PREP WRESTLING: Brock ready to rock again ... Coeur d'Alene junior Armstrong eyes second straight Tri-State title starting today at North Idaho College

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

From here, there’s plenty of places any competitor that steps on the mat for this weekend’s 54th annual Tri-State Invitational wrestling tournament at North Idaho College can go.

Last year, things just went up for Coeur d’Alene High junior Brock Armstrong.

As a sophomore at 165 pounds last year, Armstrong beat Meridian’s Logan Shaver 10-4 for his first Tri-State title.

A few months later, Armstrong edged Damion Hamilton of Post Falls 4-3 for his first state 6A title in Pocatello.

“I feel like Tri-State is a good tournament to see where you’re at in the beginning of the season,” said Armstrong, who finished 45-2 as a sophomore. “The whole goal is the end of the year, but you also want to get as many victories as you can this weekend.”

Armstrong, wrestling at 152 as a freshman, finished sixth at Tri-State. 

“I had a whole year to develop and get better,” Armstrong said. “As a freshman, I knew I was going to be as good as the other champions, but I just needed more time. Now that it’s a year later, I want to do even better than last year. I want to make a statement this weekend.”

Armstrong won his first two matches at Tri-State last year by pin, then won twice by decision to advance to the finals.”

“I learned that I needed to be ready for a six-minute match, no matter who I’m facing,” Armstrong said. “You never know how good somebody is until you step on the mat and wrestle them. I really have to treat each match like it’s the same and after the match, just evaluate it. Last year was one of the first tournaments where I really felt like I needed to recover after the match because I had three six-minute matches in a row.”

The hardest thing for Armstrong last year might have been convincing himself he deserved his shot.

“I was just telling myself that I was meant to be here,” Armstrong said. “This is what I was made to do. Win or lose, as long as I tried my hardest, that’s all that mattered. I was just ready for a six-minute match, and that I was in the right position.”

Armstrong will compete at 190 pounds this weekend, where he’s 11-0.

“I’ve wrestled a lot of taller guys, but I feel like it doesn’t matter how tall or strong they are,” said Armstrong, who is 5-foot-8. “At the end of the day, I know I’m the better wrestler and it doesn’t matter because I’m going to go and get what I’m after.”

“He’s 100% wrestling 24 hours a day,” Coeur d’Alene coach Jeff Moffat said. “He wants to be really, really good and puts in the time. His motor doesn’t stop and he’s wrestling 24/7.”

As for the challenges he’ll be facing ...

“I think he can compete at that weight,” Moffat said. “He’s a little short, but he’s not cutting any weight and walking around at 189, 190, and he’s feeling good. He hasn’t been tested yet, but he’ll get tested this weekend. I know he’s plenty strong, but we’ll find out if he's tall enough.”

“He’s told me to embrace the tough, and the pain, and the hard,” Armstrong said of Moffat. “This tournament is never easy and there’s always going to be good guys at this tournament. You’re going to have to go into some of the big matches knowing that you’re going to have to fight for every single point.”

Wrestling begins today at 10 a.m., with quarterfinals at 5:30 p.m.

Semifinals are scheduled for 10:15 a.m. on Saturday, with championship finals tentatively scheduled for 3 p.m.

An all-tournament pass for adults is $25, $20 for seniors. Friday or Saturday only is $15 and finals only is $10.

Orting (Wash.) is the defending champion. Lakeland junior Zach Teal is the defending champion at 98 pounds.

Complete seeding was not available on Thursday afternoon.

“On paper, I think Post Falls always has a shot,” NIC wrestling coach and tournament director Derrick Booth said. “They’ve always got a really good team. Orting (Wash.), and Tahoma (Maple Valley, Wash.) has a really good squad. Mead is always tough and Coeur d’Alene has some hammers. I think it’s going to be a good tournament. Both Flathead (Kalispell, Mont.) and Meridian are going to come in with some firepower. I think it’s going to be a wide-open tournament.”

Bishop Kelly of Boise, the 2023 champion, is not entered this year. Meridian was second to Post Falls in the state 6A tournament last year.

“It’s a big tournament,” said Moffat, who coached the Vikings to the 2021 Tri-State title. “There’s a chance that if you do well here, you’ll do well down the road.”

    Armstrong