Honors for area athletes, coaches

Soon-to-be Post Falls junior Ridge Lovett has been working on his leadership skills in preparation for the 2017-18 wrestling season.

And with some hard work on the national level, he’ll get an opportunity to learn from the best of the best, as well as get an experience of a lifetime.

Lovett won the Greco-Roman junior cadet nationals (ages 14-16) last week at the University of Akron, qualifying for the national team that will compete in Athens, Greece, in September.

“It’s super humbling and exciting,” Lovett said. “Last year, I didn’t place in Greco (at nationals). I went into this meet more focused and ready to compete.”

In May, Lovett suffered his first loss as a sophomore, losing to Brandon Taylor of Seattle in Greco at the Northwest Regional tournament in Centralia, Wash.

“It just showed me that I needed to put more work in,” Lovett said. “It really showed me that I’ve still got some things to work on and get ready for that tournament.”

In Greco-Roman wrestling, wrestlers can only do takedowns by attacking the opponent’s upper body. Leg attacks are prohibited. In freestyle, you can do takedowns by either shooting at the legs or throwing.

“When he got beat, he was apprehensive,” Post Falls High coach Pete Reardon said. “He knew when he entered the tournament that he was going to wrestle him, and thought he was going to lose the match. Going into Akron, he was really confident. Not cocky, but he just felt like he was going to win it. He’d planned on winning and those are two different outlooks when competing.”

In order to prepare for the tournament, Lovett trained with some Post Falls High teammates after school.

“Braydon Huber, Brelane Huber, Jordan Grimm and Braxton Mason have been working out,” Lovett said. “It’s just a good chance at giving me a look at the Greco style.”

Lovett will train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., later this summer in preparation for the Cadet World Championships in Athens in September, something that Reardon hopes will springboard Lovett into next season, when he’ll make a run at a third straight state 5A individual title.

“When you’re surrounded with the best coaches in the nation and athletes, you can’t help but come back changed,” Lovett said. “He’s really been working on leadership skills, and so have everyone else on the team, and growing as leaders and being a good example. He’s been showing that and it affects everyone else. I’ve already seen a difference in him.”

Especially in a season where many college coaches are keeping an eye on him for recruitment purposes.

“You really can’t replace exposure that he’ll get, and it’s tough to come by,” Reardon said. “He’s going to be working along with the best recruits in the nation and gain experience against them. He’ll be exposed to a level that you normally don’t get at the high school level.”

THE HONORS keep coming in for Coeur d’Alene High senior Casey Randles.

Randles, who capped his high school career with a third straight state title in February at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa, was named to the USA Wrestling Magazine All-American team.

Randles finished his high school career 154-11, with 135 pins.

“Not many guys around here have made it,” Coeur d’Alene High coach Jeff Moffat said. “But he’s proven it on the national stage, and that really helped him out. He’s won three state titles and had lots of wins and pins. He deserves it.”

In late March, Randles beat Michael Battista of Virginia 9-2 to capture the 182-pound championship at the National High School Coaches Association national tournament in Virginia Beach, Va.

Randles’ carries a 4.04 GPA and will graduate from Coeur d’Alene High on Friday.

“His academics are outstanding,” Moffat said. “It’s well deserved, and going back to Virginia to back it up definitely helped. It’s a great honor.”

Randles — who transferred from Sandpoint to Coeur d’Alene for his senior year when his father, Mike, was named vice principal at Coeur d’Alene High — was a teacher’s aide for Moffat during the school year.

“One thing I learned about him this year is that he’s a nice kid,” Moffat said. “He was a really good teammate and wanted to help the other kids. Sometimes, being a multiple time state champion, they might have a chip on their shoulder, and he was a great teammate. It was like he was with us the entire time. He’s my teacher’s aide in first period, so I get the chance to talk to him all the time. He’s just a good, all-around kid.”

CIERRA FOSTER was also recently honored with the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Foster, who will graduate from Post Falls High on Thursday, won the gold medal in the 123.25-pound division at the 2016 Pan American Cadet Championships and helped the United States win the team title. She received the Golden Booster at the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the event, winning all three of her matches by pin.

“It’s unbelievable,” Foster said in a news release. “I am honestly speechless, but extremely thankful that I was chosen for the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award. I think the best part is getting recognition for the hard work I’ve put into the sport I love.”

Foster finished third as a freshman in the state 5A wrestling tournament after becoming the first girl to become a 5A district champion in the state. Foster was named Sophomore of the Year and Wrestler of the Year by USA Idaho Wrestling, and also was team captain on the girls soccer team as a junior and senior.

She has signed to wrestle at NAIA Oklahoma City University.

AFTER COACHING the Lakeland Hawks to a third-place finish in the state 4A wrestling tournament, coach Rob Edelblute was named Coach of the Year by his peers at the Ford Idaho Center.

Recently, Edelblute was named state Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.