PREP WRESTLING: Post Falls, Lakeland, Kellogg claim championships
RATHDRUM — Strange as it may seem, considering they’re currently ranked in the top 50 teams nationally by InterMat Wrestling, but Post Falls had some doubters entering this season.
Not any more, as a procession of state-ranked Trojans took to the mat in the finals of the 5A, 4A and 3A state-qualifying wrestling championships on Saturday at Lakeland High, as area teams punched tickets to the state wrestling tournament next Friday and Saturday at Holt Arena in Pocatello.
The Trojans had 10 individual champions while dominating the 5A Region 1 competition on Saturday, one of three favorites to hold serve and defend their titles, with Lakeland claiming the 4A Region 1 trophy and Kellogg the 3A District 1 trophy during a busy day of action.
5A
After claiming the school’s first state title last season, the Trojans lost a handful of quality seniors. They more than reloaded this year, pretty much dominating at every tournament this season, and entering state as the prohibitive 5A favorite.
“I’m proud. A lot of people thought we graduated a lot, and wouldn’t be as successful this year. Some people weren’t expecting it,” said Trojans head coach Pete Reardon, whose team is just as hungry to repeat this year as they were to claim the championship last year. “We’ll need to wrestle as a team. It takes all of the guys scoring points. I’m just as excited and nervous as last year.”
The Trojans will take 18 salty wrestlers to state, featuring both quantity and quality. Leading the charge will be senior Arius De La Rosa (145 pounds), who will be looking to join an extremely elite club of four-time Idaho state champions after winning a 106 pound title as a freshman, a 120 pound title as a sophomore and the 138 pound title last year.
Standing in his way is Centennial’s James Fisher, currently ranked No. 1 by www.theidahowrestler.com, surprisingly ahead of De La Rosa. The two elite wrestlers have met twice this season, splitting the matches, both of which went into overtime. De La Rosa would love nothing more than claiming a fourth state title.
“It means a lot. It’s been my goal for as long as I can remember,” claimed De La Rosa, who will most likely meet Fisher for a third time at some point in the bracket. “It would be nice to face him again. The key is to wrestle my match. I don’t want to make too many adjustments this late in the season.”
5A runner-up Coeur d’Alene claimed all five of the other weight class championships on Saturday, and will take a dozen grapplers to state.
Head coach Jeff Moffat has a young squad, and feels a couple of wrestlers are capable of reaching the finals at state in Dylan Lockwood (138) and Vince Rey (182).
“We wrestled outstanding today. We had a goal of 12 guys, and wrestled our rear ends off,” said Moffat. “I couldn’t be more proud. They did everything we asked them to do.”
The Timberwolves will take four wrestlers to state, each of whom is capable of landing a spot on the podium.
“I think they all can,” said head coach Corey Owen. “We need to get healthy and go down there with the right mindset. They have the ability.”
4A
It was another strong showing for Lakeland, which claimed another regional title by winning eight individual championships and dominating the lighter weights.
The Hawks had 12 wrestlers earn state berths, with a couple more wild card entries possible. Head coach Rob Edelblute believes eight or nine of those are capable of earning podium spots, and a handful of them could contend for state titles.
“We have four wrestlers ranked No. 1 in the state. I’m excited with the guys we’re taking,” said Edelblute. “We’d like to be in the hunt for a team trophy. If we stay healthy, it will come together.”
Sandpoint will also take 12 wrestlers to state, hoping to possibly get another two or three on Monday when 4A wild-card berths are awarded. They’ll be led by a pair of No. 1-ranked wrestlers in Casey Randles (182) and Tyler Presser (160), who will vie for state titles. Randles, a junior, is undefeated and seeking his second title.
The Bulldogs hope to be in the hunt for a team trophy as well, right there with the Hawks.
“Once you get past Caldwell and Minico, there’s a lot of teams. There’s so much parity this year in 4A,” described Randles, whose team won’t change its approach at state. “Just going down with the same mentality — really aggressive.”
3A
Kellogg defended its district title with the closest win of the day, beating runner-up Timberlake by 38 points. Head coach Scott Miller will bring 13 wrestlers to state, a handful of which could contend for titles, led by Robby Smith, the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the 3A at 160 pounds.
