The Sandpoint wrestling team recently traveled to North Idaho College for the 51st annual Tri-State Wrestling Tournament.

This well-known tournament in the wrestling community is a big draw for multiple state champs from Oregon, Idaho Washington and Montana.

Andrew Duke was the standout for the Bulldogs with an impressive third-place finish — the highest placing for Sandpoint in over five years.

“I’d like to thank my coaches, my teammates, my parents and God, all of which helped me to get to where I did today,” Duke said.

Duke, competing in the 106-weight class, won five of his six matches, all by pins. The one loss was against the eventual overall winner of the tournament.

“My ultimate goal is to be a state champion,” Duke said. “Getting third is such a great motivator for achieving that goal.”

Fellow 106-weight-class competitor Aiden Rork made it to Day 1 after a rocky start to his Day 2 match, due to a young spectator who pulled the fire alarm. Rork was stopped mid-match, the building was evacuated and then he had to start again.

Ashlei Hawkins won a match the first day at 126.

“He wrestled really well,” head coach Doug Fry said.

Team captain Christian Troumbley lost two tight matches in at 152.

Calvin Hindes and Jorden Tyler competed at 182. Hindes had positive showings against some tough guys from Flathead High School and Tyler was 2-2 in matches, but unable to make it to the second day.

“The kids did really great,” Fry said.

There’s no doubt this year's team is building toward something special. A quote by the famous wrestler Dan Gable that Andrew Duke keeps on his phone says it best:

“Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination and a rare, hard-to-find alloy called guts.”

The Bulldogs head to the Rollie Lane Tournament in the new year.