Thursday, March 28, 2024
39.0°F

Floor for four

by Jason Elliott Sports Writer
| December 16, 2018 12:00 AM

photo

Roddy Romero, top, Post Falls, wrestles Landen Stewart of Frenchtown in the 98 pound Tri-State title match Saturday night at North Idaho College. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)

photo

Roddy Romero, top, Post Falls, turns Landen Stewart onto his back in the 98 pound Tri-State title match Saturday night at North Idaho College. Romero won by a 5-2 decision. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)

COEUR d’ALENE — When it came time for the spotlight to shine on him, Post Falls senior Ridge Lovett just went out and had a good time for the 4 minute and 45 seconds he held the attention of the crowd at Christianson Gym on Saturday.

Lovett pinned Kamiakin’s Austin Almaguer in the 132-pound championship match at Tri-State, becoming only the fourth wrestler with four-straight titles at the tournament, which celebrated its 48th year on the campus of North Idaho College.

“It’s awesome,” Lovett said. “We’re probably all going to go to Denny’s tonight, and celebrate a little bit. The entire team, we had a great showing here. Everyone wrestled great. We had some bumps along the way, but it was an awesome tournament for us.”

Both Lovett and Almaguer won national championships in Greco-Roman wrestling in Fargo over the summer.

“Sometimes, we get so used to how tough and special Ridge is,” Post Falls coach Pete Reardon said. “But that kid he wrestled is a very tough kid. He’s won a national title at Fargo as well. For Ridge to go out and handle him, that was impressive. You don’t want to lose the fact that it’s a remarkable Tri-State career. For him to do that in the finals, it’s pretty remarkable.”

Lovett joins Jared Lawrence (Sandpoint), Samuel Colbray (Hermiston) and Dalton Young (Lakeside, Wash.) as the only four-time champions at Tri-State.

“It’s amazing,” Reardon said. “He’s one of those guys, he really gets up for big matches. And I could see it in his eyes before the start of the finals tonight, he was ready.”

“It was a good time out there,” Lovett said. “Austin is a super tough kid. When we were at Fargo together, he was next to me on the stage. It was a great time out there. I did what I had to do. It’s just the way it played out I guess. I just tried to go out and wrestle my best.”

As Post Falls sophomore Roddy Romero took his turn in the spotlight, he didn’t disappoint — winning by a 5-2 decision over Landen Stewart of Frenchtown in the 98-pound championship.

“I really don’t like being the person that gets noticed,” said Romero, who entered as the top-seed after finishing seventh as a freshman. “I definitely like being the dark horse where nobody knows who I am. I was kind of nervous coming in because I haven’t placed that high here, and didn’t wrestle that good last year.”

“He’s really a hard-nosed kid,” said Reardon of Romero. “He’s got some attitude and an edge to him. He came out all weekend and felt his opponents out, and just took it to them. Once he got his hands on them, he was really good all weekend. I was really pleased with how he wrestled. He put a lot of points on the board.”

He made up for it this time around.

“It’s a huge relief,” Romero said. “I just really want something to eat right now. My teammates have been here supporting all weekend, and it’s great. Right now, I just want to go get some Panda Express, or some old fashioned Darigold Chocolate Milk. I’d never go without my chocolate milk.”

Post Falls finished second with 177 points, with Mead High of Spokane winning with 183.5 points.

“Mead is a great team and a great program,” Reardon said. “(Mead coach) Phil McLean is a great guy, and hats off to them. Finishing second, it’s a little bit of mixed feelings, but I’m happy with how our team competed. Our kids did a great job. Our younger kids, they fought. They got a taste of it and saw what the next level looks like. We’ll build on it going forward.”

Tyler Morris was second at 160, Isaac Jessen fourth at 126, A.J. De La Rosa fifth at 138 and, Mathias De La Rosa eighth at 145 for Post Falls.

Mitchell Moffat was fifth at 160, Nolan Randles sixth at 138 and Gunner Giulio seventh at 152 for Coeur d’Alene.

Caden Hess was fourth at 106 and Seth Nutting eighth at 160 for Lake City.

