After time off during the holidays, Gaige Johnson, Kylie Calderone and Taylor Dodd finished in first place in their respective brackets as eight Bonners Ferry High School wrestlers placed in the top four to kickstart the new year.  

Wrestling at the Backwoods Brawl invitational in Priest River, the Badgers finished the meet with 119.5 points, just 10 points shy of fourth place.  

Damien Therrien placed second, while Ethan Matthews, Robert Kelsey and Rocky Monroe won their third-place matches. Aiden Dodd finished fourth.  

Taylor Dodd won 8-1, 10-1 and 3-0, with all of his matches ending in less than three minutes. He had five takedowns in total. Johnson was awarded a first round bye before winning 15-3 in the semifinal and 11-7 in the final. 

Calderone, the only girl wrestling for the Badgers at the tournament, won her first match 7-0 before racking up the points in her second, winning 23-6. 

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES 

98 — Justin Hopkins, Priest River, d. Damien Therrien, Bonners Ferry, 17-2. 

175 — Gaige Johnson, Bonners Ferry, d. Liam Pallister, Thompson Falls, 11-7.   

285 — Taylor Dodd, Bonners Ferry, d. Dominick Kager, Lakeside, 3-0. 

110 — Kylie Calderone, Bonners Ferry d. LeeAna Peacock, Newport, 7-0. 

THIRD PLACE MATCHES

138 — Ethan Matthews, Bonners Ferry d. Carson Kenney, Thompson Falls, 7-0. 

144 — Robert Kelsey, Bonners Ferry d. Jax Brown, Lakeside, 10-0. 

190 — Rocky Monroe, Bonners Ferry d. Nick Grow, Priest River, 15-4.