Montague’s girls wrestling team has had a remarkable amount of success in just a few years of existence, including a 2022 state championship by Emma Pendell. Up until this season, though, the Wildcats did not really have the ability to compete as a team in events due to having only a handful of wrestlers.
Those days are over, as Montague signaled Friday night with an impressive second-place effort at the East Jackson girls tournament.
The Wildcats took second place with 116 points, checking in only behind Hastings, which had 132, but also had 14 wrestlers to Montague’s seven.
The tournament was something of a war of attrition; Maddox said the final match didn’t take place until well past midnight. He wasn’t on site at East Jackson because he was taking the boys team to the Hemlock tournament the following day, but joked that the late night following the tournament on the TrackWrestling website made for a short night’s sleep before going to Hemlock.
“I don’t think anybody really thought about us being in a team competition going into East Jackson,” Montague coach Kris Maddox said after Wednesday’s home quad meet. “They’re really getting behind each other and building that kind of team camaraderie, and hopefully more girls in our school see that and want to be part of that process.”
Andrew Nold, the girls coach, led the Wildcats in the tournament. As the night went along, Maddox began texting Nold, the girls team’s group chat, and wrestling parents about the team’s progress.
“I think they started the tournament in eighth place and ended up building all the way to first there for a second,” Maddox said. “We got a pin in the finals (to take the lead), I think, and they came back the next round and got a pin.”
The ‘Cats got their usual terrific performances from Pendell and Savannah Winkleblack, who both won their weight classes, but the breakout star of the night was heavyweight Trisha Beckman, who scored three pins in a row to claim the top spot in her weight class as well. After earning two forfeit wins in Wednesday’s home quad, she’s up to 5-0.
“I surprised myself a little bit,” Beckman said. “I’ve always known that if I wanted to (wrestle), I could. I joined the wrestling team because I wanted to live without regrets, and this was just a big positive in my life.”
Winkleblack also earned a trio of pins to win her 110-pound weight class, and Pendell scored two tough decisions at 145 after a first-round pin to secure her place atop the podium. Abby Thommen and Ava Pelton contributed third-place finishes for the team.
The senior Beckman hadn’t been on the team before, but took a suggestion from football coach Justin Dennett, who teaches her in a weightlifting class at Montague, to join up. However, the clincher to her being part of the Wildcats was good friend and now-teammate Winkleblack.
“She really pulled the trigger,” Beckman said. “She provided me my shoes and my headgear and she brought me to practice, and she really just gave me the hook and led me in. That was a big factor in why I joined.”
To a person, the girls team has long been effusive in praising the supportive environment within the team, from boys and girls alike. Now that the Wildcats can put forth competitive team scores in tournaments, it’s hit another level.
“It’s a positive environment,” Beckman said. “There’s always encouragement, everyone’s lining the mats at every match. It’s always fun.”
“The school in general is just a supportive community. It just keeps coming and...providing for us. It’s just a wonderful place to be.”
There’s a long way to go between now and Ford Field, but Beckman’s emergence gives the Montague girls squad one more reason to dream of big things in 2023-24.
“I think the biggest goal is to just make it as far as we can and have fun,” Beckman said. “I know a couple of my girls are planning on making it to state. You can’t think that far ahead - God has a plan - but it’s always going to be fun and we’re always going to support each other, and that’s the biggest thing.”
