PREP WRESTLING ROUNDUP: Priest River wins five brackets to take second at home tournament
MAX OSWALD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 days, 11 hours AGO
I grew up in the small town of Orwigsburg, Pa., where I resided all of my life before moving to Sandpoint. I attended Blue Mountain High School, where I participated in cross country and track and field, a sport that I ended up falling in love with. I went on to attend and run for DeSales University (with other brief stints at Susquehanna University and Elizabethtown College) and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sport communication with a minor in sport management. I remember just how great it made me feel when I was mentioned in my hometown newspaper. I want to be able to give that feeling to every athlete in Bonner County, no matter how big or small their accomplishments are. As an athlete myself, I know how many hours of work are put in on a daily basis, and that hard work deserves to be recognized. It is my goal to cover as much of the Bulldogs, Spartans and Wampus Cats as I can. I want to work with every athlete, parent, coach, administrator and the community to ensure the best stories are published. | January 6, 2026 1:00 AM
PRIEST RIVER — Justin Hopkins (98), Grady Caudill (106) and Tadhg McLaimtaig (113) claimed titles in round robin action, Liam Pettit (126) and Darien Raztlaff (215) also won their weight classes, and the Spartans placed second out of 10 scoring teams at their home tournament — the Backwoods Brawl — held Saturday at Priest River Jr./Sr. High.
Hopkins outscored his opponents 27-2 on the day, eventually winning both of his bouts by pin. Caudill won both of his matches via first-round pin, as did McLaimtaig, and two weren't scored on at all as Priest River swept the lower-weights.
In bracket action, Pettit won his first match by pin and then beat out a fellow teammate by a 7-0 decision to claim gold. Ratzlaff won his semifinals match via pin against a Newport rival and then went on to defeat a familiar foe from St. Maries via an 18-1 technical fall to clinch victory in the championship bout.
Bill Rapier (144) won two bouts by pin, David Harbison (126) won one match by pin and the two placed second for Priest River, which tallied 158 points.
For Bonners Ferry, Gaige Johnson (175) and Taylor Dodd (285) claimed individual titles. Johnson won both of his bouts by pin while Dodd won three consecutive matches by pin for the Badgers, which placed fifth with 119.5 points as they compiled a second-place finish and three third-place finishes overall.
TEAM SCORES — 1, St. Maries 197.5. 2, Priest River 158. 3, Colfax 133.5. 4, Colville 129.5. 5, Bonners Ferry 119.5. 6, Thompson Falls 96. 7, Reardan 72.5. 8, Lakeside 62.5. 9, Kootenai Classical 52.5. 10, Newport 22.
FIRST-PLACE MATCHES
98 (round robin) — 1, Justin Hopkins, Priest River. 2, Damen Therrien, Bonners Ferry. 3, William Albano, Thompson Falls. 106 (round robin) — 1, Grady Caudill, Priest River. 2, Levi Holbrook, Priest River. 113 (round robin) — 1, Tadhg McLaimtaig, Priest River. 2, Andy Ussery, Colville. 3, Jonathan Toyias, Thompson Falls. 120 — Weston Block, Thompson Falls, p. Ty Scott, Colfax, 1:40. 126 — Liam Pettit, Priest River, d. David Harbison, Priest River, 7-0. 132 — Cameron Mathia, Colfax, p. Kaden Woodall, Kootenai Classical, 0:29. 138 — Bryce Davis, Colville, p. Cooper Phillips, Colfax, 0:31. 144 — Kelby Harvey, St. Maries, tf. Bill Rapier, Priest River, 3:27. 150 — Zach David, St. Maries, tf. Trent Sellers, Colville, 19-3. 157 — Amado Stewart, St. Maries, d. Alex Matusik, Reardan, 9-3. 165 — Aiden Yearout, St. Maries, p. Joel Burris, Colfax, 1:40. 175 — Gaige Johnson, Bonners Ferry, p. Liam Pallister, Thompson Falls, 5:35. 190 — Julian Moffit, Lakeside, p. Zack Sotin, St. Maries, 0:37. 215 — Darien Ratzlaff, Priest River, tf. Kristoffer Brusseau, St. Maries, 18-1. 285 — Taylor Dodd, Bonners Ferry, p. Dominick Kager, Lakeside, 1:21.
THIRD-PLACE MATCHES
120 — Kyler Klauder, Colville, md. Ethan Traver, Thompson Falls, 10-2. 126 — Jacob Klauder, Colville, p. Neven Eslick, Colville, 1:13. 132 — Beau Wentzel, St. Maries, p. Tegan Martin, Colville, 2:33. 138 — Ethan Matthews, Bonners Ferry, p. Carson Kenney, Thompson Falls, 1:37. 144 — Robert Kelsey, Bonners Ferry, d. Cody Phillips, Colfax, 16-12. 150 — Dylan Hansen, St. Maries, md. Parker Thomas, St. Maries, 12-0. 157 — Gabe Halloran, St. Maries, p. Aiden Dodd, Bonners Ferry, 1:24. 165 — Aslan Burt, Colfax, p. Nate Pendall, Reardan, 1:28. 175 — Caesar Stuart, Colville, p. Eli Morris, Lakeside, 3:41. 190 — Rocky Monroe, Bonners Ferry, p. Nick Grow, Priest River, 3:56. 215 — Connor McQuinn, Newport, p. Zack Pallister, Thompson Falls, 1:48. 285 — Logan Valdez, Reardan, p. Zac Nielson, Kootenai Classical, 0:28.
GIRLS
PRIEST RIVER — Naia Lamb (125) and Hailey Cook (235) captured silver medals as the Lady Spartans placed second out of six scoring teams at their home tournament — the Backwoods Brawl — held Saturday at Priest River Jr./Sr. High.
Lamb won two of her three bouts, one by first-round pin and another by an 11-4 decision while Cook won a match via a 27-second pin.
Zoey Fouts went uncontested at 100 pounds to claim a title for Priest River, which scored 18 points in total.
TEAM SCORES — 1, St. Maries 38.5. 2, Priest River 18. t-3, Thompson Falls; Newport 9. 5, Bonners Ferry 6. 6, Lakeside 4.
ROUND ROBIN RESULTS
100 — 1, Zoey Fouts, Priest River (uncontested). 110 — 1, Kylie Calderone, Bonners Ferry. 2, LeeAna Peacock, Newport. 115 — 1, Matea Keefe, Thompson Falls. 2, Rayna Schatz, Lakeside. 3, Aubree Cribs, Thompson Falls. 125 — 1, JoJane Barta, St. Maries. 2, Naia Lamb, Priest River. 3, Kaitlyn Spandau, St. Maries. 4, Bramble McHenry, St. Maries. 155 — 1, Grace Price, St. Maries. 2, Isabella Gamez, Colfax. 235 — 1, Ellana Wiltse, Newport. 2, Hailey Cook, Priest River. 3, Shanelle Mullaley, Newport.
ARTICLES BY MAX OSWALD
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PREP WRESTLING ROUNDUP: Priest River wins five brackets to take second at home tournament
PREP WRESTLING ROUNDUP: Priest River wins five brackets to take second at home tournament