Vikings savor 5A Region 1 title

RATHDRUM - Make no mistake, the 5A Region 1, 4A Region 1 and 3A District 1 wrestling tournaments Saturday at Lakeland High were all about getting wrestlers to state.

So with much of the focus on next weekend, it's easy sometimes to forget to stop and smell the roses. Coeur d'Alene coach Jeff Moffat wasn't about to make that mistake, taking a moment to appreciate his team claiming a 5A regional championship trophy, no easy task with state powers Post Falls and Lewiston on hand.

"Any time you win a championship, it means something," said Moffat, whose Vikings scored 293 points to edge Post Falls by 20 points. "We wrestled outstanding all weekend. They were looking for pins and wrestling hard. I'm really proud of them."

The Vikings joined Lakeland (4A) and Priest River (3A) in claiming team titles, and will send 15 wrestlers and possibly a couple of wild cards to state next Thursday through Saturday at the Idaho Center in Nampa. Moffat feels his team has a shot to contend for a top-four finish and state hardware.

"If we're hitting on all cylinders, we'll be in the mix," he said. "We need to make sure we stay healthy, make sure the kids believe in themselves and wrestle one match at a time."

The Trojans will take 14 wrestlers to state, with two possible wild cards. They might even stand a stronger chance of earning a trophy, with three wrestlers out to defend state titles in Drake Foster (126 pounds), Alius De La Rosa (120) and Seth McLeod (170).

"They all have a shot, but it won't be easy," said Trojans coach Pete Reardon. "We wrestled really well today. They did what they were supposed to - handled business."

Foster, a junior, will be gunning for his third state title, having already won titles at 106 and 120 as a freshman and sophomore, respectively. He knows what's in store next weekend, and knows full well what he has to do to keep his dream of winning four state titles alive.

"Not overlook anybody and wrestle my match, control my ties and take them (opponents) out of their game plan," described a confident Foster, who is hoping to become one of a select few four-time Idaho state champs. "That was my goal coming into high school, and it's getting closer every year. If I wrestle, I should win."

Corey Cook (170) and Dylan Woodworth (113) each finished second, and will lead five Lake City wrestlers to state.

In the 4A ranks, Lakeland scored 310 points to beat Sandpoint by 60, and will send 13 wrestlers to state. Hawks coach Rob Edelblute had especially high praise for Tuekota Tate (152), a third seed who scored a hard-fought 8-7 decision over Moscow's Sam Bruce in the final.

"He knew it was going to be a battle, and he ground it out," said Edelblute, who hopes his team can build off the momentum of a strong showing on Saturday. "This tournament and state is about them. It depends on how bad they want it."

Led by senior champs Lewis Dunton (145) and Josh Travers (220), Sandpoint qualified seven wrestlers for state. Bulldogs coach Mike Randles was hoping for a couple more, but it will be quality over quantity for the Bulldogs, as every wrestler is capable of doing some damage at state.

"We're taking down the best quality group in 4-5 years," admitted Randles. "All of them are capable of placing. Whether that happens or not is up to them."

In 3A action, Priest River advanced a host of wrestlers into the finals, beating Kellogg by 29 points to claim the title. The Spartans had a run of four titles in a row interrupted last year, and coach Jake Stark is happy to see his team's hard work lead to another trophy.

"It feels good to get it back in our corner. Everybody gets a piece of this, that's what's so sweet about it," said Stark, who is hoping his team can break into the top five at state. "We've got a lot of guys that can place this year. We'll take it down there and see what we've got."

Timberlake qualified 10 wrestlers to state, and coach Ryan Montang is hoping his team can finally break into the top four after numerous fifth- through seventh-place finishes recently. The Tigers will be led by senior Preston Rhodes (160), who dominated his bracket and has the wrestling chops to win it all.

"I don't see any reason he couldn't make a run at the title," predicted Montang of Rhodes. "He wrestled absolutely excellent, didn't give up a point all tournament."

Kellogg will send 12 to state, and Bonners Ferry seven at the 2014 Idaho State Tournament on Feb. 28 and March 1 at the Idaho Center in Nampa.

TEAM SCORES - 1, Coeur d'Alene 293. 2, Post Falls 273. 3, Lewiston 241. 4, Lake City, 136.5.

(Top 3 to state)

CHAMPIONSHIP

98 - Trevor Rigney, Lew, p. Kaleb Maciosek, Cd'A, 5:22. 106 - Cierra Foster, PF, p. Colton Jones, Lew, 2:46. 113 - Casey Benton, PF, p. Dylan Woodworth, LC, 1:14. 120 - Alius De La Rosa, PF, p. Ty Hendren, Lew, 3:37. 126 - Drake Foster, PF, over Lucas Bolster, PF, by forfeit. 132 - Drew Gorringe, Cd'A, p. Tanner Johnson, PF, 4:47. 138 - Tyler Wold, PF, d. Josh Reynolds, Lew, 9-3. 145 - Bryce Parson, Lew, p. Jason Sprague, Cd'A, 1:24. 152 - Ryan Klemp, Lew, over Drake Randall, Lew, by forfeit. 160 - Colton Johnson, Cd'A, d. Jared Walker, Lew, 8-4. 170 - Seth McLeod, PF, p. Corey Cook, LC, 1:25. 182 - Hudson Staub, Cd'A, over Karsen Walker, Lew, by forfeit. 195 - Reece Baldwin, Lew, d. Phoenix Duncan, Cd'A, 3-2. 220 - Dakota Groves, Cd'A, p. Elijah Bennett, PF, 5:18. 285 - Justin Farnsworth, PF, over Matt James, Cd'A, by forfiet.