Alex Edelblute was third at 120, Sam Edelblute fifth at 126, Colton Boettcher seventh at 160 and Hunter Oles eighth at 195 for Lakeland.

Isaiah Evans was third at 126 and Joey Follini seventh at 182 for Timberlake.

TEAM SCORES

1, Mead 183.5. 2, Post Falls 177. 3, Chiawana 159. 4, Mt. Spokane 144. 5, Havre 140.5. 6, Colville 132. 7, Kamiakin 113. 8, Flathead 108.5. 9, Camas 107.5. 10, Lakeland 104.5. 11, Frenchtown 102.5. 12, Othello 102. 13, Lake Stevens 96. 14, Moses Lake 92.5. 15, Riverside (Auburn) 92. 16, Tonasket 91. 17, Central Valley 89. 18, Coeur d’Alene 86. 19 (tie), Bethel, Orting 85. 21 (tie), Kelso, North Central 82. 23, University 81. 24, Lake City 65. 25, Polson 64. 26, Pullman 56.5. 27, Sentinel 54.5. 28, Timberlake 53. 29, Ferris 52. 30, Bonners Ferry 46. 31, Deer Park 45. 32 (tie), Castle Rock, Lake Roosevelt 44, 34, Hermiston 42. 35, Priest River 40. 36, Reardan 35. 37, Clearwater 34.5. 38, West Valley 34. 39, Vashon Island 31. 40, Sandpoint 30.5. 41 (tie), Mary Walker, Nathan Hale, Shadle Park 28. 44, Darrington 27. 45 (tie), Libby, Royal 25. 47 (tie), Lewiston, Omak 24. 49, Okanogan 23. 50 (tie), Jenkins (Chewelah), Capital, Moscow 22. 53, Kellogg 21. 54 (tie), East Valley, Lakeside 20.5. 56, Kentridge 20. 57, Meadowdale 18. 58, Potlatch 15.5. 59, Liberty (Spangle), Northwest Christian 14. 61, Gonzaga Prep 10. 62, Freeman, Twin Falls 9. 64, Riverside 8. 65, Republic 4. 66 (tie), Big Sky, Newport, Oregon City, Richland 0.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

98 — Roddy Romero, Post Falls, d. Landen Stewart, Frenchtown, 5-2. 106 — Kenndyl Mobley, North Central, p. Mick Chagnon, Havre, 1:40. 113 — Walker Dyer, Frenchtown, d. Jaden Cassel, Riverside (Auburn), 10-8. 120 — Jake Bibler, Frenchtown, d. Chase Randall, Mead, by injury default. 126 — Drew Roberts, University, d. Clayton Gilliam, North Central, 6-2. 132 — Ridge Lovett, Post Falls, p. Austin Almaguer, Kamiakin, 4:46. 138 — Blake Haney, Mt. Spokane, d. Chase Tebbets, Mead, 2-1. 145 — Martin Wilkie, Havre, md. Dominic Damon, Nathan Hale, 12-0. 152 — Aidan Villarreal, Chiawana, d. Riley Cissne, Chiawana, 11-4. 160 — Trevor Morrison, Colville, p. Tyler Morris, 4:33. 170 — Gideon Malychewski, Camas, d. Navarro Nanpuya, Omak, 6-4. 182 — John Knight, Colville, p. Mason Miethe, Mt. Spokane, :35. 195 — Jacob Olson, Kamiakin, p. Dalton Swayze, Okanogan, :58. 220 — Ben Voightlaender, Mead, md. Aaron Reyes, Priest River, 14-1. 285 — Braxton Mikesell, Central Valley, d. Nicholas Schurger, Mary Walker, by injury default.

