PREP WRESTLING: At home under the NIC spotlight ... Martin, a recent NIC signee, claims second-straight Tri-State title

COEUR d’ALENE — Post Falls wrestler Seth Martin found his way to the top of the podium in the 2023 Tri-State Invitational at North Idaho College. 

Wanting that feeling again, he found his way back to the top again on Saturday night. 

“I really just wanted to go out and have fun,” Martin said. “I wanted to be funky and do my best, wrestle to positions and do my best.” 

Martin pinned Sandpoint’s Jorden Tyler in 2 minutes, 39 seconds in the 195-pound final at Tri-State, Martin’s second straight title. 

Last Wednesday, Martin, who was named the upper weight (165-285 pounds) Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament, signed to wrestle at NIC and coach Derrick Booth. 

“It’s a great atmosphere,” Martin said. “It’s awesome coaches and great place close to home. All of it.” 

“Seth is a real gym rat, and you can’t get him out of the gym,” Post Falls coach Jeremy Zender said. “He loves the process and he’s such a sponge that he can bring a lot of things to his arsenal. He’ll watch videos and learn new moves. It’s been a lot of fun over the last few years doing that kind of stuff with him.”

Tyler and Martin hadn’t wrestled each other in the previous two years. 

“I didn’t know what to expect going out there,” Martin said. “I just tried to do my best and wrestle funky and praise to the Lord. I like weird moves that nobody uses that much and try to have fun during my matches.” 

“I wrestled him a while ago, but he’s changed and I’ve changed,” Tyler said. “It was amazing to see the different styles going.” 

Tyler is the first Bulldog finalist at Tri-State since Casey Randles won the tournament in 2016. 

“I think it went off amazingly,” Tyler said. “I can’t wait to see where it goes.” 

For Coeur d’Alene sophomore Brock Armstong, his goal was to push the pace all weekend. 

Armstrong defeated Meridian junior Logan Shaver 10-4 in the 165-pound final. Armstrong was sixth at Tri-State as a freshman.  

“I just wanted to stay in position and completely dominate the match,” Armstrong said. “I wanted to keep scoring and not stop. I knew with my conditioning that I’d break him.” 

Armstrong is now 5-0 on the season. 

“To me, it feels good, but I’ll be back to work tomorrow,” Armstrong said. “I’ll be back in the wrestling room drilling and trying to get better and be ready to go.” 

Lake City senior Garrett Leonard made school history on Saturday, becoming the first Timberwolves wrestler to win a Tri-State title, winning at 215 pounds by a 4-3 decision over Mead’s Braeden Harvey. 

“It feels great,” Leonard said. “I’ve been coming to this since I was a little kid, skipping school on Fridays to come watch and really just proud to be a part of it. It’s so surreal to win it and super cool feeling.” 

Leonard is the first Lake City wrestler to win a Tri-State title in program history. 

“It’s great,” Leonard said. “So many great wrestlers have come to this tournament and not won it. I’m super proud to be a T-Wolf.” 

Leonard won by major decision in the semifinals to advance. 

“His semi and final, his pace and relentlessness were great,” Owen said. “He got after things. His desire to win in those matches, he just wasn’t going to be denied this weekend. And that’s just fun to watch.” 

Lakeland sophomore Zach Teal, the tournament’s top seed at 98 pounds, had a first round bye, then won twice by pin before winning the championship with an 8-0 major decision over Mt. Spokane’s Maddox Taft. 

“I didn’t feel too nervous because it was a 12-man bracket,” Teal said. “I only wrestled a few matches total (3). I was disappointed to wrestle only three, but felt a lot stronger and heavier than last year and that I’d outskill them.” 

“The last two years, he’s kind of been a little undersized,” Lakeland coach Will Edelblute said. “This year, he’s kind of filled out a little more into his body. He’s been hammering guys and getting after it every day in the wrestling room. He had some confidence getting that medal at state, so he’s really out to a great start this year.” 

Coeur d’Alene senior Gabe Larsen advanced to the 157-pound final, losing to Orting senior Quentin Harding by an 18-2 major decision. It was Harding’s third-straight Tri-State title. 

“I didn’t wrestle my best, but he’s a great wrestler,” Larsen said. “He was really hard on top. I could have done better. Last year, and the year before, I didn’t even place so to work my way up the bracket and get to the finals, it means a lot to me. Last year, I kind of whiffed it, but I’m proud of my performance overall.” 

