The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT Dec. 21, 2011

Championships aren't won on paper.

No matter what sport it might be, if you want to be considered the best, you've got to be able to win at anytime, anywhere.

LAST WEEKEND, more than 60 teams brought their best wrestlers to North Idaho College for the 40th Tri-State Invitational.

Of those, a handful of them had a decent shot at winning a team championship, with Post Falls having the best shot at a team title from Kootenai County.

And with five wrestlers making it through to the semifinals on Saturday, it appeared likely that the Trojans were going to be in the hunt all weekend.

By way of a couple losses in the semis and consolation rounds, Post Falls finished third, just a half point behind 5A Inland Empire League rival Lewiston.

Drake Foster and James Ost found ways to get into the championship match in their respective weights, but lost in close matches.

Coeur d'Alene senior Garrett DeMers, who entered the tournament as the top seed at 195 pounds, beat Matt Hopkins of Tahoma High in the championship.

The competition in this tournament is tough, like any other that some of these wrestlers will see the rest of the season.

This is the one place where a state title may get you a high seed, but that's about it.

By the time the event had concluded, those wrestlers that were crowned champions had definitely earned it.

It being the second tournament of the year in either Idaho or Washington, I'd say those that left NIC on Saturday night learned a valuable lesson on where to go next this season.

WITH THE regular season in the NFL wrapping up next weekend, so does my fantasy football season.

While championships will be determined in leagues, my team won't be sniffing the finals again.

Entering the Sunday night game, my chances were good that I would advance to the championship.

That was, until the Ravens defense decided to take the night off — allowing 34 points to San Diego and showing more fight yelling at each other on the sideline instead of on the field against the Chargers.

After the game, the Ravens had scored minus-4 points, while my backup defense, the Seahawks, had scored 29 points in a win against the Chicago Bears.

I’d like to say that it was a lesson learned, but it wasn’t.

If I had a chance to do it again, I’d likely follow the same path toward a championship — playing the better defense and just hoping for the best in the end.

Much like the title that Mead ran away with on Saturday during Tri-State, it was earned through hard work and determination.

Instead of a fantasy I had during draft night.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected].