By ERIC PLUMMER

Bonner County Daily Bee

RATHDRUM — One has its sights set firmly on a state three-peat, another won a whopping ninth straight district title, and a third helped its coach fulfill a goal three years in the making, as the Post Falls Trojans, Lakeland Hawks and Priest River Spartans claimed championships on Saturday at the Region 1 and District I wrestling championships at Lakeland High.

5A

In what came as little surprise to anyone following the sport, Post Falls cruised to a comfortable win in the 5A ranks, with a seeming parade of wrestlers taking to the mat in the finals.

The team and coach Pete Reardon are hoping the district win was merely a prelude to something bigger, namely a rare 3-peat at state next weekend in Nampa. Standing in their way is Columbia of Nampa, and the tantalizing battle between the state heavyweights could come down to the wire.

Sophomore Ridge Lovett (113) and junior Matt Mcleod (126) will be looking to defend individual state championships, two of a host of Trojans with the chops to win a title.

So what will it take to defend the crown, coach?

“Compete as a team. Have the guys in front get in the finals, and the rest coming through the back door. A whole team effort,” claimed Reardon, who has built one of the top programs in the Northwest and knows Columbia is coming for them. “It could be pretty tight. They’re bringing 22, we’re bringing 16. We’re going to have to place a lot of kids and battle through the back door. We’ll see how it goes.”

Runner-up Coeur d’Alene will take 13 to state, and assistant coach Kelly Moffat feels Dom Jessos (98), Hunter Schueller (106), Casey Randles (182) and Alex Marshall (220) all have a shot a claiming a state title.

Should that happen, the Vikings could find themselves contending for a top-four finish.

“We’re looking to be right in there for a trophy,” said Moffat, touching on the dynamic of regionals. “These are tough, there’s always some you wish you got. Overall, I’m really happy with the way they wrestled.”

Coeur d’Alene’s Casey Randles (182) pinned his opponent in 15 seconds in the final, and will be the prohibitive favorite in his bracket. He won state titles as a sophomore and junior at Sandpoint, and will be looking to cap an undefeated season with a third championship before moving on to wrestle at Wyoming.

The move up in classification from 4A to 5A hasn’t presented much of an issue for Randles, arguably the best pound for pound wrestler in the state.

“There’s no difference, the competition is about the same,” said Randles, who plans to handle his business. “Not over-think it, have fun, wrestle smart and not get caught. I base my matches on effort, it’s not about winning or losing.”

Lake City will take four wrestlers to state, including district champs Griffin Schoch (160) and Rusty Dan (195).

4A

Featuring a host of top state-ranked wrestlers in the lighter weights, including four district champs with the surname Edelblute (Alex at 98, Sam at 106, William at 113 and Brian at 126), Lakeland ran away with the team title by more than 160 points to win its ninth straight district title.

Hawks coach Rob Edelblute will take 12 quality wrestlers to state, and expects to compete with Minico and Caldwell for what figures to be a tightly-contested three team battle for the 4A state title. The Hawks finished second last year, and will be hungry to break through.

The significance of a ninth straight district title was not lost on Edelblute.

“It feels good, the kids take a lot of pride in it. We’re big this year about team,” said Edelblute, who was asked what the key at state will be. “It will take all of the kids that go down to produce. Each and every kid, we can’t just have the same four or five studs go down and do it.”

One of those studs is junior Larry Johnson, who won state at 113 pounds as a freshman, at 126 pounds as a sophomore and hopes to go for the trifecta with a win at 138 pounds this year. Johnson enters state emboldened with the confidence that only a returning champion knows.

“I want to come out even better and just dominate,” said Johnson, who feels his quickness and footwork are his biggest strengths. “I want to add a little bit of icing on the cake.”

Sandpoint qualified 11, a number first-year head coach Jake Stark was pleased with.

“We wrestled to our seed or better. Most of our guys in the final won it,” he said, turning an eye to state. “Everybody needs to be at the top of their mental game. Everybody needs to be in good spirits.”

3A

Three years ago Jesse Hellinger took over the Priest River wrestling program and set a goal of winning a district title. His charges rose to the occasion Saturday, with some strong performances in the final that helped lead to a slim 13 point win over Kellogg.

Led by No. 1 state-ranked Noah Jamison (160) and No. 2 ranked Riley DeMent (132), the Spartans will take a dozen grapplers to state next weekend in Nampa, where they hope to contend for state hardware.

“Our goal is to place in the top three at state,” said Hellinger. “We’re going down to make a little noise, get some respect for our program. Go down with intensity and our blue collar work ethic.”

Kellogg will take 10 wrestlers to state, Timberlake will take 11 and Bonners Ferry will take 10 from the 3A ranks.

State this year moves from Pocatello to Nampa, slated for Friday and Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.

5A

(Top 3 to state)

TEAM SCORES — 1, Post Falls, 372. 2, Coeur d’Alene, 261. 3, Lewiston, 220. 4, Lake City, 143.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

98 — Brelane Huber, PF, d. Dom Jessos, Cd’A, 3-0.

106 — Hunter Schueller, Cd’A, md. Conner Druley, Lew, 10-0.

113 — Ridge Lovett, PF, p. Jordan Grimm, PF, 5:29.

120 — A.J. Delarosa, PF, p. Sam Reese, Cd’A, 1:39.

126 — Matt McLeod, PF, p. Alessio Lemmon, PF, 3:14.

132 — Mathias De La Rosa, PF, d. Mitchell Moffat, Cd’A, 5-0.

138 — Jason Burchell, PF, md. Tanner Hutchens, Lew, 14-3.

145 — Braydon Huber, PF, p. Tyler Morris, PF, 4:28.

152 — Wyatt Shell, PF, d. Max Hill, Lew, 8-2.

160 — Griffin Schoch, LC, p. Micah Mcleod, PF, 1:02.

170 — Isaiah Skinner, Cd’A, d. Kyle Cook, Lew, 10-4.

182 — Casey Randles, Cd’A, p. Lance Lorang, Lew, :15.

195 — Rusty Dan, LC, p. Hans Wichman, Cd’A, 1:57.

220 — Brad Noesen, PF, d. Alex Marshall, Cd’A, 3-2.

285 — Logan Hendren, CdA, p. Zane Lettau, LC, 3:24.

THIRD-PLACE MATCHES

98 — Braxton Mason, PF, p. Caden Hess, LC, 3:20.

106 — Devine Hill, PF, p. Ethan Potter, Cd’A, 3:34.

113 — Jacob Krous, Cd’A, p. Cyrus Mortensen, LC, 4:58.

120 — Coby Pettyjohn, Cd’A, p. Hayden Chatwin, LC, 3:38.

126 — Cade Hendren, Lew, p. Jake Ramsrud, LC, 3:46.

132 — Colton Jones, Lew, p. Blake Holscher, Lew, 3:19.

138 — Chris Farnsworth, PF, p. Payton Keough, Cd’A, 1:50.

145 — Max Peressini, Cd’A, mf. Chase Lathim, LC, 16-2.

152 — Klayton Hindberg, Cd’A, d. Bailey Redwing, PF, 3-2.

160 — Sam Cromer, Lew, d. Ethan Lillis, Cd’A, 7-0.

170 — Kahner Hutchens, Lew, p. Matthew Bartholomew, PF, :46.

182 — Zane Monaghan, LC, p. Noah Stone, Lew, 4:30.

195 — Trevan Pixley, Lew, p. Tyler Sterritt, PF, 4:23.

220 — Cody Comer, Lew, p. Nate Degraw, PF, :14.

285 — Justin Chase, Lew, p. Cody Cantrell, PF, 2:24.

4A

(Top 2 to state, plus at-large)

TEAM SCORES — 1, Lakeland, 398. 2, Sandpoint, 237.5. 3, Moscow, 220.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

98 — Alex Edelblute, LL, p. Tanner Korst, LL, 5:41.

