TERHARK CUP: Frank returns from illness, helps Vikings beat Timberwolves for 20th straight year

By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

COEUR d’ALENE — These days, keeping a team healthy, sickness-wise, is just as important as keeping a team healthy, injury wise.

Coeur d’Alene High junior Cooper Frank knows this all too well.

Frank, who has missed roughly half the season after being sick not one, not two, but three times, won by a 6-0 decision at 113 pounds as the Vikings won the TerHark Cup for the 20th straight season, 75-12 over city rival Lake City on Thursday night at Coeur d’Alene High’s Viking Court.

“Glad to get back in it,” Frank said. “It feels really good just to be back and wrestling, and to go out there and get the “dub” for my team, feels really good. I was a little tired in the third period, but I kept my composure and went out and got the win.”

“He’s been sick a lot,” Coeur d’Alene coach Jeff Moffat said. “To see him gut out a win was kind of nice.”

Coeur d’Alene won 13 of the 15 matches — seven by pin, five by forfeit and one by decision — in a dual which took just 41 minutes.

“They had a lot of guys sick, so they were giving up five forfeits right out of the chute,” Moffat said. “ I’m just holding my breath that we don’t get hit with a bunch of sickness at the wrong time.”

Demarco Piazza (160), Sebastian Prangley (170), Gunner Giulio (182), Dax Larsen (132), Dylan Moffat (138), Mason Keough (145) and Porter Craig (152) all won by pin for Coeur d’Alene.

“The guys that we had in there wrestled hard, did what they needed to do, took care of business. It was good to see,” Moffat said. “We have 13 seniors, and 10 or 11 wrestled tonight, were aggressive, and looking for the pins, scoring points.”

Zach Macdonald (106) and Blaine Leonard (126) won by pin for Lake City, which forfeited at three of the five weights due to illness.

Lake City last won the TerHark Cup in 2002, its sixth win over the Vikings in the first seven years of the event.

“We had five guys out tonight, but we can’t make excuses,” Lake City coach Corey Owen said. “You have to have the next-guy-up mentality. I think Coeur d’Alene’s probably in the hunt to win a state title this year, so it was going to be an uphill battle regardless, and then you come in not at full strength … I thought our kids battled hard, we were just outmatched. They’re just a better team than us right now.”

Coeur d’Alene hosts the North Idaho Rumble next Friday and Saturday.

COEUR d’ALENE 75, LAKE CITY 12

160 — Demarco Piazza, Cd’A, p. Garrett Leonard, 1:30. 170 — Sebastian Prangley, Cd’A, p. Sebastian Mosman, 1:43. 182 — Gunner Giulio, Cd’A, p. Braydon Johnston, :53. 195 — Rylan Rogers, Cd’A, by forfeit. 220 — Beau Speelman, Cd’A, by forfeit. 285 — Jaxson Washington , Cd’A, by forfeit. 98 — Christian Kelly, Cd’A, by forfeit. 106 — Zach Macdonald, LC, p. Logan Bradley, 3:23. 113 — Cooper Frank, Cd’A, d. Brycen Duboise, 6-0. 120 — Will Rossi, Cd’A, by forfeit. 126 — Blaine Leonard, LC, p. Brett Meyers, 3:12. 132 — Dax Larsen, Cd’A, p. Nathan Booth, 2:35. 138 — Dylan Moffat, Cd’A, p. Caden Dutra, 1:25. 145 — Mason Keough, Cd’A, p. Kenzie Lindsay, 3:42. 152 — Porter Craig, Cd’A, p. Ryley Jurado, 2:23.