Orting's Alan Salguero Jr., the 138-pound champion, was the lower weight Most Outstanding Wrestler.

Tristan Mendenall  (98 pounds), Matthew Hamilton (113) and Kyle Miller (157) were third, Damion Hamilton (165) and Trey Smith (175) fourth, Gage Loftin (106) fifth, Rider Seguine (138), Kendall Sage (215) and Xander Scholes (285) sixth for Post Falls. 

Jordan Schield (138) was fourth, Rocco White (113) seventh for Coeur d’Alene, which finished sixth. 

Nathan Booth (175) and Sebastian Mosman (285) were fifth for Lake City, which finished 14th. 

Kaleb Hammer was fifth at 157, Carson Leonard sixth at 120 for Lakeland, which finished 10th. 

Ty Wood was sixth at 98 for Sandpoint 

Wyatt Carey was seventh at 106 for Timberlake. 

Taylor Dodd was fourth at 285 for Bonners Ferry. 

Colm McLaimtaig was third at 144 for Priest River. 

Colton Storey was fourth at 113, Carsun Hinklemann seventh at 120 for Kellogg. 

Zach David was seventh at 157 for St. Maries. 

TRI-STATE INVITATIONAL

TEAM SCORES — 1, Orting 325. 2, Post Falls 268.5. 3, Tahoma 264.5. 4, Mead 198.5. 5, Meridian 188.5. 6, Coeur d’Alene 147.5. 7, Chiawana 145.5. 8, Sunnyside 135.5 9, University 127.5. 10, Lakeland 114.5. 11, Mt. Spokane 114. 12, Hermiston 113. 13, Lake Stevens 109. 14, Lake City 108.5. 15, Othello 107.5. 16, Belgrade 95. 17, Kamiakin 88. 18, Moses Lake 88. 19, Castle Rock 87. 20, Lewiston 83.5. 21, Capital 80.5. 22, West Valley (Spokane) 79.5. 23, Omak 75. 24, Kellogg 73. 25, Cheney 72. 26, Tonasket 70.5. 27, Hanford 67.5. 28, Lakeside (Wash.) 67. 29, Glacier Peak 58.5. 30 (tie), Rocky Mountain, Sandpoint 56.5. 32, Timberlake 52. 33, Cashmere 50. 34, Deer Park 46. 35, Central Valley 44.5. 36, Shadle Park 44. 37, Ridgeline 42. 38, Newport 39. 39, Davenport 38.5. 40, East Valley 38. 41, Priest River 35. 42, Riverside 34. 43, St. Maries 33. 44, Potlatch 28. 45, Coville 25. 46 (tie), Lake Roosevelt, Medical Lake 24.5. 48, Selkirk 23. 49, Burlington-Edison 22. 50, Bonners Ferry 18. 51, Pullman 16. 52, Seton Catholic 14.53 (tie), Archbishop Murphy, Jackson 13. 55, Quincy 10. 

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

98 — Zach Teal, Lakeland, md. Maddox Taft, Mt. Spokane, 8-0. 106 — Lazarus McEwen, Capital, d. Nery Rivas, Orting, 7-1. 113 — Brycen Dawley, Tahoma, md. Arcaduis Cruz, Orting, 10-2. 120 — Trevor Anderson, Orting, md. Kaysic Lundquist, Mead, 10-1. 126 — Owen Marshall, Tahoma, d. Blake Nevils, Meridian, 3-1. 132 — Dominic Thomas, Orting, d. Alex Othon, Tahoma, 9-3. 138 — Alan Salguero Jr., Orting, d. Darrell Nanpuya, Omak, 10-3. 144 — Jayson Bonnett, Mt. Spokane, d. Michael Fritz, Orting, 6-5. 150 — Christopher Villanueva, Sunnyside, d. Myles Christen, Lakeside, 10-3. 157 — Quentin Harding, Orting, tf. Gabe Larsen, Coeur d’Alene, 18-2. 165 — Brock Armstrong, Coeur d’Alene, d. Logan Shaver, Meridian, 10-4. 175 — Adriano Perez, Tahoma, p. Levi DiCugno, Orting, 5:06. 190 — Seth Martin, Post Falls, p. Jorden Tyler, Sandpoint, 2:39. 215 — Garrett Leonard, Lakeland, d. Braeden Harvey, Mead, 4-3. 285 — Mason Perez, Othello, d. Dominic Echeverria, Hermiston, 7-0. 