106 — Sam Edelblute, LL, p. Casey Olesen, Spt, :56.

113 — William Edelblute, LL, md. Tavis Woempner, LL, 12-3.

120 — Chandler Axtell, LL, p. Shane Spence, Mos, 5:14.

126 — Brian Edelblute, LL, p. Jesse Hay-Smith, Mos, 5:45.

132 — Pearce Riendeau, Mos, p. Tucker Hall, Spt, 1:12.

138 — Larry Johnson, LL, p. Scout Nash, Spt, 1:27.

145 — Logan Kelley, LL, d. Colton Boettcher, LL, 7-3.

152 — Preston Bunty, Spt, md. Isaac Stone, Mos, 15-6.

160 — Hyrum Hunsaker, Spt, d. Isaiah Fleck, Spt, 4-0.

170 — Andrew Webster, Spt, p. Andrew Schwendiman, Mos, 4:59.

182 — Owen Stebbins, Spt, d. Caleb Couch, Mos, 5-4.

195 — Jared Walker, LL, p. Calum Wilcox, Spt, :55.

220 — Adam Wallace, Mos. p. Zack Alamillo, Spt, 3:10.

285 — Pat Coulter, Mos, p. Lucas Gardner, LL, :33.

3A

(Top 3 to state, plus at-large)

TEAM SCORES — 1, Priest River, 236.5. 2, Kellogg, 223. 3, Bonners Ferry, 196.5. 4, Timberlake, 194.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

98 — Taylor Bush, Kel, p. Brayden Herbert, TL, 1:42.

106 — Isaiah Evans, TL, p. Ben Tadlock, BF, 2:32.

113 — Juddson Hall, Kel, p. Brandon Downs, PR, :57.

120 — Louis Powell, TL, p. Nathan Nelsen, PR, 1:09.

126 — Jesse Campbell, Kel, p. Denton Eby, BF, 5:46.

132 — Riley DeMent, PR, p. Jakob O`hanlan, TL, 1:41.

138 — Mason Eby, BF, p. Caleb Miller, TL, :36.

145 — Tanner Figueroa, Kel, p. Larry Naccarato, PR, 2:44.

152 — Hunter Bisaro, Kel, p. Spencer Macdonald, PR, 4:32.

160 — Noah Jamison, PR, tf. Jesse Sandelin, BF, 23-6.

170 — Trevor Rusho, PR, p. Connor Yanez, TL, 1:20.

182 — Aaron Reyes, PR, p. Josh Coombes, PR, 3:49.

195 — Matt Varelman, BF, p. Pacen Pluid, BF, :55.

220 — Kaleb Johnson, Kel, p. Austin Serrano, Kel, 1:08.

285 — Houston Bartlett, Kel, p. Samuel Hernandez, PR, 4:30.

THIRD-PLACE MATCHES

98 — Carver Copley, BF, p. Kiana Larson, TL, 2:59.

113 — Tyler Beazer, BF, bye.

120 — Ethan Jerome, TL, p. Ken Branson, BF, 2:34.

126 — Manuel Naccarato, PR, p. Chad Maas, BF, 2:44.

132 — Austin Stepro, Kel, p. Slater Copley, BF, 4:33.

138 — Tanner Cochrane, PR, p. Austin Ackerman, BF, 1:31.

145 — Kayde Herbert, TL, md. Nikolous Bertling, BF, 11-1.

152 — Joey Follini, TL, d. Josh Yanez, TL.

160 — Anthony Noto, Kel, p. Colby Poe, PR, 4:04.

170 — Colby Ballard, Kel, d. Tucker Smith, BF, 7-1.

182 — Payton Albrecht, BF, bye.

195 — Brady Jerome, TL, bye.

220 — Dustin Carlson, TL, bye.

285 — Ronney Craig, BF, p. Reise Peightal, TL, 1:24.