Post Falls has had the horses this year
A pretty good sports year for Post Falls High comes to a close this weekend.
It started in the fall, with the Trojan football team, led by Nate Buer, Braden Vaughan and many others, winning its first eight games and qualifying for the state 5A playoffs.
Post Falls’ volleyball team, led by Allison Munday, made it to state, battling through three hard-fought matches before setting for a tie for fifth.
The Trojans’ boys soccer team advanced to the state title game before accepting the state runner-up trophy after a loss to Borah of Boise.
Post Falls didn’t contend in state cross country, but Sydney Shanahan brought home a medal for her 12th-place finish.
THE TROJANS, you may remember, were pretty good in the winter.
It started with Post Falls winning the state girls basketball title. The Trojans, led by Melody Kempton, Bailey Brennan and Tyler McCliment-Call, lost just twice during the season — one of those to loaded Washington 4A champ Central Valley — and beat nationally ranked Eagle in the title game.
The following week, Post Falls won the state wrestling championship for the third time in four years — and set a state record for team points in the process. The Trojans had 10 state finalists and seven state champions, led by junior Ridge Lovett, who completed his third straight undefeated season.
A third “welcome back” parade in Post Falls was in the works the following week, as the Trojan boys basketball team put together another strong season, before falling in the state semifinals.
WHICH BRINGS us to the spring.
Post Falls has had some pretty good baseball teams in recent years, but has had a hard time advancing to state with powers like Lake City, Coeur d’Alene and Lewiston in the way.
This year, the Trojans, helped by Buer, the multi-sport athlete, Jake Pfennigs and others, qualified for state for the first time since 2006, when Post Falls was still a 4A school.
Post Falls has been down in softball since winning the state title in 2010. But the Trojans have gotten better the last 3-4 years, and like the baseball team took the state play-in route to earn its first trip to state in eight seasons.
At state track this weekend, Kempton goes for her fourth state title in the high jump, and Tyler Trengove sees how he can cap his strong season in the high jump, long jump and triple jump.
Post Falls’ boys golf team didn’t bring home a trophy from state, but Cameron Flores closed out a nice career with a medal for his eighth-place finish.
All that’s left is to see what kind of magic happens in southern and eastern Idaho this weekend.
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.