Crowded at the top

COEUR d’ALENE — Three teams are separated by four points at the top of the heap after Friday’s first day of the 48th annual Tri-State Invitational on the campus of North Idaho College.

Mead High of Spokane leads the tournament with 121.5 points, followed by defending champion Post Falls with 118 and Chiawana of Pasco with 117.5.

“It’s been a hard-fought battle all the way through day one, and I think it’s going to be that way on Day 2,” Post Falls coach Pete Reardon said. “It’s anybody’s race right now, with three teams so close in the standings. It could come down to who wins the finals.”

Post Falls will send Roddy Romero (98 pounds), Isaac Jessen (126), Ridge Lovett (132), A.J. De La Rosa (138) and Tyler Morris (160) into today’s semifinal round, expected to begin at noon.

“Overall, I’m pleased with how we wrestled,” Reardon said. “Our top guys did a great job, got some pins and dominated their matches. And our younger guys wrestled hard and fought hard, but were a little bit out-gunned at times.”

Other area semifinalists include: Lakeland’s Alex Edelblute (120), Coeur d’Alene’s Nolan Randles (138) and Timberlake’s Isaiah Evans (126).

Mathias De La Rosa (145), Wyatt Shelly (170) and Terran Sharbrough (285) remain for Post Falls in the consolation bracket.

Dylan Moffat (106), Hunter Schueller (126), Gunner Giulio (152), Mitchell Moffat (160) for Coeur d’Alene, which is 15th.

Chandler Axtell (126), Riley Siegford (132), Ryan Quimby (145), Colton Boettcher (160), Hunter Oles (195) for Lakeland, which is 10th.

Caden Hess (106), Seth Nutting (160) and Zane Monaghan (182) remain alive in the consolation bracket for Lake City, which is 26th.

“They’ve got a maturity about them and can win in big matches,” Lake City coach Corey Owen said. “They all wrestled well today.”

Joey Follini (182) remains in the consolation round for Timberlake, which is 28th.

Wrestling resumes today at 10 a.m., with championship finals at 5 p.m. in Christianson Gymnasium.

TEAM SCORES — 1, Mead 121.5. 2, Post Falls 118. 3, Chiawana 117.5. 4, Mt. Spokane 97.5. 5, Flathead 87. 6 (tie), Colville, Havre, Lake Stevens 81. 9, Othello 79. 10, Lakeland 76.5. 11, Moses Lake 75.5. 12, Tonasket 72. 13 (tie), Bethel, Camas 70. 15, Coeur d’Alene 69. 16, Kamiakin 66. 17, University 64.5. 18, Orting 58. 19, Central Valley 55. 20, Polson 52. 21, North Central 51. 22, Riverside (Auburn) 50. 23 (tie), Ferris, Kelso 49. 25, Pullman 48.5. 26, Lake City 48. 27, Frenchtown 47.5. 28, Timberlake 41. 29, Hermiston 40. 30, Sentinel (Missoula) 37.5. 31, Castle Rock 35. 32, Bonners Ferry 34. 33 (tie), Deer Park, Vashon Island 31. 35, Sandpoint 30.5. 36, Lake Roosevelt 30. 37 (tie), Priest River, Shadle Park 27. 39, Clearwater 26.5. 40 (tie), Royal, West Valley 25. 42, Lewiston 24. 43, Reardan 23. 44 (tie), Jenkins (Chewelah), Libby 22. 46, Kellogg 21. 47, East Valley 20.5. 48 (tie), Darrington, Kentridge 20. 50, Moscow 19. 51, Meadowdale 18. 52, Capital 17. 53 (tie), Lakeside (Wash.), Potlatch 15.5. 55 (tie), Mary Walker, Nathan Hale 15. 57, Liberty (Spangle) 14. 58 (tie), Northwest Christian, Omak 13. 60, Okanogan 12. 61, Gonzaga Prep 10. 62, Freeman 9. 63, Riverside 8. 64, Twin Falls 7. 65, Republic 4. 66 (tie), Big Sky, Newport, Oregon City, Richland 0.

SEMIFINAL MATCHES

98 pounds — Roddy Romero, Post Falls, vs. Landen Stewart, Frenchtown; Payton Smith, Kamiakin, vs. Tristan Bremer, Lewiston.

106 — Alan Luff, Kelso, vs. Mick Chagnon, Havre; Cole Eastwood, Flathead, vs. Kenndyl Mobley, North Central.

113 — Walker Dyer, Frenchtown, vs. Jarret Sharp, Mt. Spokane; Jaden Cassel, Riverside (Auburn), vs. Gabriel Smith, Pullman.

120 — Chase Randall, Mead, vs. Jake Bibler, Frenchtown; Alex Edelblute, Lakeland, vs. Ryan Clark, Mead.

126 — Clayton Gilliam, North Central, vs. Isaiah Evans, Timberlake; Drew Roberts, University, vs. Isaac Jessen, Post Falls.

132 — Ridge Lovett, Post Falls, vs. Ky Haney, Mt. Spokane; Austin Almaguer, Kamiakin, vs. Jack Latimer, Camas.

138 — Blake Haney, Mt. Spokane, vs. A.J. De La Rosa, Post Falls; Nolan Randles, Coeur d’Alene, vs. Chase Tebbets, Mead.

145 — Martin Wilkie, Havre, vs. Cade Krishnek, Capital; Dominic Damon, Nathan Hale, vs. Robby Vaughan, Chiawana.

152 — Bridger Wenzel, Polson, vs. Tony Nichols, Lake Roosevelt; Aidan Villarreal, Chiawana, vs. Riley Cissne, Chiawana.

160 — Bret Hodgson, Deer Park, vs. Trevor Morrison, Colville; Wayne Barker, Castle Rock, vs. Tyler Morris, Post Falls.

170 — Kiran Srikanth, Pullman, vs. Tyson Stover, Chiawana; Gideon Malychewski, Camas, vs. Navarro Nanpuya, Omak.

182 — Kaden Krouse, Jenkins, vs. John Knight, Colville; Josh Walker, Bethel, vs. Mason Miethe, Mt. Spokane.

195 — Jacob Olson, Kamiakin, vs. Johnny Franke, Darrington; Dalton Swayze, Okanogan, vs. Peyton Watts, Castle Rock.

220 — Aaron Reyes, Priest River, vs. Ben Voightlaender, Mead; William Russell, Riverside (Auburn), vs. Wyatt Hall, Lake Stevens.

285 — Wyatt Wickham, Central Valley, vs. Isaiah Perez, Othello; Braxton Mikesell, Central Valley, vs. Nicholas Schurger, Mary Walker.