TRI-STATE INVITATIONAL: A day for the dogs .... Armstrong, Hamilton, Storey win titles in 54th annual event at North Idaho College

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

COEUR d’ALENE — In a tournament filled with bulldogs, Coeur d’Alene High junior Brock Armstrong might have barked the loudest on Saturday night.

Armstrong, a champion at 165 pounds as a sophomore, beat Camas (Wash.) junior Kannon Freschette by a 10-2 major decision in the 190-pound finals of the 54th Tri-State Invitational at North Idaho College.

“That kid was really tough,” Armstrong said. “I knew him before the match, but I really don’t care how good, how strong, how tall they are. I know I’m the better wrestler and I trust the work that I’d put into it.”

Armstrong beat Meridian’s Logan Shaver, who finished third at 165 this year, in the finals at Tri-State last year.

“I felt like going into this weekend, I wanted people to remember coming to the Tri-State tournament to watch Brock Armstrong,” said Armstrong, who was sixth at Tri-State as a freshman. “I wanted them to have an image of what that looked like on the mat and leave my legacy out there. I thought that I wrestled with an offensive mindset, and didn’t care about winning or losing, I felt the result would take care of itself.”

“His wrestling IQ has gone up over the last three years,” Coeur d’Alene coach Jeff Moffat said. “He keeps his composure and knows what he wants to do. He’s hard on the head and tries to wear guys out. There’s three kinds of wrestlers — a hot dog, a weiner dog and a bulldog. And he’s a bulldog man.”

Armstrong was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Heavyweight (165-285 pound divisions) Wrestler at the conclusion of the tournament.

“He’s just so focused, but the biggest thing is that he keeps his composure,” Moffat said. “He’s got a good game plan and knows what he wants to do.”

Armstrong was one of three area champions, with Post Falls senior Damion Hamilton winning at 175 pounds and Kellogg junior Colton Storey winning at 106 pounds.

Post Falls finished fifth, Coeur d'Alene eighth. Orting (Wash.) repeated as team champions.

Hamilton had picked up a few tournament wins here and there. But Saturday, he arrived with that big spotlight on him, pinning Cashmere (Wash.) junior Jance Novak in 3:06 for his first Tri-State title.

“I went into the match with confidence and knew what I was going to do,” Hamilton said. “It’s amazing. This is normally not my best tournament. It’s the start of the season. But this year, it’s the best year.”

“He’s so physically strong,” Post Falls coach Jeremy Zender said. “He can throw kids around and he used that to his advantage tonight. It was awesome to see him come out and win a Tri-State title. He hadn’t really won of the big tournaments, but he’d won some of the other tournaments. Maybe that will put him on the right track to do something.”

Hamilton lost in the state 6A 165-pound championship match to Armstrong in Pocatello in February. Hamilton was fourth at Tri-State last year.

“Later into the season, I’ll get to my best,” Hamilton said. “I know I can do more than this tournament. My offseason, I was practicing hard for Fargo (junior nationals) and it really helped this weekend.”

Last weekend, Storey fell to Timberlake’s Wyatt Carey in the 113-pound final of the George Wild Invitational at Kellogg High.

Down a weight class this weekend, Storey made up for it in a big way, edging Gonzaga Prep freshman Karver Peasley by a 5-4 decision for the 106-pound title.

“It felt good,” Storey said. “I had a really bad loss last weekend and I had to get it off my chest. I really had to block out the noise. It’s just six minutes, so I had to just go out and wrestle my best.”

Storey, who became the first Kellogg Tri-State champion since Ryan Wood and Jamie Barnes took titles in 1987, won the state 113-pound title last year.

“I just need to continue to get better each day,” said Storey, who usually wrestles at 113, but dropped down a weight class this week because he though he had a better chance.

Post Falls senior Colton Austin woke up Saturday morning knowing he’d be in the finals after two competitors were disqualified following an altercation in their quarterfinal match. The winner would have faced Austin, but he instead accepted a forfeit in the semis. 

That didn’t stop him from staying focused on the moment in front of him and scouting Tahoma senior Isac Deonigi's semifinal match against Shaver.

“I had to support my team,” Austin said. “Honestly, I wanted to watch him (Deonigi) and see what I could do. And then watched some film on him. I felt like I was in the right mindset and ready. I just couldn’t do it, but I got close.”

