malad 39 Caldwell 43

Malad 36 Snake River 41

Malad 34 Century 50

Malad 54 Buhl 31

Malad 31 AF 49