THIRD-FOURTH PLACE

98 — Cole Cross, Riverside (Auburn), d. Bennett Beard, Central Valley, 6-0. 106 — Alan Luff, Kelso, d. Caden Hess, Lake City, 5-1. 113 — Jarret Sharp, Mt. Spokane, md. Riley Burgess, Moses Lake, 16-0. 120 — Alex Edelblute, Lakeland, d. Ryan Clark, Mead, 9-6. 126 — Isaiah Evans, Timberlake, d. Isaac Jessen, Post Falls, 8-1. 132 — Jack Latimer, Camas, d. Ky Haney, Mt. Spokane, 5-4. 138 — Tanner Craig, Camas, d. Reuben Seemann, Colville, 5-2. 145 — Robby Vaughn, Chiawana, md. Cade Krishnek, Capital, 10-2. 152 — Connor Harris, Havre, d. Bridger Wenzel, Polson, 7-3. 160 — Brent Hodgson, Deer Park, d. Wayne Baker, Castle Rock, 5-3. 170 — Kiran Srikanth, Pullman, md. Tyson Stover, Chiawana, 11-3. 182 — Josk Walker, Bethel, md. Blake Fowler, Kelso, 16-3. 195 — Johnny Franke, Darrington, d. Gabe See, Bonners Ferry, 3-1. 220 — Elijah Roylance, Othello, p. Ben Hollenberg, Kamiakin, 1:12. 285 — Wyatt Wickham, Central Valley, d. Isaiah Perez, Othello, 6-0.

FIFTH-SIXTH PLACE

98 — Payton Smith, Kamiakin, d. Tristan Bremer, Lewiston, by injury default. 106 — Eli Warner, Frenchtown, p. Cole Eastwood, Flathead, 1:45. 113 — Nathan Gregory, Deer Park, d. Gabriel Smith, Pullman, 10-3. 120 — Yusef Nelson, Riverside (Auburn), d. Cameron Pleninger, Havre, 7-5. 126 — Sam Edelblute, Lakeland, d. Dawson Bretz, Tonasket, by injury default. 132 — David Crowe, Lake Roosevelt, d. Hunter Behnke, Orting, 4-2. 138 — A.J. De La Rosa, Post Falls, d. Nolan Randles, Coeur d’Alene, by injury default. 145 — Rylan Anderson, Reardan, d. Luke Joy, Sentinel, 2-1. 152 — Tony Nichols, Lake Roosevelt, d. Connall Powers, Sentinel, 8-3. 160 — Mitchell Moffat, Coeur d’Alene, d. Zaybin Stewart, Flathead, by injury default. 170 — Cameron Crawford, Mead, p. Tanner Russell, Flathead, 1:21. 182 — Isaac Gomez, Tonasket, d. Kaden Krouse, Jenkins, by injury default. 195 — Peyton Watts, Castle Rock, d. Bubba Summers, Clearwater, 5-0. 220 — William Russell, Riverside (Auburn), d. Wyatt Hall, Lake Stevens, 3-0. 285 — Devin Kylany, Lake Stevens, d. Eyvar Robles, Riverside (Auburn), 1-0.

SEVENTH-EIGHTH PLACE

98 — Riley Pleninger, Havre, md. Theron Tate, Lake Stevens, 10-0. 106 — Rene Pierre, Polson, p. Adrian Delgado, Hermiston, 1:14. 113 — Donnie Krissak, Bethel, md. Waylon Wilson, Tonasket, 9-0. 120 — Jeff Friedman, Lakeside, d. Conor Goucher, Ortin, 3-2. 126 — Maximus Zamora, Moses Lake, md. Riley Buth, Mt. Spokane, 10-2. 132 — Fin Nadeau, Flathead, d. Derick Soto, Kelso, 9-3. 138 — Bryson Anderson, Orting, d. Reece Eckley, Sentinel, 15-8. 145 — Wyatt Schrader, Orting, d. Mathias De La Rosa, Post Falls, 5-2. 152 — Gunner Giulio, Coeur d’Alene, d. Isaac Duncan, Camas, 8-4. 160 — Colton Boettcher, Lakeland, d. Seth Nutting, Lake City, 5-4. 170 — Britton Needham, Moscow, d. Gaje Caro, West Valley, 5-3. 182 — Joey Follini, Timberlake, d. Dylan Lalone, Orting, 4-1. 195 — Jacob Vincent, Lake Stevens, d. Hunter Oles, Lakeland, 3-2. 220 — Tanner Cassell, West Valley, d. Elijah McCann, Ferris, 3-1. 285 — McKinnley Franklin, Kelso, d. Trace Franks, Mead, 9-2.