Thursday, March 28, 2024
37.0°F

Region's premier tourney gets even bigger

by Jason Elliott Sports Writer
| December 14, 2018 12:00 AM

The growth in the 48th year of the Tri-State Invitational wrestling tournament might not be noticeable to the naked eye, but it’s there.

It will be at Christianson Gymnasium on the campus of North Idaho College.

And in a small way, the school’s Recreation Center a few blocks away.

“We were able to get some 500 kids here last year,” NIC wrestling coach and Tri-State tournament director Pat Whitcomb said. “It will make a little bit of a difference with running two weight classes in there (the Recreation Center) on Friday. On the second day (Saturday), we’ll do a second-chance tournament (at the rec center) for those kids that went 0-2 on Friday so they can get at least two more matches. Not only that, but it keeps those parents that traveled a long distance that only got to see their kid wrestle twice before.”

Wrestling begins today at 10 a.m.

“We’re expecting 600 kids this year,” Whitcomb said. “And the weather looks like it’s going to be the best we’ve had for this in years.”

Quarterfinals will be tonight at 7, Whitcomb estimates. Wrestling resumes on Saturday at 9 a.m., with semifinals at noon and championship finals at 5 p.m.

Post Falls senior Ridge Lovett, a three-time Tri-State champion, is the top seed at 132 pounds. Mead’s Chase Tebbets, seeded second, finished runner-up to Lovett in 2016.

“It’s always a huge thing to see someone chasing four straight titles,” Whitcomb said. “We’re in our 48th year, and to have only four (if Lovett wins), it’s a huge feat. It will be exciting to see them make history, or see how they’ll handle the pressure. They’re going to have their work cut out for them because Ridge is wrestling really well right now. They’re all tough weights, but there’s a load at 132, 138 and 170.”

Post Falls is the defending team champion and has won three of the past four years. Havre (Mont.) edged Post Falls for the team title in 2017.

“With Post Falls, you wonder if they can win it again, or is someone going to sneak up on them,” Whitcomb said. “It’s a different animal than any other tournament. You need to have success in other weights. To place here, it’s a big deal for anyone. You’ll have state champs that won’t place in this tournament. To place here, you better have your shoes tied on tight.”

Flathead of Kalispell was second last year.

“Flathead will be tough, and Tonasket (last year’s small-school champion at Tri-State) is going to be a tough team after winning the Inland Empire Classic last weekend,” Whitcomb said. “I’m excited to see how a small school competes here.”

Bethel’s Donnie Krissak (113 pounds) and Mead’s Chase Randall (120) are also returning champions.

All-tournament passes are $20 for adults and $10 for students and seniors.

Fans can follow along to live results at TrackWrestling.com.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun,” Whitcomb said. “As long as the internet doesn’t go down, match after match, and whistle to whistle, you don’t get bored.”

TRI-STATE INVITATIONAL SEEDS

98 pounds — 1, Roddy Romero, Post Falls. 2, Landen Stewart, Frenchtown. 3, Cole Cross, Riverside (Auburn). 4, Tristan Bremer, Lewiston. 5, Luke Zwiesler, Mt. Spokane. 6, Jesse Schafer, University. 7, Carter Stepro, Kellogg. 8, Bennett Beard, Central Valley.

106 — 1, Eli Warner, Frenchtown. 2, Riley Vanatta, Tonasket. 3, Braxton Mason, Post Falls. 4, Alan Luff, Kelso. 5, Rene Pierre, Polson. 6, Mick Chagnon, Havre. 7, Dakota Eixenberger, Kellogg. 8, Ryan Graves, Post Falls.

113 — 1, Donnie Krissak, Bethel. 2, Walker Dyer, Tonasket. 3, Jarret Sharp, Mt. Spokane. 4, Lane Bolich, Tonasket. 5, Dom Jessos, Coeur d’Alene. 6, Luke Grisafi, Central Valley. 7, Riley Burgess, Moses Lake. 8, Darin Sedenius, Darrington.

120 — 1, Chase Randall, Mead. 2, Yusef Nelson, Riverside (Auburn). 3, Jake Bibler, Frenchtown. 4, Brendan Barnes, Frenchtown. 5, Alex Edelblute, Lakeland. 6, Buddy Doolin, Libby. 7, Cameron Pleninger, Havre. 8, Jeff Friedman, Lakeside (Wash.).