“We have four or five guys that can get into the finals,” predicted Miller. “We’ll need to be more mentally tough than we were tonight.”
Timberlake finished a close second, also with 13 wrestlers punching their tickets to state. Head coach Kelly Amos said it will take a team effort to make a run at a trophy next weekend.
“We just have to get all 13 guys to score. Compete and score points, that’s our big goal,” said Amos, who has a couple of kids primed to make some noise. “Heavyweight Ryder Mervin is definitely a state placer-type kid.”
Priest River, which finished a handful of points behind Timberlake, had 12 kids move on to state, including five district champions. The Spartans only brought 15 wrestlers down, so head coach Jesse Hellinger was rightfully excited by his team’s performance.
“It’s a great day to be a Spartan,” said Hellinger. “We’re knocking on the door, south Idaho better watch out. We’re going down there for business, to taste some gold.”
Bonners Ferry will send seven wrestlers to state next week, led by Tyler Beazer (106) and Caleb Gehring (195).
5A
TEAM SCORES — 1, Post Falls, 374. 2, Coeur d’Alene, 249.5. 3, Lewiston, 177. 4, Lake City, 132.
(Top 3 to state)
CHAMPIONSHIP
98 — Ridge Lovett, PF, p. Matt Auger-lavoi, Cd’A, :53.
106 — Jordan Grimm, PF, d. Alessio Lemmon, PF, 4-2.
113 — Kaleb Maciosek, Cd’A, d. Mathias De La Rosa, PF, 4-2.
120 — Matt McLeod, PF, md. Trevor Rigney, Lew, 8-0.
126 — Braydon Huber, PF, p. Ty Hendren, Lew, 5:35.
132 — Jason Burchell, PF, d. Wyatt Shelly, PF, 14-7.
138 — T.J. Wolfe, PF, d. Dylan Lockwood, Cd’A, 9-3.
145 — Alius De La Rosa, PF, p. Mario Peregrina, Cd’A, 2:56.
152 — Queong Rahman-Smith, PF, p. Coleton Kazmierczak, PF, :57.
160 — Anthony Reimer, Cd’A, tf. Chris Farnsworth, PF, 15-0.
170 — Isaiah Skinner, Cd’A, d. Andrew Olvera, LC, 2-1.
182 — Vince Rey, Cd.A, p. Cody Cromer, Lew, 4:55.
195 — Brad Noesen, PF, d. Rusty Dan, LC, injury.
220 — Alex Marshall, Cd’A, p. Mitch Miller, Lew, :20.
285 — Kameron Welker, PF, d. Justin Chase, Lew, 2-1 in 2OT.
THIRD PLACE
98 — None.
106 — Jacob Krous, Cd’A, d. Cyrus Mortensen, LC, 12-7.
113 — Sam Reese, Cd’A, p. Ricky Thomas, LC, :25.
120 — Garrett Ashby, Cd’A, p. Riley McFarland, Cd’A, :40.
126 — Colton Jones, Lew, p. Mitchell Moffat, Cd’A, :36.
132 — Kaleb Tipton, Lew, d. Chase Lathim, LC, 10-5.
138 — David Booth, PF, p. Reese Bregen, Lew, 5:04.
145 — Tyler Morris, PF, d. Max Hill, Lew, 6-3.
152 — Nathan Lambert, LC, p. Ethan Lillis, Cd’A, 2:58.
160 — Blake Callahan, Lew, p. Griffin Schoch, LC, 3:41.
170 — Jake Hollenbeck, Lew, md. Mike Pederson, Cd’A, 9-0.
182 — Hans Wichman, Cd’A, p. Ram Lettau, LC, 3:44.
195 — Trevan Pixley, Lew, d. Jordan Dean, Cd’A, 3-1.
220 — Bryce Bowen, LC, p. Zane Lettau, LC, 3:02.
285 — Cody Cantrell, PF, p. Ron Schmidt, LC, 3:50.
4A
TEAM SCORES — 1, Lakeland, 408. 2, Sandpoint, 328.5. 3, Moscow, 166.
(Top 2 to state)
CHAMPIONSHIP
98 — Sam Edelblute, LL, d. Chandler Axtell, LL, 7-2.