THIRD-FOURTH PLACE

98 — Tristan Mendenhall, Post Falls, d. Cole Jensen, Rocky Mountain, 10-3. 106 — Tobias Guillen, Meridian, d. Braxton Reyes, Lakeside, 12-5. 113 — Matthew Hamilton, Post Falls, d. Colton Storey, Kellogg, 3-1. 120 — Jeremiah Gonzalez, Meridian, d. Samuel Valencia, Sunnyside, 6-2. 126 — Czar Quintanilla, University, d. Nolan Brown, Belgrade, 3-0. 132 — Jayden Martinez, Hermiston, d. Gerardo Hernandez, Tonasket, 10-7. 138 — Daeton Johnson, Chiawana, p. Jordan Schield, Coeur d’Alene, :56. 144 — Colm McLaimtaig, Priest River, p. Gunnar Whitlock, Lewiston, 2:18. 150 — Gavin Wells, Tahoma, p. Andrae Ramirez, Meridian, 1:11. 157 — Kyle Miller, Post Falls, d. Tyrese Guzman, Shadle Park, 5-2. 165 — Peter DesRoches, Riverside, d. Damion Hamilton, Post Falls, 5-3. 175 — Colin Edmonds, Glacier Peak, p. Trey Smith, Post Falls, 1:38. 190 — Bayden Beard, Central Valley, d. Asa Knutson, Hanford, 6-5. 215 — Eli Anderson, Moses Lake, md. Trenton Moore, Cheney, 11-1. 285 — Brooks Knight, Kamiakin, md. Taylor Dodd, Bonners Ferry, 10-2. 

FIFTH-SIXTH PLACE

98 — Logan Wray, Tahoma, p. Ty Wood, Sandpoint, 4:00. 106 — Gage Loftin, Post Falls, p. Carson Worthen, Belgrade, 1:21. 113 — Kadyn Hagerty, Capital, d. Cody Westlake, Belgrade, by medical forfeit. 120 — Crew Lambro, Tahoma, p. Carson Leonard, Lakeland, 1:51. 126 — James Mason, Mead, p. Cannon Meagher, Kamiakin, :35. 132 — Aidan Larson, Hermiston, p. Cooper Williams, Castle Rock, 1:03. 138 — Laithan Lawson, Orting, d. Rider Seguine, Post Falls, 12-6. 144 — Tyge Plank, Tonasket, p. Evan Urann, Mead, 1:15. 150 — Nolen Nelson, Castle Rock, md. Brody Dooley, Belgrade, 10-2. 157 — Kaleb Hammer, Lakeland, d. Jackson Syron, Cheney, 3-0. 165 — Kael Campos, Sunnyside, d. Isac Deonigi, Tahoma, 3-1. 175 — Nathan Booth, Lake City, d. Jonathan Hansen, Timberlake, 4-2. 190 — Brock Gustaveson, Davenport, p. Ares Swain, Newport, :33. 215 — Preston Wentling, Rldgeline, p. Kendall Sage, Post Falls, 2:21. 285 — Sebastian Mosman, Lake City, d. Xander Scholes, Post Falls, 4-2. 

SEVENTH-EIGHTH PLACE

98 — Collin Christman, Lake Roosevelt p. Eden Maldonado, Burlington-Edison, 1:28. 106 — Wyatt Carey, Timberlake, p. Libby Roberts, University, :54. 113 — Rocco White, Coeur d’Alene, d. Alexis Lujano, Hermiston, 6-0. 120 — Carsun Hinkelmann, Kellogg, d. Trandyn Lundquist, Mead, 2-1. 126 — James Oliver, Medical Lake, d. Ty Satiacum Jr., Orting, 7-2. 132 — Nate Galloway, Rocky Mountain, tf. Jackson Back, Meridian, 16-1. 138 — Zach Baker, Tahoma, p. Simeon Mattingly, West Valley, :43. 144 — Malachi Hoff, Davenport, p. Trenton Vasquez, Moses Lake, :36. 150 — Patrick Halpin, Capital, d. Callan Childs, Glacier Peak, 7-2. 157 — Zach David, St. Maries, d. Camilo Mendez III, Capital, 7-1. 165 — Samuel Thomas, University, p. Dino Dimarco III, Lake Stevens, 1:13. 175 — Mason Darvell, Castle Rock, p. Jimmy Castillo, Kamiakin, 1:42. 190 — Logan Ullah, Mead, d. Brice Cuthbert, Lewiston, 4-3. 215 — Jarrett Peck, Kamiakin, d. Ryan Supizio, University, 10-4. 285 — Mikey Lawrence, Lake Stevens, d. Logan Leeson, West Valley, 2-1. 

