To the surprise of no one, but the excitement of all, the Malad Dragons wrestling team won their 3rd straight state title this weekend. MHS qualified 20 wrestlers for the state tournament and brought home 12 individual medals. The Dragons put up an impressive 264.5 points as a team, well ahead of Kellogg who took 2nd place with 176 team points. With 102 teams competing in the tournament from all divisions 1A through 6A Malad ended with the 3rd highest team points of the entire tournament. 

“All of our wrestlers wrestled their best at the tournament, we had some exciting wins that weren’t expected. As coaches we couldn’t be more proud of them,” said Coach of the Year (more on that later) Devin Morrison. 

Oakley Maddox is the 3A 175lb State Champion

 The Dragons have 2 state champions this year. Juniors Drake Morrison and Oakley Maddox both claimed the title in their brackets. Neither Morrison nor Maddox allowed a single point to be scored against them during the entire state tournament. 

 Drake Morrison is now a 3 time placer and 2 time state champion. Morrison dominated the 157lb bracket with 2 techs and 2 pins against his opponents. 

Oakley Maddox is also a 3 time placer and won his first title this year. Maddox tore through the 175lb bracket, pinning 3 opponents and tech falling one.

Two freshman fought their way to the championship round. Kallen Price at 98lbs and Riggin Montgomery at 126lbs.  Both wrestlers had some big wins to put themselves in the finals. Both Kallen and Riggin earned the 2nd place medal. Making it to the finals as a freshman is extremely impressive and it will be exciting to watch what these boys do in their futures on the mat.  

Riggin Montgomery preparing for his 126lb finals match

Five other freshmen qualified for the state tournament, Brecken Price who brought home the 98lb 4th place medal, Joseph Angell, Trey Clemons, Jace Nalder and Bronson Smith.  These freshman have been an asset to the team and are working hard to continue their success on the mat over the next 3 years.

Sophomore Jaxon Mills made it for the 2nd time to the state tournament. Jaxon had some great wins but just missed out of the medal rounds. 

In the 150lb bracket Parker Mills earned the 5th place medal. Trevor Allen competed in the HWT bracket and  wrestled his way to a 4th place medal.

Dutch Potter and Leif Allen also wrestled and had some great matches.

A couple of injuries ended two wrestlers tournament sooner than they wanted. Seniors Chase Martin and Rydon Montgomery had amazing season and were wrestling great at the state tournament but both suffered injuries that would not let them finish. Rydon Montgomery did make it to the medal rounds before his injury and finished his senior year with the 4th place medal. 

The other four seniors representing the Dragons all brought home medals to finish their high school careers. After suffering what could have been a season ending injury, Jack Willie came back to wrestle with his team after missing a large part of the season. Even though he had been out for quite a while, Jack still wrestled his way to the 113lb finals. Jack brought home the 2nd place medal. 

Porter  Mills defeated a 2x state champion he has lost to in the past in an upset to earn himself the 3rd place medal. Cam Bingham won the 4th place medal in the 215lb bracket and Ayden Potter won his last match as a Dragon wrestler to win the 120lb 5th place medal.

Academic Champions

The week before state it was announced that both the boys and girls Malad wrestling teams won the Academic state title. This is the 2nd straight academic state championship for the Dragon wrestling team. “It is extremely impressive that our wrestlers keep their grades up during the season. We had a very busy season but our wrestlers still prioritized their school work and it paid off with another academic state title.”

Dual Champions

Early in the season the wrestling team traveled up to northern Idaho to compete in the 3A dual star tournament hosted by Clearwater Valley. The Dragons won the tournament, making them the first ever 3A dual state champions. 

Champion Coach

At the tournament on Saturday head coach Devin Morrison was named the 3A Coach of the year. The award is voted on by the other coaches at the tournament.  “I have an amazing staff that loves this team and works extremely well together.  Our wrestlers know that us coaches want 

Coach Devin Morrison was named the 3A Coach of the Year, and award he immediately noted was earned by the entire staff.

 what’s best for them both in wrestling and life. This award is for the entire staff, we have the success we have because we work as a whole.”

Thank you to the amazing parents, school administrators and families that came to support our team.  We are extremely grateful for the support we receive from the Malad wrestling family. 

State medalists

98lbs Kallen Price 2nd

Kallen Price took 2nd in the 98lb bracket

98lbs Brecken Price 4th

113lbs Jack Willie 2nd

Jack Willie is the 113lb State runner up.

120lbs Ayden Potter 5th

126lbs Riggin Montgomery 2nd

138lbs Porter Mills 3rd

150lbs Parker Price 5th

157lbs Drake Morrison 1st 

Drake Morrison won his 2nd state title.

175lbs Oakley Maddox 1st

190lbs Rydon Montgomery 4th

215lbs Cam Bingham 4th

HWT Trevor Allen 4th