PREP WRESTLING: Hand it to Peterson — Coeur d'Alene senior, despite broken hand, starts Vikings toward win over Lake City in TerHark Cup

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

COEUR d’ALENE — At one point on Friday, Coeur d’Alene High senior Rylan Peterson wasn’t even sure if he’d be wrestling. 

Little did he know, he’d be the first match under the spotlight of the 31st annual TerHark Cup dual between the Vikings and crosstown Lake City Timberwolves. 

That being said, there was still one little problem. 

“I broke my (left) hand at practice this morning,” Peterson said. “We weren’t sure if I’d be wrestling, and (Coeur d’Alene coach Jeff) Moffat said, ‘well, you’re first up, so you’d better tape it up.’ And we went out and finished it on a win.” 

Peterson pinned Lake City junior Andy Wisdom in 31 seconds at 215 pounds, one of seven pins for the Vikings in a 60-20 win over the Timberwolves at Elmer Jordan Court. 

Peterson broke his hand during a morning practice with Coeur d’Alene having a day off school on Friday. 

“At the end of practice, I broke the knuckle and finger on the end of my hand,” Peterson said. “I was worried, but Moffat kept talking me up. He told me to ice it, tape it and go out wrestle. And that’s what we did. I wanted to go out and set the tone, and was hoping that everyone else was going to get a pin. I was stoked.” 

“We knew he was tough,” Moffat said. “There’s always a little bit of concern, but he wanted to wrestle. We’ll probably have to get an X-ray and see what’s up with that. But he’ll wrestlle.” 

Coeur d’Alene sophomore Micah Miller pinned freshman Miles Ellsworth in 2:32 at 98 pounds. 

“When you’re under the spotlight and on the bench with the boys, it feels good,” Miller said. “You put in the work in the offseason. It feels really good to put in that work in the offseason and keep working hard and come out and perform.” 

Miller improved to 26-3 on the season. 

“I’m just really focused on the little things,” Miller said. “Getting into the practice room, you focus on the things you can improve on, not your entire stance and what you can get better at. When you get on the mat, you make sure you can do the little things.” 

Senior Justus Peregrina (120 pounds), freshman Cole Armstrong (126), senior Tanner George (132), senior Mason Rogers (138) and junior Brock Armstrong (190) also had pins for Coeur d’Alene. 

“We just told them to go out and wrestle hard and put some points on the board,” Moffat said. “We wanted to make it entertaining for the crowd by not standing around and hustling. We still got outhustled in a couple of matches, but for the most part they did what we wanted them to do.” 

Lake City senior Josh Macdonald reversed Coeur d’Alene sophomore Cruz Paulin to get a pin in 3:33 at 165. 

“Josh is a special kid,” Lake City coach Corey Owen said. “From the moment he stepped into the wrestling room, he’s had no quit in him. He was in a tough spot tonight, and it was a little self-induced. I knew that it didn’t mean it was over. If you give him any chance, he’s going to take it. He’s a tough, hard-nosed kid that never quits fighting.” 

It was the 24th straight win for Coeur d'Alene in the rivalry dual between the schools. Lake City has not won the Cup since 2002. 

“I told the kids we didn’t get beat tonight because they wrestled harder than us,” Owen said. “We got beat because their technique was better. We’ve got to get in the room and drill on those things. We’ve got to learn more and be students of the game if we’re going catch a team like Coeur d’Alene. They’re a good team and Jeff does a wonderful job with his program. And we’ve got to catch up.” 

“Credit to Lake City,” Moffat said. “Corey Owen is a really good wrestling coach. They fight hard and wrestle hard. If you’re not ready, they’ll get you.” 

Lake City hosts Sandpoint on Tuesday. 

Coeur d’Alene travels to Sandpoint on Wednesday. 

215 — Rylan Peterson, Cd’A, p. Andy Wisdom, :31. 285 — James Vincent, LC, p. Luis Calderson, 1:17. 98 — Micah Miller, Cd’A, p. Miles Ellsworth, 2:32. 106 — Mason Ingham, Cd’A, by forfeit. 113 — Rocco White, Cd’A, by forfeit. 120 — Justus Peregrina, Cd’A, p. Kyler Adams, 1:17. 126 — Cole Armstrong, Cd’A, p. Enzo Attali, 1:17. 132 — Tanner George, Cd’A, p. Maddox Day, 1:32. 138 — Mason Rogers, Cd’A, p. Conner Johnson, 3:15. 144 — Dominic Prangley, Cd’A, d. Caden Ramey, 7-5. 150 — Kellan Walther, LC, d. Logan Nitti, 8-4. 157 — Finn Case, Cd’A, d. Eli Gross, 8-2. 165 — Josh Macdonald, LC, p. Cruz Paulin, 3:33. 175 — Tucker Bridwell, LC, tf. Ty Paulin, 17-1. 190 — Brock Armstrong, Cd’A, p. Chance Browne, 1:31. 

St. Maries goes 5-0 

in North-South Duals

KOOSKIA — St. Maries went 5-0 on the opening day of the North/South Duals tournament at Clearwater Valley High. 

St. Maries beat West Jefferson 51-30, Salmon 69-12, Ririe 52-32, Nampa Christian 68-15 and Malad II 60-21.  

Kellogg beat Ririe 44-34, lost to Malad 60-23, then beat West Jefferson 53-24, Salmon 58-24 and West Side 60-22 to finish 4-1 on the day. 

Kootenai, with wrestlers mixed in from St. Maries, fell to McCall-Donnelly 40-28, West Side 47-24, Kamiah 36-24 and West Jefferson 59-24. 

The tournament concludes today. 

• GIRLS

Post Falls fifth, Garten to quarterfinals

in Othello tournament

OTHELLO, Wash. — Vada Hutchinson (115 pounds), Emma Younger (120), Kahli Brown (130), Sophia Stewart (135), Raylee Reynolds (140), Skylar Simpkins (190), Maria Thompson (190) and Kassie Voss (235) went unbeaten for Post Falls, which is tied for fifth after the first day of the Lady Huskie Invitational at Othello High. 

Timberlake’s Shelby Garten, the tournament’s top seed at 125 pounds, also advanced to the quarterfinal round. 

The tournament concludes today.

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Lake City senior Tucker Bridwell attempts to slam Coeur d'Alene senior Ty Paulin during their match at 175 pounds in the 31st annual TerHark Cup dual at Elmer Jordan Court at Coeur d'Alene High on Friday.