The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT Dec. 19, 2012

It's kind of like Pat Whitcomb said late on Saturday afternoon - it could be in the 70s the day before, but you can always expect snow when the Tri-State Invitational at North Idaho College takes place.

He was definitely right on the weather again this year.

OF THE top seeds in each of the 15 weight classes, eight wound up in the championship round and seven won titles.

When Post Falls freshman Alius De La Rosa pinned Jacoby Peterson of Kuna in the 106-pound championship he joined the list of various champions at the event.

Organizers also believe that he's the first champion from Post Falls in the 41 years of the event.

Whitcomb also mentioned that Tri-State is a tough tournament for a freshman to be seeded in, mainly because it's tough to judge just how good they can really be.

Over the weekend, De La Rosa was really good and come next year - he'll be one to watch at the tournament when the 42nd event unfolds.

The tournament, which is a fundraiser for the North Idaho College wrestling team, was once again well attended by teams from all around the northwest, but the Cardinal team wasn't the only one that benefited from the strong turnout.

A raffle for an iPad by the NIC wrestlers raised over $500 for the Kootenai County Toys for Tots.

Something that, in addition to providing a weekend of some of the toughest wrestling under one roof, is something to be proud of for all those involved.

NEXT WEEK, as the 2012 year winds down, area high school boys basketball teams will send the year out with tournaments at both NIC and Lake City High.

Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls will compete in the fifth annual Coeur d'Alene Inn-vitational at NIC, while Lakeland and Sandpoint travel to Lake City for their tournament.

Both tournaments start on Thursday, wrap up with championship games on Saturday and feature some of the best teams from the Seattle area as well.

The Post Falls and Lake City girls will hit the road for separate tournaments in the Seattle area and Coeur d’Alene will take on a couple of nonleague foes before getting back into the heart of its 5A Inland Empire League schedule.

After picking up a combined four wins within the Scenic West Athletic Conference over the weekend, both North Idaho College men’s and women’s basketball teams will take a break from conference play over the holidays and return to action at Salt Lake on Jan. 3.

To me, the winter sports season doesn’t really arrive until the snow hits the ground — usually once Tri-State has come and gone.

Now that it has, things are going to get a lot more difficult.

Including driving to the gym.

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].