THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Early tests could pay off later

Yes, it takes a lot to make it to tonight’s championship finals of the Tri-State Invitational wrestling tournament at North Idaho College.

Wrestlers have to fight their way through a bracket that in some cases, can be tougher than the one they’ll see at the state tournament.

And maybe, just maybe, there’s a few that feel they’ve got something to prove after having that event totally wiped out due to the pandemic last year.

IN THE case of some of the teams from this part of the state, wrestling at a high level is just something they have to do — like it or not — from the first match of the season until that final whistle at the state tournament at Holt Arena in Pocatello in February.

For Post Falls, which has won five of the last seven state 5A titles, it’s an almost new lineup for coach Pete Reardon.

“It’s a younger group than we normally have,” Reardon said. “But they fight and they’re taking things seriously and working hard to live up to that reputation we’ve built. And that’s really cool to see.”

On Dec. 9, Post Falls beat Lake City 62-15, then won at Lewiston 53-28 the following night, facing two 5A Inland Empire League foes they’ll have to see again at regionals in February.

“We’re fortunate that when we compete in our league, it’s tough competition,” Reardon said. “There’s good wrestling programs and a big benefit to seeing them early in the season.”

As in …

“It’s just balancing out the season so you’re not seeing everyone back to back to back,” Reardon said. “We’ll see them from time to time at tournaments like Tri-State, Rollie Lane and the North Idaho Rumble, so we’ll see them again.”

For Lake City coach Corey Owen, seeing a league opponent like Post Falls is a good way to gauge where his team is.

“I like scheduling them early,” Owen said. “Post Falls is the measuring stick in this area. Our kids wrestled hard, but we got outclassed by them and the score was a little more lopsided than we’d like. But Post Falls is the class of the area and handed it to us. Hopefully we can learn some lessons from this one and continue to build from here.”

In case you’re wondering, Post Falls visits Coeur d’Alene on Feb. 10 and the annual TerHark Cup between Coeur d’Alene and Lake City, at Coeur d’Alene High this year, will be Jan. 20.

The 5A Region 1 tournament is Feb. 19 at Lake City High.

WHEN IT comes to building on success, for a lot of teams it starts with the aftermath of this weekend’s Tri-State Invitational at NIC.

“I’m taking four or five freshmen that are new to that whole tournament experience,” Owen said. “Tri-State, it’s a whole different ball game. I think it’s important for our guys to go and see that kind of competition and what it’s going to take to get where they want to go. I’m excited for those guys to get that eye-opening experience.”

Not all of the 50 schools are bringing full teams, with some only getting a few into the tournament.

“When I was wrestling in it 20 years ago, every school brought their entire team,” said Owen, who graduated from Sentinel High in Missoula in 2000. In that first or second round, you’d get somebody you could handle. Now, you’re almost shocked when you see some of the brackets. Everyone is good and each match is a highly competitive match. You really don’t see a bad kid in the weight.”

Good or bad, if a wrestler finds themselves under the spotlight at Christianson Gymnasium tonight for the finals, they’re on the right path.

Whether they’re out of their league or not.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.