Austin fell to Deonigi by a 7-3 decision in the 157-pound final.

“This was my first time at 157 (this season), and I’m going to finish the year out at 157,” Austin said. “I’m going to use this as motivation. He beat Shaver in the semifinals, and Logan is going to be one of the top contenders at state, so I’ll have to use that as motivation.”

“He let that guy kind of outslick him a little bit in the beginning,” Zender said. “He needed to push the pace a little more and see how things would have shaken out, but he’s doing awesome right now for us.”

St. Maries senior Zach David battled past Laithan Lawson of Orting with an 8-5 win in the semifinals, becoming the first Lumberjack wrestler since Darren Lenz in 1990 to advance to the finals at Tri-State.

David lost via pin to Gonzaga Prep senior Israel Ascota to finish runner-up at 150.

“It was a great atmosphere,” David said. “It was great to just be here wrestling, fighting.”

David was second at the state 3A tournament at 157 last year.

“I want to compete in college and keep going with wrestling as far as it will take me,” David said. “This really fuels the fire for me. I’ve got to keep working and getting better.”

Coming into the week, Sandpoint senior Jackson Holman wasn’t sure if he’d be healthy enough to compete.

Well, he was, and did maybe even better than he expected.

Holman finished runner-up to Mead senior Logan Ullah at 215 pounds, falling by a 20-5 major decision in the finals.

“I had some pretty severe back issues going into the tournament,” Holman said. “I skipped the George Wild and really just focused on my conditioning. I think it’s a blessing from God, just to make it, and especially to the second day and the finals. Earlier in the week, on Monday, Tuesday and even Wednesday, I doubted I could push through the weekend and was thinking about taking the weekend off and saving myself for Rollie Lane. But I’m pleased I decided to take this weekend on.”

Carey, a state runner-up the past two seasons at 113, fought through to the finals at 113 on Saturday, falling to Nery Rivas of Orting (Wash.) by pin.

“I just trusted in God and went out and had fun,” Carey said. “It’s definitely an accomplishment, but I’ve got to continue to work harder every day to get that state championship. I really just started letting it fly when I wrestle and trying to have fun.”

Lakeland junior Carson Leonard, a two-time state 5A champion, fell short to Orting’s Arcadius Cruz in the 120-pound final.

“He’s good, and a (Fargo) All-American, but I could have cleaned it up,” said Leonard, who was fourth at Tri-State as a freshman, and sixth last year. “I find it motivating and gives me a reason to get into the wrestling room and continue to get better. I hadn’t been feeling too hot coming into this, but I changed my mindset and was ready to go this weekend.”

Senior Gage Loftin (fourth at 113), sophomore Tristan Mendenhall (fifth at 106), senior Xander Scholes (sixth at 285) also placed for Post Falls, which finished fifth with 199 points.

“It’s a really tough tournament,” Zender said. “We had five guys lose out in the blood round, and maybe if we get those guys into the placing round, it shakes out a little different there. Our guys know they’ve got to keep working and things are going to be handed to them. It’s good.”

Senior Rocco White (fifth at 113) and sophomore Drake Speelman (sixth at 190) placed for Coeur d’Alene, which finished eighth with 133 points.

“I think for some of those guys that got knocked out, it was an eye-opener for what they needed to do,” Moffat said. “I’m really happy with Drake for getting on the podium. This tournament is so tough, and even good wrestlers don’t get on the podium. We’ve got to just keep building from here and see what happens.”

Junior Zach Teal (sixth at 106), junior Gage McWatters (seventh at 175) and freshman Bryan Patrick (eighth at 98 pounds) placed for Lakeland, which finished 17th with 93.5 points.

Kellogg sophomore Carsun Hinkelmann was sixth at 126 for the Wildcats, who were 20th with 83.5 points.

St. Maries senior Aiden Yearout was fourth at 165 for the Lumberjacks, who finished 27th with 61 points.

Lake City junior Solomon Crowley was eighth at 132.

Bonners Ferry junior Taylor Dodd was fifth at 285.

Orting won a second straight team title, finishing with 284 points, followed by Tahoma of Maple Valley, Wash., with 243.5 and Mead of Spokane with 239.5 points.

