State high school wrestling tournaments at a glance

| February 27, 2025 1:20 AM

For some schools, this isn’t the biggest tournament they compete in during the year.

But it is the final one.

So those early tests — Tri-State, Rollie Lane, North Idaho Rumble and Tiger-Grizz — they won’t win you a state championship, but they’ll give you all you need to know to get one.”

“We tell them this isn’t the toughest tournament they’ve wrestled in this year,” first-year Post Falls coach Jeremy Zender said. “It’s probably fourth or fifth with Tri-State, The Clash and Tiger-Grizz, but it’s the culmination. We want to make sure they’re ready and tell them they’ve faced tougher competition that they’ll see here. But it’s a lot tougher to keep them focused because it’s the state tournament.”

Post Falls qualified 20 for the tournament, including freshmen Triston Mendenhall (98 pounds), Ryker Allen (113), Sawyer Sage (120), sophomores Saul Benzinger (98), Matthew Hamilton (113), Jesse Villegas (120), juniors Gage Loftin (106), Logan Loaiza (120), Brandon Felix (132), Colton Austin (157), Damion Hamilton (165), Zane Smith (190) and Xander Scholes (285) and seniors Rider Seguine (138), Tanner Piper (150), Kyle Miller (157), Trey Smith (175), Seth Martin (190), Kendall Sage (215) and Kyden Martin (215).

“I think the 20 guys we’ve got going down, they all can place,” said first-year Post Falls coach Jeremy Zender, who took over for Pete Reardon this season. “We’ve never placed 20 before, but if we do, we’ve got a great shot at the title. The guys we’ve got going can score a lot of points and each of them are capable of placing. We’ve got some horses that we’re expecting to do well.”

The state tournament in all classifications begins Friday at the ICCU Dome, formerly Holt Arena, in Pocatello.

Seguine, the second seed at 138 pounds, is going for his fourth-straight state title. Armstrong of Coeur d’Alene and Damion Hamilton of Post Falls are the top two seeds at 165 pounds.

Coeur d’Alene qualified freshmen Micah Miller (98 pounds), Nash Larsen (106), Logan Nitti (132), sophomores Colton Rush (120), Carter Newby (126), Dominic Prangley (138), Finn Case (144) and Brock Armstrong (165), juniors Rocco White (113), Tanner George (132) and seniors Logan Bradley (144), Colton Tucker (150), Gabe Larsen (157) and Brett Myers (175).

Lake City qualified juniors Connor Johnson (126), Josh Macdonald (138) and seniors Alden Curto (150), Nathan Booth (175), Cliff Eddington (190), Garrett Leonard (215) and Sebastian Mosman (285).

Leonard, who signed to play football at NAIA College of Idaho earlier this month, is the top seed at 215 pounds.

“I think 120 (pounds) is the toughest weight in the tournament,” Zender said. “There’s probably two or three two-time champs. In the semifinals, you’ll likely have two two-timers going after it. At 175, they’ve all beat each other throughout the year, so it will be fun to watch it play out.”

Of the 15 wild cards available, 12 of them were awarded to wrestlers from District 1.

Meridian won its fourth straight team title last year.

Lakeland, which finished tied for third in the 4A classification last year, qualified 15 for this year’s tournament.

Sophomores Zach Teal (98 pounds), Joziah Koonce (98), Kade Knopp (113), Carson Leonard (120), Kutter O’Brien (126) and Gage McWatters (157), juniors Caleb Adams (106), Cash Lund (138), Cole Cooper (144), Ekahi Hamilton (144), Kalab Hammer (157) and Ernie Steele (215) and seniors Jaren Knopp (126), Austin Howell (150) and Thayer Sabatke (157) make up the Hawks state competitors.

Bishop Kelly of Boise and Minico of Rupert tied for the team title last year.

Timberlake, which claimed its third straight district championship, advanced 14 to state.

Freshman Parker Cathey (132), Joseph Torr (165), sophomores Colton D’Avanzo (98), Chris Schmidt (150), juniors Wyatt Carey (106), Sawyer Huston (113), Carter Loutzenhiser (157) and seniors John Wingfield (120), Paul Sundstrom (126), Cayden Knight (144), Cole Hanely (150), Job Wohali (157), Jonathan Hansen (175) and Briley Arnett (215) advanced for the Tigers, who were 10th at state last year.

Carey was runner-up at 106 last year.

Fruitland won last year’s tournament.

St. Maries qualified nine for this year’s tournament.

Lumberjacks include sophomores Kelby Harvey (132), Kristoffer Brusseau (215), junior Amado Stewart (150), Zach David (157), Aiden Yearout (165), Zack Sotin (175), Rustle Brusseau (215) and seniors Jerrett Brebner (144) and Keltan Allman (175).

Lakeside qualified three wrestlers, freshman Jayden Wilson (106), junior Julian Moffitt (190) and Layne Morris (215) from last week’s District 1-2 meet.

Kootenai junior Ashton Lewis also qualified at 120.

Malad won last year’s team title.

GIRLS

Coeur d’Alene junior Brooklyn Anderson, who was third at 152 last year, qualified at 165 with a 22-1 record.

Lake City senior Alexxis Johnson (120) and junior Aspen Kiser (152) advanced from the District 1-2 tournament.

For Post Falls, freshmen Kahli Brown (132) and Kassie Voss (235), sophomores Isabella Rice (107) and Vada Hutchinson (114), juniors Emma Younger (126) and Sophia Stewart (152), and senior Chloe Thomas (145) qualified.

Timberlake junior Shelby Garten, who is 43-1 on the season, advanced at 126.