BONNERS FERRY — Bonners Ferry wrestler Eli Richards will be trading in his Badger singlet for green and gold as he has signed to wrestle for the University of Alberta.

Colleges from more than 10 different states were recruiting Richards, but Richards chose to go north to Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada instead.

His high school wrestling record is 145-39 overall. His senior year he went 42-4.

Richards is a two-time Idaho state high school wrestling state champion, three-time state finalist, four-time state medalist and 2021 USA High School Wrestling Triple Crown champion.

At the 2022 High School Senior Nationals, Richards was a top 12 finisher, with the top placer being named All American. He was recently named the 2022 North Idaho Wrestler of the Year and was inducted into the North Idaho Hall of Fame.

He started wrestling when he was 3 years old for the Bonners Ferry Wrestling Club. Richards said his father, Corey Richards, first took him to wrestling to get all his hyper energy out.

Since then he has stuck with the sport and traveled the country in pursuit of competition.

Richards said that he is excited to wrestle for Alberta and has his sights set on winning a national championship.

Bonners Ferry High School head wrestling coach Kevin Campbell said the success that Richards has had on the wrestling mat in high school is a direct result of the effort and hard work he put in.

When Richards gets on the mat, he goes to work and is very methodical, Campbell said.

“The University of Alberta is very excited to accept an athlete of Eli’s caliber to our program,” said Alberta’s head coach Owen Dawkins. “We are constantly searching for great talent in and outside of Canada to bolster our team, and with three-state championships under his belt, Eli is just the athlete to do that. We believe he will uphold the U of A’s tradition of athletic and academic excellence with a Bear on his singlet.”

The University of Alberta men’s wrestling team is the top ranked team in Canada. With more than 40,000 students, the University of Alberta is a top five Canadian university, is recognized as a top-150 university internationally, home to more than 500 graduate programs and 200 undergraduate programs.

When wrestling for U of A, Richards will change over from wrestling folk style to freestyle. He is used to wrestling the three styles of wrestling from his long list of competitions. Richards said he is excited to see how far he can go with wrestling competitively and is hopeful for the future.

Richards also appeared on the 7Bee podcast. For the full interview, visit the https://7bee.buzzsprout.com/