Some lessons learned on, off the mat

The lessons didn’t stop once departing Post Falls High for Drake Foster and Cierra Foster.

Whether it be the classroom, or the wrestling mat, this past season was educational in all the right ways.

DRAKE FOSTER, a 2015 graduate of Post Falls High, will be a redshirt junior at Wyoming this year, his fourth at the school.

“I learned how to manage my time better,” Drake said. “That’s one of the things that I might have struggled with the most is managing my time. My friends, school, wrestling and having a good social life still. I learned over the past year there, and wrestling wise as well, just to be more mentally strong.”

Drake recalled practices his freshman year as the eye opener to the Division I level.

“I was wrestling Drew Templeman from Orting (Wash.),” Drake said. “He was a four-time state champion and was my practice partner when I got to school. I couldn’t really take him down that often, or score points on him. And that first year, it was hard to deal with because I’d always been the guy at my weight in high school. Everyone is the top of their class in college, so it’s another level of wrestling. I’ve had to learn to be more mentally tough and push through obstacles.”

CIERRA FOSTER, a 2017 graduate of Post Falls, is a rising sophomore at NAIA Oklahoma City University.

“I didn’t expect to feel so overwhelmed with my schoolwork and wrestling,” Cierra said. “I took 17 credits each semester, so I was a little overwhelmed there. Over the course of the year I learned not to stress about the things that are out of my control. I just had to do my best, and hopefully it would work out. By the end of the year, I was kind of stressed out, but was able to figure out how to get my time right.”

That included having classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, leaving Tuesday and Thursday to train.

“I was able to get on a schedule and start relaxing about the little things,” Cierra said.

Cierra wrestled as a freshman for the Post Falls High team and continued to train with the team for her final three years. At Oklahoma City, she’s a part of a female wrestling program.

“I really enjoyed it,” Cierra said. “It was just a different feeling being around some great people around there. I’ll either text or Snapchat them each day and we’ll talk about getting back to town. A team with girls, they’re doing the same thing you are, having the same experience. It’s great. Being the only girl on the Post Falls team, I was always on the guys team. They understand what I’m going through and what I’m going through.”

DRAKE MISSED out on qualifying for the NCAA Tournament by just a few spots.

“I was ranked in the Coaches Poll that’s based on your win percentage and certain amount of wins,” Drake said. “I was in the top 30, and they take the top 32 for nationals. But I didn’t perform as well as I should have at the Big 12 Conference tournament and was a match short of qualifying for nationals. I had two opponents that I should have beat that qualified for nationals and one of them got an at-large bid.”

Then again, he learned from it.

“My first year, they pulled my redshirt and I was wrestling up at 133 pounds (he wrestled at 126 as a junior and senior in high school),” Drake said. “I was kind of undersized, but gave it everything I had. This year, my record was 25-15, so I had some more success. Being that close, I know I should have been at nationals and my coaches have pushed me to get better this summer so I don’t let myself down again.”

At Wyoming, Drake is teammates with Casey Randles, who won three state titles in Idaho, two with Sandpoint High and one with Coeur d’Alene High.

“He’s a good guy,” Drake said. “I’d been on some national teams with him, but never really talked with him. I knew of him, but we were never friends. We’ve got a good relationship now. We talk about how Laramie is cool, but we really want to go home.”

AND AS far as keeping tabs on their alma mater, both Drake and Cierra have kept up on the Post Falls squad, winners of three of the previous four state 5A titles in 2015, 2016 and 2018. Both were part of the team’s title in 2015.

“I keep tabs on some of the guys,” Drake said. “Braydon Huber (who signed with William & Mary) and Ridge Lovett. I just went to help Ridge train for nationals, so I keep tabs on them.”

Cierra, likewise, keeps tabs on the Trojans’ female competitors.

“Both Brelane (Huber) and Devine (Hill), they’re both really talented and have a lot of potential,” Cierra said. “I’ve been trying to tell them that it gets a little more difficult the bigger weight you move up to. I like to check on them, see how they’re doing and remind them that it’s just practice for the postseason stuff like Fargo and World Team trials.”

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.