Sports

Five BHS students find wrestling success in Belcourt

By Tyler Ohmann

02/25/2014

After all was said and done the weekend of Feb. 13-15 the Turtle Mountain Community High School (TMCHS) Braves finished in third place at the 2014 State Wrestling Tournament.

A part of that glory were two of five wrestlers from Bottineau High School (BHS).

Both senior Tanner Bickford and Jordan Eli took part in the festivities in Bismarck. Eli wrestled in the 113-pound weight class and went 1-2 in matches over the weekend. For Bickford it was his second straight state appearance, and he also went 1-2.

For Bickford the state tournament is something he thinks every sports fan should experience.

“In my opinion it is the most fun tournament for sporting events to watch,” Bickford said. “Especially when it comes down to the state finals, because that is one thing I’d advise everyone to go check out sometime.”

Last season Bickford was the lone BHS to wrestle on the TMCHS team, but this year five more joined him.

Eli, Ethan Smith, Nathan Marama and Skyler Underhill all also made the trek over to Belcourt to be part of the Braves’ squad.

“When it all came together we all gelled, and had fun on the rides there,” Bickford said. “It was a fun group of guys to be around.”

All five of the guys had wrestling backgrounds before coming to BHS, which prompted them to join the TMCHS team.

Marama wrestled with Velva last season, while Underhill wrestled in Kansas before moving to Bottineau and Smith wrestled in Belcourt when he was younger before he began attending BHS.

“Everyone had a wrestling background before they came here, and that really helped,” Bickford said.

One of the best parts of having more teammates from Bottineau for Bickford is that he didn’t always have to drive himself over to Belcourt this season.

“It was a big help having someone drive,” Bickford said. “I could sleep on the way there, sleep on the way back.”

What they agreed on was the most fun though was being a part of a team that was so successful in duals.

The TMCHS Braves came into the state tournament as the three seed from the west. However, after taking down Fargo Davies 45-32 in round one the Braves looked like they could contend for a title. Then they took on Bismarck High, and the Demons topped them 50-19. TMCHS didn’t get discouraged and finished in third by beating Bismarck Century 39-29 in the third place match.

Eli won an 8-7 decision in the match against Fargo Davies to help propel the Braves to the win.

Eli lost his other two matches in dual play, and Bickford lost all three of his matches, but the team still finished in third place.

“It was pretty fun to be part of a good team like that,” Bickford said. “To practice with them every day, I think that helped all of us. I really liked being on a competitive dual team.”

Bickford was really proud of the team that they were a part of, and all they accomplished this season.

“We had a lot of really good teammates, which made our team do well in the standings,” Bickford said. “Getting to cheer them on, and top to bottom a lot of them on the Belcourt team had a real good year this year, so it was fun to be around.”

And third place is not a terrible way to go out for a senior.