A good weekend for grapplers
Photo by Stephanie Ivie Wildcat wrestler Tanner Figueroa his Bonners Ferry opponent over during a match at the district tournament.
Photo by Stephanie Ivie Austin Serrano controls his opponent’s leg at Lakeland High School.
Photo by Amy Stepro Wildcat Juddson Hall cranks on his opponenet’s neck as he attempts to get the pin during the 113 pound championship match at districts.
Photo by Amy Stepro An emotional Anthony Noto celebrates after taking third place and qualifying for the state tournament during last weekend’s district tournament.
Courtesy photo Wallace wrestlers Austin McKinnon and Stetson Crewdson qualified for the state tournament by placing in first and second respectively at their district tournament at Grangeville High School. Also qualifying, but not pictured is Myles Hayman.
The Kellogg Wildcats and Wallace Miner wrestling teams competed in their respective district tournaments and both teams had multiple wrestlers qualify for this weekend’s state tournament in Nampa.
The Kellogg Wildcats will be sending 11 grapplers on to state after a huge performance at the 3A District I tournament at Lakeland High School.
The Wildcats finished second as a team, but had seven wrestlers finish as district champions in their respective weight classes.
Of the 12 wrestlers who qualified for the district tournament, 11 of them placed high enough to go to state — and the lone wrestler who missed was forced to withdraw due to an injury.
Wildcat coach Scott Miller loved what he saw from his team as they compiled a terrific win/loss record, and how his record number of champions finished their matches by pinfall instead of points.
“Our team went 21-4 yesterday,” Miller said. “We qualified 11 guys for the state tournament and went 7-1 in the finals, only losing to ourselves at 220. In addition, the seven champions is the most during my tenure as coach and all seven won by fall.”
Kellogg has consistently gotten better this season and Miller expects that with the way they finished their district tournament, they should be primed to take another huge step down at state.
“I was really pleased with the way we wrestled and the way we looked for scores and the intensity which we wrestled,” Miller said. “We finished the tournament by winning our last 15 matches. Myself and the other coaches are looking forward to the state tournament and feel we have a number of guys who will make the podium. We're excited about this coming week.”
The Idaho 3A State Wrestling Tournament will begin on Friday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
KHS individual results by weight class:
98 pounds — Taylor Bush (2-0), 1st place
113 — Juddson Hall (1-0), 1st place
126 — Jesse Campbell (2-0), 1st place
132 — Austin Stepro (3-1), 3rd place
145 — Tanner Figueroa (2-0), 1st place
152 — Hunter Bisaro (2-0), 1st place
160 — Anthony Noto (2-1), 3rd place
160 — Connor Jerome (injured, defaulted from tournament)
170 — Colby Ballard (3-1), 3rd place
220 — Kaleb Johnson (1-0), 1st place
220 — Austin Serrano (1-1), 2nd place 285 — Houston Bartlett (2-0), 1st place
Team results: 1. Priest River 236.5, 2. Kellogg 223, 3. Bonners Ferry 196.5, 4. Timberlake 194
The Wallace Miners were at Grangeville High School for the 1A-2A District I-II Tournament and will be sending three of their five district competitors on to the state tournament.
The Miners took seventh out of 10 competing teams.
Austin McKinnon got things going for the Miners as he finished as the 106-pound district champion; meanwhile Stetson Crewdson put on a gutsy display to take second in a competitive 152-pound division.
Coach Pat Waters initially thought that only Crewdson and McKinnon would be making the trip, but was informed by the Idaho High School Activities Association that since heavyweight Myles Hayman took fourth at the district tournament he will also be wrestling in Nampa this weekend for the Miners.
WHS individual results by weight class:
106 pounds — Austin McKinnon (2-0), 1st place
120 — Tommy Schiller (0-2), did not place
152 — Stetson Crewdson (1-1), 2nd place
170 — Brian Davis (0-2), did not place
285 — Myles Hayman (1-1), 4th place
Team results: 1. St. Maries 203, 2. Clearwater Valley 184, 3. Orofino 96, 4. Potlatch 94, 5. Grangeville 62, 6. Kamiah 48, 7. Wallace 46, 8. Prairie 23, 9. Troy 21, 10. Northwest Academy 0