• GIRLS

Sandpoint wins at

Lakeland tourney

RATHDRUM — Senior Emma Garman (120 pounds) and sophomore Zxyloh Johnson (152) both won their respective weight classes to lead Sandpoint to their second straight tournament win at the Lakeland Girls Tournament.

Garman won her first match by technical fall and next two by pin to pick up her first individual title of the year. Johnson, who has now won two tournament titles, won by pin and by technical fall in the championship match.

Junior Lilli Marti (235) and sophomore Mackenzee Donenfeld (100) both won their round robin brackets with two pins apiece to help Sandpoint, which scored 158 points total and beat out 12 other teams, to victory.

Also placing among the top three for the Lady Bulldogs were sophomore Hunter Edmondson (2nd at 114), freshman Avery Inge (2nd at 132), sophomore Izzy Stark (3rd at 126) and senior Sylvia Becker (3rd at 165).

TEAM SCORES — 1, Sandpoint 158. 2, Post Falls 113. 3, Coeur d'Alene 86. 4, Lakeland 54. t-5, Bonners Ferry, Kellogg 50. 7, Moscow 46.5. 8, Timberlake 24.5. 9, St. Maries 21. 10, Orofino 20. 11, East Valley 6. 12, Priest River 4. 13, Gonzaga Prep 3.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

100 (round robin) — 1, Mackenzee Donenfeld; 2, Kylie Calderone, Bonners Ferry; 3, Ezrah Vollendorff, Priest River. 107 — Murphee Balich, Coeur 'Alene, p. Teagan Patrick, Lakeland, 4:02. 114 (round robin) — 1, Isabella Rice, Post Falls; 2, Hunter Edmondson, Sandpoint; 3, Nevaeh Therrien, Bonners Ferry. 120 — Emma Garman, Sandpoint, p. JoJane Barta, St. Maries, 2:30. 126 — Keira Zimmerman, Moscow, d. Reagan Kessinger, Orofino, 4-3. 132 — Shelby Garten, Timberlake, p. Avery Inge, Sandpoint, 0:15. 138 (round robin) — 1, Sofia Brown, Bonners Ferry; 2, Raylee Reynolds, Post Falls; 3, Adalyn Lisenbe, Lakeland. 145 — Kahli Brown, Post Falls, p. Kalayah White, Kellogg, 2:09. 152 — Zxyloh Johnson, Sandpoint, tf. Sophia Stewart, Post Falls, 20-3. 165 — Brooklyn Anderson, Coeur d'Alene, p. Zoey Braun, Post Falls, 0:59. 185 — No matches. 235 — 1, Lilli Marti, Sandpoint; 2, Kassie Voss, Post Falls; 3, Devlyn Hernandez, Post Falls.

THIRD-PLACE MATCHES

107 — Zoie Lawson, Kellogg, sv. Jaiden DeTienne, Coeur d'Alene, 8-5. 120 — Zoey Hollenbeck, Coeur d'Alene, p. Nya Eby, Sandpoint, 1:02. 126 — Izzy Stark, Sandpoint, p. Vanessa Hood, Sandpoint, 0:08. 132 — Rose Noble, Timberlake, md. Avery Whaley, Coeur d'Alene, 13-1. 145 — Chloe Thomas, Post Falls, d. Teagan Newsom, Sandpoint, 6-0. 152 — Brooke Hayes, Kellogg, p. Kiera Balch, Lakeland, 3:30. 165 — Sylvia Becker, Sandpoint, p. Shariece Vandever, Lakeland, 0:26. 185 — No matches.

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Lake City senior Garrett Leonard attempts to hold off Mead's Braeden Harvey in the closing moments of the 215-pound championship match at the Tri-State Invitational on Saturday at North Idaho College.
  

JASON ELLIOTT/Press Coeur d'Alene sophomore Brock Armstrong attempts to keep Meridian's Logan Shaver in the middle of the circle during the 165-pound championship match of the Tri-State Invitational at North Idaho College on Saturday.

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Lakeland sophomore Zach Teal looks for an advantage on Mt. Spokane's Maddox Taft during the 98-pound championship match of the Tri-State Invitational at North Idaho College on Saturday.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Coeur d'Alene's Gabe Larsen stares down Orting's Quentin Harding before the 157-pound championship match at the Tri-State Invitational at North Idaho College on Saturday.