126 — 1, Clayton Gilliam, North Central. 2, Maximus Zamora, Moses Lake. 3, Sam Edelblute, Lakeland. 4, Isaiah Evans, Timberlake. 5, Dawson Bretz, Tonasket. 6, Drew Roberts, University. 7, Isaac Jessen, Post Falls. 8, Ethan Hull, Reardan.

132 — 1, Ridge Lovett, Post Falls. 2, Chase Tebbets, Mead. 3, Ky Haney, Mt. Spokane. 4, Austin Almaguer, Kamiakin. 5, Everett Pierce, Deer Park. 6, Jack Latimer, Camas. 7, Payton Keough, Coeur d’Alene. 8, Hunter Behnke, Orting.

138 — 1, Tanner Craig, Camas. 2, Blake Haney, Mt. Spokane. 3, A.J. De La Rosa, Post Falls. 4, Kaleb Horn, Lake Roosevelt. 5, Lane Paulson, Havre. 6, Jaden MacNeil, Flathead. 7, Lane Young, Lakeside (Wash.). 8, Reece Eckley, Sentinel.

145 — 1, Martin Wilkie, Havre. 2, Cade Krishnek, Capital. 3, Dominic Damon, Nathan Hale. 4, Graham Rocha, Northwest Christian. 5, Robby Vaughn, Chiawana. 6, Rylan Anderson, Reardan. 7, Mathias De La Rosa, Post Falls. 8, Ryan Quimby, Lakeland.

152 — 1, Bridger Wenzel, Polson. 2, Garrett Wilson, Tonasket. 3, Tony Nichols, Lake Roosevelt. 4, Nolan Doloughan, Freeman. 5, Thomas Perryman, Reardan. 6, Aidan Villarreal, Chiawana. 7, Kyler Anstrom, University. 8, Kadin Shaw, North Central.

160 — 1, Riley Cissne, Chiawana. 2, Brent Hodgson, Deer Park. 3, Trevor Morrison, Colville. 4, Wayne Baker, Castle Rock. 5, Tyler Morris, Post Falls. 6, Austin Wood, Tonasket. 7, Davis McElroy, Clearwater. 8, Mitchell Moffat, Coeur d’Alene.

170 — 1, Kiran Srikanth, Pullman. 2, Tyson Stover, Chiawana. 3, Gideon Malychewski, Camas. 4, Tanner Russell, Flathead. 5, Cameron Crawford, Mead. 6, Wyatt Shelly, Post Falls. 7, Hunter Fritsch, Polson. 8, Britton Needham, Moscow.

182 — 1, Kaden Krouse, Jenkins (Chewelah). 2, John Knight, Colville. 3, Josh Walker, Bethel. 4, Isaac Gomez, Tonasket. 5, Mason Miethe, Mt. Spokane. 6, Peyton Whipple, Clearwater. 7, Ozius Harden, Reardan. 8, Dylan Lalone, Orting.

195 — 1, Jacob Olson, Kamiakin. 2, Johnny Franke, Darrington. 3, Dalton Swayze, Okanogan. 4, Bubba Summers, Clearwater. 5, Peyton Watts, Castle Rock. 6, Isaiah Anderson, Chiawana. 7, Truxton Wilson, Priest River. 8, Cade Byus, Central Valley.

220 — 1, Aaron Reyes, Priest River. 2, Ben Voightlaender, Mead. 3, William Russell, Riverside (Auburn). 4, Austin Ratliff, Havre. 5, Ephraim Watkins, Gonzaga Prep. 6, Jonathan Lee, Hermiston. 7, Ben Hollenberg, Kamiakin. 8, David Perry, Kelso.

285 — 1, Wyatt Wickham, Central Valley. 2, Isaiah Perez, Orofino. 3, Braxton Mikesell, Central Valley. 4, Nicholas Schurger, Mary Walker. 5, Charlie Harrington, Mary Walker. 6, Owen Hughes, Lake City. 7, Tytan Duncan, Deer Park. 8, Ryder Eilers, Royal.