THE FRONT ROW with JIM LANDERS: Flathead trio trying to lead NIC wrestling back to national prominence

Gabe Lake, Noah Poe-Hatten, and Forest Howell bring the special Kalispell, Mont., winning wrestling culture to North Idaho College. 

Wrestling fans know the deep relationship that wrestling will bring to a family. 

I'VE WITNESSED mothers who have never participated in the sport become the most ardent fan of each kid on her team. It results in kids getting good at a sport that requires a lot of commitment and a good support team is a huge boost to any kid's career. 

Gabe Lake started at 5 years old in Utah with the local kids' wrestling program. 

After placing third his high school freshman year in Utah his family moved to Kalispell. Here he was adopted into the Flathead Valley wrestling culture. 

A Flathead High teammate, Noah Poe-Hatten, also started early and was introduced to the sport by his dad at 6 years old. Another Flathead High teammate was Forest Howell, who got started when he was 4 years old. 

Gabe Lake stepped into a high school program that had placed second in the Montana state championships. 

Glacier High is the other high school in Kalispell but not fortunate enough to be blessed with the winning culture of their cross-town rival Flathead. Rarely in their dual meets could Glacier win more than one weight class in the four-year careers of Noah and Forest.

THE STRENGTH of the Flathead wrestling family was demonstrated further by these results: After Gabe Lake joined the team his sophomore year the previous year's second-place finish was changed to first place. 

Now Noah Poe-Hatten was wrestling on the Montana state championship team and he would end up his career by placing 3,3,2,1. Forest Howell helped the team finish 2,1,1,2 over the four years he and Noah were at the school. Gabe Lake placed 3,2,5 during his tenure at Flathead. 

THESE THREE amigos all came to NIC after the coaches saw then at the Tri-State tournament. 

Gabe was the first to sign up. The three are happy with the winning culture they have found at NIC and are a key ingredient with NIC returning to the winning program it once was. 

Come watch the three amigos lead NIC wrestling back to national prominence. The Cardinals compete at the Battle of the Rockies today and Saturday in Great Falls, Mont.

Jim Landers is a longtime NIC wrestling supporter. Contact Jim at jimlanders83814@gmail.com