TEAM SCORES — 1, Orting 284. 2, Tahoma 243.5. 3, Mead 239.5. 4, Gonzaga Prep 238.5. 5, Post Falls 199. 6, Meridian 187.5. 7, Flathead (Kalispell, Mont.) 157.5. 8, Coeur d’Alene 133. 9, Hermiston 128. 10, University 114.5. 11 (tie), Belgrade, Camas 113. 14, Toppenish 105. 15, Kamiakin 102. 16, Moses Lake 94.5. 17, Lakeland 93.5. 18, Lake Stevens 92. 19, Sunnyside 85.5. 20, Kellogg 83.5. 21, Cheney 79.5. 22, La Grande 76. 23, Castle Rock 69. 24, Mt. Spokane 68.5. 25, Sandpoint 63.5. 26, Lewiston 63. 27, St. Maries 61. 28, Othello 58. 29 (tie), Lake City, Rocky Mountain, Timberlake 53. 32, Ridgeline 52. 33, West Valley (Spokane) 51. 34, Glacier Peak 41.5. 35, Tonasket 40.5. 36, Cashmere 37. 37, Davenport 30. 38 (tie), Battle Ground, Kalama 29. 40, Medical Lake 27.5. 41, Central Valley 26.5. 42, Kelso 26. 43, Lakeside (Wash.) 24.5. 44, Riverside 23. 45, Bonners Ferry 22. 46, Moscow 21.5. 47, Bend 21. 48, Seton Catholic 19. 49, Omak 18.5. 50, Hanford 17. 51, Almira-Coulee/Hartline 16. 52 (tie), Colville, Priest River 11. 54, Selkirk 10. 55, East Valley 8.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

98 — Miro Parr-Coffin, Gonzaga Prep, tf. Declan Rickel, Orting, 17-1. 106 — Colton Storey, Kellogg, d. Karver Peasley, Gonzaga Prep, 5-4. 113 — Nery Rivas, Orting, p. Wyatt Carey, Timberlake, 5:03. 120 — Arcadius Cruz, Orting, tf. Carson Leonard, Lakeland, 17-1. 126 — Czar Quintanilla, University, d. Trevor Anderson, Orting, 3-2. 132 — Owen Marshall, Tahoma, tf. Billy Weisgerber, Mead, 19-3. 138 — Dominic Thomas, Orting, tf. Brycen Dawley, Tahoma, 17-2. 144 — Alex Othon, Tahoma, d. Anthony Sifuentes, Toppenish, 9-5. 150 — Israel Acosta, Gonzaga Prep, p. Zach David, St. Maries, 5:24. 157 — Isac Deonigi, Tahoma, d. Colton Austin, Post Falls, 7-3. 165 — Damion Hamilton, Post Falls, p. Jance Novak, Cashmere, 3:06. 175 — Simon Jarrell, Camas, d. Duane Leslie, Mead, 7-5. 190 — Brock Armstrong, Coeur d’Alene, md. Kannon Freschette, Camas, 10-2. 215 — Logan Ullah, Mead, tf. Jackson Holman, Sandpoint, 20-5. 285 — Brendan Hughes, Mt. Spokane, d. Brooks Knight, Kamiakin, 4-0.

THIRD-PLACE MATCHES

98 — Logan Wray, Tahoma, md. Mason Taft, Mt. Spokane, 18-5. 106 — Marcos Moran, Toppenish, p. Mason Emerson, Meridian, 3:53. 113 — Colton Roberts, University, d. Gage Loftin, Post Falls, 3-2. 120 — James Oliver, Medical Lake, d. Rocky Little, Gonzaga Prep, 10-4. 126 — Ryder Owen, Gonzaga Prep, d. Cody Westlake, Belgrade, 10-3. 132 — Austin Schield, Gonzaga Prep, p. Eian Schwecke, Moscow, 1:52. 138 — Blake Nevils, Meridian, tf. Aidan Larson, Hermiston, 18-1. 144 — Hunter Arriaga, Flathead, d. Zackery Motzkus, Battle Ground, 9-2. 150 — Dakota Anderson, Orting, d. Alec Fraser, Camas, by injury default. 157 — Logan Shaver, Meridian, p. Mason Faling, Lewiston, 1:56. 165 — Michael Fritz, Orting, p. Aiden Yearout, St. Maries, 1:32. 175 — Hayden Larson, Hermiston, p. Mason Matteson, West Valley, :47. 190 — Brock Gustaveson, Gonzaga Prep, d. Ethan Harvey, Mead, 7-6. 215 — Caden Brooks, Mead, p. Eli Anderson, Moses Lake, 2:31. 285 — Mikey Lawrence, Lake Stevens, d. Kollin Bailey, Rocky Mountain, 2-1.