106 — William Edelblute, LL, p. Pearce Riendeau, Mos, 4:22.
113 — Tavis Woempner, LL, p. Shane Spence, Mos, 1:42.
120 — Britton Needham, Mos, md. Brian Edelblute, LL, 12-4.
126 — Larry Johnson, LL, p. Justin Wright, LL, 3:15.
132 — Tyler Siegford, LL, p. Curtis Johnson, LL, 1:31.
138 — Logan Kelley, LL, d. Preston Bunty, Spt, 2-0.
138 — Bunty, Spt, d. Cage Hendry, LL, 4-3 (wrestle back).
145 — Hyrum Hunsaker, Spt, d. Tanner Kohal, Spt, 5-4.
152 — Mahonri Hunsaker, Spt, p. Wyatt Gatten, LL, 2:37.
160 — Tyler Presser, Spt, tf. Elijah Guthrie, Spt, 15-0.
170 — Jared Walker, LL, p. Owen Stebbins, Spt, 1:10.
182 — Casey Randles, Spt, p. Caleb Couch, Mos, 5:03.
195 — Calum Wilcox, Spt, p. Patrick Ranes, Spt, 4:18.
220 — Antonio Brown, LL, p. Adam Wallace, Mos, 3:48.
285 — Jake Williams, Spt, p. Pat Coulter, Mos, 3:27.
285 — Coulter, Mos, p. Lucas Gardner, LL, 3:20 (wrestle back).
3A
TEAM SCORES — 1, Kellogg, 259. 2, Timberlake, 221. 3, Priest River, 217. 4, Bonners Ferry, 171.
(Top 3 to state)
CHAMPIONSHIP
98 — Brandon Downs, PR, p. Kiana Larson, TL, 2:53.
106 — Tyler Beazer, BF, p. Tyler Custis, Kel, 1:09.
113 — Noah Herbert, TL, p. Jesse Campbell, Kel, 4:23.
120 — John Allen-Noble, PR, p. Garek Pennington, TL, 5:58.
126 — Riley DeMent, PR, p. Jace Hunt, Kel, 5:08.
132 — Tanner Figueroa, Kel, p. Ethan Wilson, BF, 4:56.
138 — Jaden Ballard, Kel, p. Jaeger Schnuerle, BF, 1:23.
145 — Noah Jamison, PR, d. Anthony Noto, Kel, 6-4.
152 — Dylan Huger, Kel, d. Spencer MacDonald, PR, 11-5.
160 — Robby Smith, Kel, p. Bailey Houston, TL, 2:30.
170 — Caleb Munson, TL, p. Tucker Day, Kel, 3:38.
182 — Gregory Fitzmorris, PR, p. Austin Jeffries, Kel, 3:47.
195 — Caleb Gering, BF, p. Shawn Doran, TL, 3:02.
220 — Kaleb Johnson, Kel, p. Matt Varelman, BF, 1:16.
285 — Ryder Mervin, TL, p. Houston Bartlett, Kel, 1:31.
THIRD PLACE
98 — Brianna Davis, TL, bye.
106 — Chris Widger, TL, bye.
113 — Nathan Nelson, PR, p. Ken Branson, BF, 1:06.
120 — Denton Eby, BF, p. Preston Coon, BF, 1:32.
126 — Derek Galloway, TL, p. Slater Copley, BF, 1:12.
132 — Colby Poe, PR, p. Jessie Bradley, BF, 1:40.
138 — Kayde Herbert, TL, p. Mason Eby, BF, 1:34.
145 — Hunter Bisaro, Kel, p. Nikolous Bertling, BF, 1:57.
152 — Layne Stevens, TL, p. Sam Dzuris, TL, 5:25.
160 — Trevor Rusho, PR, p. Colby Ballard, Kel, 1:36.
170 — T. J. Smith, BF, p. Reece Shaffer, TL, 5:34.
182 — Brady Jerome, TL, bye.
195 — Josh Coombers, PR, bye.
220 — Aaron Reyes, PR, p. Garrett Rickett, TL, :46.
285 — Samuel Hernandez, PR, p. Teise Peigatal, TL, 2:42.