THIRD PLACE

98 - Mike Kelly, Cd'A, p. Hayden Chatwin, LC, 4:54. 106 - Mike Bingham, Cd'A, p. Dax Wareham, Lew, 1:40. 113 - Nathan Hill, PF, p. David Rodriguez, LC, 2:42. 120 - David Booth, PF, p. Brandon Badilla, LC, :21. 126 - Dylan Lockwood, Cd'A, d. Mario Peregrina, Cd'A, 6-3. 132 - Killian Konda, LC, d. David Rusche, LC, 8-6. 138 - Tristin Dunn, Cd'A, md. Michael Carr, LC, 10-2. 145 - Kyle White, Cd'A, p. Jared Monroe, 1:26. 152 - Stephen Ost, PF, d. Jacob Farnsworth, LC, 5-0. 160 - Adam Hug, Lew, md. Cory Dan, LC, 14-6. 170 - Brandon Vandevender, Lew, p. Vince Rey, Cd'A, :53. 182 - Damion Rawson, Cd'A, d. Austin Tuck, PF, 11-4. 195 - Damian Robinett, Cd'A, p. Ryan Failor, PF, 4:32. 220 - Austin Porter, LC, d. Sam Connery, PF, 6-4. 285 - Zion Dixon, LC, p. Ron Schmidt, LC, 3:20.

TEAM SCORES - 1, Lakeland 310. 2, Sandpoint, 250. 3, Moscow 208.

(Top 2 to state)

CHAMPIONSHIP

98 - Dustin Mansil, Mos, bye. 106 - Bryan Edelblute, LL, bye. 113 - Scout Nash, Spt, p. Tyler Siegford, LL, 3:07. 120 - Justin Wright, LL, p. Christian Brandt, LL, 2:18. 126 - Austin Hoobler, LL, md. Pedro Hernandez, Mos, 15-5. 132 - Kyle Cutting, Mos, d. Shayne Willette, LL, 5-2. 138 - Tanner Wright, LL, d. Mahonri Hunsaker, Spt, 8-6. 145 - Lewis Dunton, Spt, d. Austin Garitone, LL, 7-4. 152 - Tuekota Tate, LL, d. Sam Bruce, Mos, 8-7. 160 - Brandon Maihot, LL, p. Casey Randles, Spt, 1:31. 170 - Tyler Brown, Spt, d. Cade Armstrong, Mos, 6-4. 182 - Killian Estes, LL, p. Jacob Williams, Spt, :32. 195 - Joey Reintjes, Mos, md. Tanner Read, LL, 11-2. 220 - Josh Travers, Spt, p. Conor Shepard, LL, 3:48. 285 - Jayden Vassell, Mos, p. Ivan Mucyo Ngabo, Mos, 4:38.

TEAM SCORES - 1, Priest River, 290. 2, Kellogg, 261. 3, Timberlake, 199. 4, Bonners Ferry 155.

(Top 3 to state)

CHAMPIONSHIP

98 - Logan Shults, PR, p. Tyler Custis, Kel, :53. 106 - Mike Hyndman, Kel, over John Allen-Noble, PR, by forfeit. 113 - Tanner Figueroa, Kel, d. Ryan Starr, TL, 9-7. 120 - Tucker Figueroa, Kel, p. Dailyn Johnson, TL, 5:27. 126 - Tristan Obrian, TL, d. Rober Jenkin, Kel, 11-6. 132 - Blake Ivie, Kel, p. Bailey Houston, TL, 1:55. 138 - Casey Jerome, Kel, p. Brad Erickson, TL, 3:35. 145 - Dallas Hopkins, PR, p. Hunter Golden, PR, 4:50. 152 - Clayton Bowman, PR, d. Parker Davis, BF, 7-1. 160 - Preston Rhodes, TL, d. Greg Fitzmorris, PR, 7-0. 170 - Davin Wadsworth, Kel, d. Anthony Reimer, TL, 10-8. 182 - Joe Swartz, PR, p. Caleb Munson, TL, :44. 195 - Bret Fink, PR, p. Andrew Hansen, TL, 1:19. 220 - Gabe Bellah, PR, p. Caleb Gering, BF, :48. 285 - Jonathan Gaspar, BF, over Numa Aitken, BF, by forfeit.

THIRD PLACE

106 - Jayce Hunt, Kel, p. Dakota Johnson, TL, 2:22. 113 - Diamond Robinson, PR, p. Brandon Evenson, PR, 3:05. 120 - Noah Jamison, PR, p. Jaeger Schnuerle, BF, 2:54. 126 - Luke Sumas, PR, tf. Hunter Bisaro, Kel, 17-2. 132 - Spenser MacDonald, PR, p. Tyler Chenoweth, PR, 1:01. 138 - Matt Tucker, BF, p. Dylan Huber, Kel, 1:08. 145 - Rob Smith, Kel, p. Luke Reoch, BF, 5:56. 152 - Jacob Perkins, BF, d. Anthony Noto, Kel, 6-3. 160 - Brandon Liermann, BF, p. Austin Jeffries, Kel, 2:37. 170 - Luke MacDonald, PR, p. Travis Beck, BF, :58. 182 - Christian Speelman, Kel, p. Tucker Smith, BF, 4:33. 195 - Ian Barnes, PR, d. Kaleb Johnson, Kel, 12-5. 220 - Jason Haynes, Kel, p. Clayton Rundgren, TL, 3:16. 285 - Ryder Mervin, TL, p. Brad Drake, PR, 1:27.