THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: The growth of wrestling, and getting state back up north

Wrestling is huge in this part of the state.

For example, my ears might have finally stopped ringing after being at that North Idaho College-Clackamas dual on Nov. 21 at Christianson Gymnasium.

In case you forgot, NIC, ranked No. 11 in the NJCAA, beat fifth-ranked Clackamas of Oregon City, Ore., 28-21 in the first of two duals scheduled between the programs this season.

AS THE sport continues to grow, so does the involvement of both boys and girls in programs in the area.

While some area high school programs haven’t quite seen the turnout in the girls program, others have.

“I can see us having an all-girls dual, between us and Sandpoint especially,” said second-year Post Falls coach Jeremy Zender, who coached the Trojan boys to a state 6A title last March in Pocatello. “They’ve got the numbers and probably have 25 to 28 girls out. We’re at 18, so I think we could have an all-girls dual really soon. It could definitely happen.”

Coeur d’Alene meanwhile, has six girls in its program. Lake City has nine.

“We just haven’t seen it in our school,” Coeur d’Alene coach Jeff Moffat said. “We try to get girls out and have eight at Canfield (Middle School) that wrestle, but it’s hard to get them out in high school.”

“There’s some of those schools that are just taking off,” Lake City coach Corey Owen said. “We’re seeing some growth. Sometimes, it’s hard to get them to try something new. They get nervous about it for some reason. I went to a match at Woodland (Middle School), and they had quite a few girls in that program. We just need to start working on them when they’re younger.”

Lakeland coach Will Edelblute said the Hawks had 12 girls out for the program in the first couple weeks of practice.

“We started with the same number last year, and were down to six or eight by regionals,” Edelblute said.

With some of the smaller schools in the area like Lakeland, Timberlake, Kellogg, St. Maries and Priest River, that could soon be changing.

Edelblute said there were 132 participants at their middle school girls district tournament on Thursday at Priest River, which also attracted teams from Lakeland, Sandpoint, Timberlake, Kellogg and St. Maries. 

“That’s a huge number compared to what they normally see," Edelblute said. "The youth programs are growing, and I really think the stigma around wrestling is going away with the girls. It’s sanctioned now and the boys and girls' programs are splitting practice times and tournaments. It’s really becoming its own branch.”

THIS TUESDAY, during the monthly Idaho High School Activities Association meeting in Boise, a discussion will be held on adding the Kibbie Dome in Moscow to the rotation for the state wrestling tournament starting in 2029.

The state tournament has not been held in Moscow since 1995. The ICCU Dome, formerly Holt Arena, in Pocatello and the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa have been the only locations for the state tournament since.

“I think it’s happening,” Zender said. “It would be super cool, especially for our fans. I know the Boise schools understand we’re a big state, but I don’t think they understand the amount of traveling we do.”

“It’s really a move in the right direction,” Edelblute said. “There hasn’t been a state tournament in the north in a long time and it’s really long overdue.

“The IHSAA Board strives to ensure that our state events are held at awesome facilities from all around the state,” IHSAA Executive Director Chad Williams said. “We want state events to be life-long memories for all who participate.”

For in-state tournaments, Post Falls will travel to the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa (433 miles) for the Rollie Lane Invitational Jan. 2-3, as well as the Tiger-Grizz Tournament in Idaho Falls Jan. 16-17 (486 miles).

A few Boise-area programs will travel north for the River City Duals at Post Falls High on Jan. 9-10 and the North Idaho Rumble at Coeur d’Alene High on Jan. 30-31.

“You can tell those kids from the Boise area are comfortable when the tournament is there,” Edelblute said. “They can go home after matches and relax. They’re not driving eight hours and then have to get off the bus and do a workout. We’ll still have to travel two hours, but it won’t be as far, and we’ll be able to have more of our parents and fans there.”

“It will be good to force them to travel a bit farther and sleep in uncomfortable beds for a change,” Zender said.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1206 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on ‘X’, formerly Twitter @JECdAPress.