PREP WRESTLING: Different event, same result
JASON ELLIOTT/Press Post Falls senior Roddy Romero takes down Nampa's Peyton Munson during their match at 120 pounds in the championship dual of the River City Duals tournament at Post Falls High.
POST FALLS — As a senior on the Post Falls High wrestling team, Ryan Graves knows it's up to him to come out and battle each and every time he takes the mat.
On Saturday, his bout against Nampa's Dominic Gonzalez ended up doing his team a large favor.
Graves beat Gonzalez 9-4 in their 132-pound match, clinching the Trojans' sixth River City Duals in seven years, this time 42-40 over the Bulldogs.
"I knew the team score was really close and I was one of the final matches going into it," said Graves, whose team led 39-34 going into the match. "I was thinking I needed to try to put up some points, but most of all, just get the win."
Post Falls beat Coeur d'Alene in the River City finals in 2020.
"A lot of people going into the last two years were kind of doubting us because we'd lost some real talented kids," Graves said. "We just knew it was our time to step up as seniors and fight for our team."
The tournament — in its 24th year — was held with no fans in the crowd due to Governor Brad Little's Stage 2 Plan for athletic events.
"We wanted to push forward with the tournament no matter what and had been planning it all year," Post Falls coach Pete Reardon said. "We were just waiting on a final decision from the school district or Panhandle Health to whether we could have fans, or it was just going to be shut down. And if it was canceled, so be it. We just adapted, changed and did what we could to make it happen."
Trevor Miller (195), Lane Reardon (145), Roddy Romero (120), Graves (132), Isaiah Laguna (220), Tyler Cook (285) and Ethan Miller (160) went unbeaten on the weekend for Post Falls.
The tournament was limited to 16 teams, with schools from Washington and Montana unable to participate due to the pandemic.
"It feels a little different without some of those other Spokane schools here," Reardon said. "Honestly, I couldn't believe how these guys responded. These guys didn't lose a varsity match yesterday (Friday), which is crazy. Those teams have some tough kids, but the kids competed their butts off and did it again today. Although it's a different kind of year, I'm seeing progression like always."
Nampa won its final five matches by pin to beat Lakeland 45-36 in a semifinal match earlier Saturday.
"We came up here knowing it was going to be a grind," Nampa coach Roy Perales said. "We knew it was going to be a grind, and a good midseason test for our guys. It puts our bodies to the test. We came up here and thought we could win it, and we're going home with a sour taste in our mouth. It was tough, but that's why you come here."
Nampa has been a regular at the River City Duals, winning in 2005.
"We expected that Nampa was going to win some matches," Reardon said. "We know that they're a really talented team and knew there was going to be some tough matches. We told our kids that if it's a mismatch, if you can keep it to a decision, or just do what you can — and you're always trying to win — but help your team out. And the kids really came through in that regard."
Riley Siegford (145), Cooper Johnson (160), Hayden Berger (220) and Lucas Williams (132/138) went unbeaten for Lakeland, which beat Coeur d'Alene 57-26 in the third-place match.
Nolan Randles (152) and Gunner Giulio (170) were unbeaten for Coeur d'Alene, which finished fourth. Drew Roberts, a three-time state champion, is out with a knee injury suffered last week at the Rollie Lane Invitational in Nampa.
“We’ve got some work to do to fix some things,” Coeur d’Alene coach Jeff Moffat said. “We need to learn to compete a little longer and be tougher in some spots. We’ve got some inexperienced guys, but they’re getting some matches. We just need to compete a little better. Hopefully we can make some adjustments, but for some reason, we just weren’t competitive in some spots today.”
Sandpoint beat Bonners Ferry to finish seventh.
Logan Parson (285) went unbeaten for Lake City, which finished ninth.
Dylan Sotin (120) went unbeaten for St. Maries, which beat Timberlake 42-38 to finish 10th.
GOLD BRACKET
CHAMPIONSHIP
POST FALLS 42, NAMPA 40
145 — Lane Reardon, PF, p. Baldomero Padilla, :54. 152 — John Rudebaugh, PF, p. Josh Lindauer, 5:12. 160 — Ethan Miller, PF, p. Michael Martinez, :35. 170 — Dominic Bush-Bly, Nampa, md. Malcolm Duthie, 12-1. 182 — Shale Webb, Nampa, p. Tayler Lafser, 3:49. 195 — Trevor Miller, PF, p. Kade Mitchell, :20. 220 — Isaiah Laguna, PF, p. Payton Gunter, 2:49. 285 — Tyler Cook, PF, p. Zane Lovell, :58. 98 — Dedrick Navarrro, Nampa, p. Zack Campbell, 1:14. 106 — Carson Exferd, Nampa, p. Tyson Barnhart, 3:52. 113 — Simon Alberto Luna, Nampa, p. Connor McCarroll, 4:35. 120 — Roddy Romero, PF, d. Peyton Munson, 1-0. 126 — Eli Hernandez, Nampa, p. Avery McSpadden, 1:22. 132 — Ryan Graves, PF, d. Dominic Gonzalez, 9-4. 138 — Nikko Gonzalez, Nampa, p. Walker Rouse, :40.
THIRD PLACE
LAKELAND 57, COEUR d'ALENE 26
138 — Dylan Moffat, Cd’A, p. Westen Sobel-Schlewitz, :16. 145 — Riley Siegford, LL, d. Demarco Piazza, 5-0. 152 — Nolan Randles, Cd’A, md. Blaise Wright, 14-2. 160 — Cooper Johnson, LL, p. Carsen Speelman, 1:14. 170 — Gunner Giulio, Cd’A, p. Devon Suko, 2:40. 182 — John White, LL, p. Bear Brunner, 1:27. 195 — Jacob Lafollette, LL, by forfeit. 220 — Hayden Berger, LL, p. Jaxson Washington, 2:34. 285 — Sam Feusier, LL, p. Jackson Kohal, 2:32. 98 — Matt Williams, LL, p. Cooper Frank, 1:20. 106 — Boston Spear, Cd’A, p. Duke Williamson, 4:19. 113 — Reilly Saxe, LL, by forfeit. 120 — Peyton Wysong, LL, p. Alyssa Randles, 3:31. 126 — Dax Larsen, Cd’A, md. John Meredith, 12-3. 132 — Lucas Williams, LL, p. Nick Lara, 3:40.
SILVER BRACKET
CHAMPIONSHIP
WEISER 51, LEWISTON 34
THIRD PLACE
SANDPOINT 48, BONNERS FERRY 42
138 — Marcus Regehr, BF, p. Raphael Eldridge, :46. 145 — Spencer Eby, BF, p. Jordan Birkhimer, :27. 152 — Trevan Adam, Spt, p. Bryan Durette, 5:23. 160 — Kyle Smith, BF, p. Jacob Crum, 1:13. 170 — Eli Richards, BF, p. Christian Troumbley-Karkoski, 1:13. 182 — Owen Wimmer, Spt, by forfeit. 195 — Andrew Sandelin-Macintosh, BF, p. Austin Smith, :29. 220 — Matt Thurlow, Spt, by forfeit. 285 — Carson Laybourne, Spt, p. Donald Riess, :43. 98 — Seth Kizanis, Spt, by forfeit. 106 — Jacob Albany, Spt, by forfeit. 113 — Forest Ambridge, Spt, p. Ravi Neumeyer, :42. 120 — Tanner Dickson, Spt, p. Camille Ussher, :31. 126 — Jake Summerfield, BF, p. Braden Norris, :12. 132 — Evan Barajas, BF, p. Shane Sherrill, 5:20.
