Lakeland settles for second

POCATELLO — So close.

Chasing the program’s first state team title since 1989, and tied with Minico of Rupert after the first day of the state 4A tournament, Lakeland stumbled a bit in the semifinals, derailing its chase for a state title.

Junior Sam Edelblute (113) and senior William Edelblute (120) won state championships, and sophomore Alex Edelblute (106) and senior Larry Johnson (145) earned runner-up finishes for the Hawks, who finished second with 212.5 points.

“The kids wrestled tough this weekend,” Lakeland coach Rob Edelblute said. “I’m proud of each and every one of them. It’s well deserved. They worked hard this year for this.”

Sophomore Ryan Quimby (138), senior Logan Kelley (160) and junior Cage Hendry (145) finished third, freshman Riley Siegford (120) and senior Wyatt Gatten (126) fifth for Lakeland, which has placed fourth, second, third and second again at state the last four years.

Quimby, Kelley, Hendry and Siegford came up short in the semifinal round.

“We kind of hit a speed bump and got behind a little too far,” Rob Edelblute said. “We had a couple of kids that were right on the verge of placing.”

For Sam and William, it’s the second straight individual titles for them.

“They came into the tournament and knew they were going to dominate and nobody was going to take that title away from them,” said Rob Edelblute of his nephews.

Johnson, who was trying to become the program’s first four-time state champion, lost 2-1 to Christian Hudson of Caldwell in the 145-pound title match.

“It was one of those heartbreaking matches,” Rob Edelblute said. “It was so close, and you’re going to have a different outcome each time they wrestle. Both Larry and Christian have great futures ahead of them. It’s just kind of heartbreaking to see Larry work so hard for it and come up a little short.”

Johnson’s only other loss this season was to Hudson, at the Rollie Lane Invitational.

Sam Edelblute pinned Dante Roggio of Vallivue in 3 minutes, 10 seconds for his title.

“I just went into the match with some confidence,” Sam Edelblute said. “I knew once I got him to his back, that was the match.”

William Edelblute pinned Esai Castaneda of Blackfoot in 2:27 for his title.

“The match was even going into the second period 4-4,” William Edelblute said. “I was trying to get a turn on him. Getting him on his back, I knew I had to get a pin right then. It felt really good to get it done.”

Hyrum Hunsaker took third for Sandpoint, which finished tied with Idaho Falls for 15th with 44 points. Evan Stickelmeyer was sixth at 285 for the Bulldogs.

3A: Timberlake sophomore Isaiah Evans finished runner-up at 120 pounds after finishing third last year.

Brayden Herbert was third at 98 and Conner Yanez third at 182 and Caleb Miller fifth at 145 for Timberlake, which was ninth with 89 points.

Jesse Sandelin was second at 160, Evan Barajas third at 106 for Bonners Ferry, which came in 10th.

Juddson Hall was third at 126 and Taylor Bush fifth at 113 for Kellogg.

Sugar-Salem won the 3A title with 237 points.

2A: Senior Chad Dickerson finished runner-up at 182 for St. Maries, which finished tied for sixth in the 2A tournament.

Caden Hall was third at 160, Sam Martin fourth at 113 and Dylan Sotin fifth at 98 for the Lumberjacks.

Austin McKinnon was fifth at 106 for Wallace.