FIFTH-PLACE MATCHES

98 — Bodee Williams, Meridian, md. Lucas Larson, Central Valley, 8-0. 106 — Tristan Mendenhall, Post Falls, d. Zach Teal, Lakeland, via medical forfeit. 113 — Rocco White, Coeur d’Alene, d. Cole Jensen, Rocky Mountain, by medical forfeit. 120 — Justus Peregrina, Coeur d’Alene, md. Bodie Slater, Mead, 16-3. 126 — Crew Lambro, Tahoma, md. Carsun Hinkelmann, Kellogg, 14-6. 132 — Kellen Downing, Flathead, p. Jayden Martinez, Hermiston, :54. 138 — Eben Nau, Tahoma, d. Ben Jaime, Mead, 5-4. 144 — Keldy Granados, Kamiakin, d. Jordan Schield, Gonzaga Prep, by medical forfeit. 150 — Connor Crum, Seton Catholic, d. Laithan Lawson, Orting, 7-1. 157 — Nolen Nelson, Castle Rock, by forfeit. 165 — Jacob Hahner, Belgrade, d. Zachariah Delgado, Chiawana, 7-3. 175 — Chub Plank, Tonasket, p. Tayten Cissne, Chiawana, 3:15. 190 — Mason Darvell, Castle Rock, p. Drake Speelman, Coeur d’Alene, 2:33. 215 — Noah Butler, Almira Coulee Hartline, d. William Jackson, Gonzaga Prep, 6-5. 285 — Taylor Dodd, Bonners Ferry, d. Xander Scholes, Post Falls, by medical forfeit.

SEVENTH-PLACE MATCHES

98 — Ian Dooley, Belgrade, md. Bryan Patrick, Lakeland, 10-0. 106 — Kaleb Campos, Sunnyside, d. Micah Bennett, Camas, 6-3. 113 — Bodey Schweiger, Riverside, d. Carson Worthen, Belgrade, 4-3. 120 — Carter Tughan, Tahoma, md. Layne Swift, Kelso, 13-2. 126 — Justus Briggs, Meridian, d. Brody Hanson, Lake Stevens, 9-7. 132 — Ryan Amoureux, Meridian, md. Solomon Crowley, Lake City, 13-0. 138 — Kacen Hamilton, Castle Rock, d. Kaysic Lundquist, Mead, by forfeit. 144 — Jacoby Rodriguez, Hermiston, md. Trandyn Lundquist, Mead, 10-0. 150 — Jackson Beck, Meridian, p. Trenton Vasquez, Chiawana, 2:49. 157 — Brett Chivers, Flathead, d. Ian Anderson, Moses Lake, 6-0. 165 — Judah Eck, Ridgeline, md. Bo Thompson, University, 12-0. 175 — Gage McWatters, Lakeland, p. Colten Conover, Flathead, :49. 190 — Ben Orth, Lakeside, d. Bradley Bones, Meridian, 8-3. 215 — Kohen Riley, Flathead, p. Maxwell Bridges, Glacier Peak, 2:41. 285 — Parker Bagley, Lewiston, p. Macade Munro, Cheney, 3:45.

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Post Falls senior Damion Hamilton attempts to put the shoulders of Cashmere's Jance Novak to the mat during the 165 pound championship match at the Tri-State Invitational at North Idaho College on Saturday.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Kellogg junior Colton Storey attempts to stand up as Gonzaga Prep's Karver Peasley holds his legs during their championship match at 106 pounds at the Tri-State Invitational at North Idaho College on Saturday.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Post Falls wrestler Colton Austin battles with Tahoma's Isac Deonigi during the 157-pound championship match at the Tri-State Invitational at North Idaho College on Saturday.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press St. Maries wrestler Zach David battles with Gonzaga Prep's Israel Acosta during the 150-pound championship match at the Tri-State Invitational on Saturday at North Idaho College.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Timberlake senior Wyatt Carey stares down Orting's Nery Rivas during the 113-pound championship match at the Tri-State Invitational on Saturday at North Idaho College.