THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: The race is on, so stay tuned

This could be one of the best times of the year in winter sports.

No, not all those all-star games that will grace the television this weekend — though that NASCAR race in at Los Angeles Coliseum sounds appealing, doesn’t it?

In the coming weeks, we’ll see the close of prep and college wrestling, as well as basketball before teams take it outside until the late summer.

BY THIS time of year, those freshmen that found a way into the lineup shouldn’t consider themselves as such too often anymore.

Because, if you’re participating, you’re learning — a lot.

But as Coeur d’Alene High wrestling coach Jeff Moffat explained …

“We talked about being young coming into the season,” Moffat said. “But the season’s almost over, so we’re not so young anymore.”

Keep in mind, Coeur d’Alene — with a fairly heavy junior and senior class the past two seasons — has finished near the top of the state in 5A the previous two years.

“We’ve won some duals and gotten a lot better throughout the season,” Moffat said. “It’s not what we’re used to, but the kids look all right. We’re getting some wins right now.”

Those coming from underclassmen such as sophomore Rocco White at 106 pounds and Brett Meyers at 145 in Thursday’s 51-36 dual victory over Lewiston.

“We did a bunch of good things today and both Rocco and Brett had big wins for us,” Moffat said. “The kids are fighting in each match and some are finding out it’s not as easy as they think it is. But they’re trying. I think we’ve come a long way and hope we can get some guys to state this year.”

So, just how young are these Vikings this year?

Only sophomore Will Rossi (sixth at state last year), junior Dax Larsen (runner-up in 2021) and junior Carsen Speelman (sixth in 2021 and 2022) have placed for the boys at state.

Speelman wrestled his first varsity match of the season on Wednesday against Lewiston after suffering an ankle injury during the football season.

“He tore some tendons and had to have some major surgery,” Moffat said. “We were thinking, at worst, he’d be back at the start of the new year, but his doctors pushed it back. But they said he’s 100% now and should be good to go. We’re just not pushing it too hard right now so he’s ready to go for regionals.”

IN ADDITION, some coaches, in an effort to get a spark, might shake up the lineup a little to get the desired results.

That seemed to work out well for first-year North Idaho College women’s basketball coach Nathan Covill on Wednesday, moving Post Falls alum Laney Smith and Sorrell Aldendorf into the starting lineup and sophomores Paige Beem and Kaylee Banks to reserve roles.

“We’d had some conversations over the week and wanted to switch it up a little bit,” said Covill, whose team improved to 4-4 in the conference with seven games remaining, after beating Big Bend 56-48 on Wednesday. “It wasn’t that they were doing things wrong. We just needed to be a little more consistent. Credit to them, they both handled it great. But we had to switch something up because it was getting a little stagnant on offense.”

NIC is currently fifth in the East Region heading into today’s game at Treasure Valley in Ontario, Ore.

The top four teams advance to the NWAC Championships at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, starting with the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 on March 8-10. The semifinals are March 18, with the championship game the following day.

In Wednesday’s win, NIC had 11 offensive rebounds, 34 total.

“We’re making some strides defensively,” Covill said. “Our offense still needs to be more consistent, but we’re more locked in on the defensive end. I like what we were able to do and how we played. We just need to carry it over and create some momentum.”

HOWEVER THAT momentum, whether it comes from a player or a particular team, presents itself remains to be seen.

Maybe, in some cases, the entire season has been nothing but smooth sailing to the finish line.

Others have had some bumps, but seem to be on the right track now.

Who’s finishing where?

Now, this is the fun part.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.