Quality With Quantity 11 Of 14 Wrestlers Honored Were First Or Second At State

The Sandpoint High School wrestling team’s string of state championships came to an end, but there was plenty of gold and other medals hauled home by area wrestlers.

Of the 14 selected to The Spokesman-Review’s All-North Idaho Wrestling Team, five captured gold and six finished second.

Sandpoint, which finished second in the State A-1 Tournament after three consecutive titles, placed five on the All-North Idaho Team. They are: Zack Vaughan (125 pounds), Brandon Larson (130), Pat Larson (152) and A.J. Chubb (160), seniors, and junior Jared Lawrence (119).

Four schools placed two wrestlers apiece on the team. Seniors Quinton Holbrook (135) of Priest River, Nathan Pascoe (171) of Lakeland, Tyrel Hendrix (189) of Kellogg and heavyweight Laki Ah Hi of Lewiston were joined by juniors Al Mack (103) and Matt Smith (heavyweight) of Post Falls, Scott Hoogland (112) of Lewiston, Jake Stark (140) of Priest River and freshman Travis Pascoe (145) of Lakeland.

The team was selected by area coaches.

Priest River coach Ed Arvin was picked by his peers as Coach of the Year. In the best year in school history since the sport was started seven years ago, Priest River had two finalists and its first state champion in Stark.

Lawrence and Nathan Pascoe are three-time All-North Idaho selections.

With one season remaining, Lawrence continued his drive toward an undefeated career. He pushed his overall record to 93-0 with a third straight state title.

Lawrence, who had to live with one of the strictest diets of any wrestler all season, was ranked No. 1 in the nation all year.

Just one other A-1 wrestler has ever gone undefeated in high school. A 30-win or more season next year would give Lawrence the all-time best record.

Pascoe captured a second consecutive state crown, posting a 27-0 record this season. He finished No. 1 in career wins at Lakeland (109). He’s considering scholarship offers from South Dakota State and North Idaho College.

Post Falls’ Mack should receive more respect next year after repeating as a state champ.

Mack (36-4) went to state seeded third. But he cruised at state, topping Marty Croft of Idaho Falls 6-3 in the final. He will be out to become the first three-time state champ in school history next year.

Stark (20-8) came out of seemingly nowhere to become his school’s first-ever champion. Seeded sixth, Stark shut out Ted Larsen of Kuna 6-0 in the final.

“I didn’t expect to do too well after I lost at districts,” said Stark, who was the school’s first district champ two years ago. “But I came back and gave it my all. It’s really cool to be the (first state champ).”

Lewiston’s Ah Hi missed nearly two months with a shoulder injury. He returned just before regionals and rode his athleticism to a state title. He finished 11-0 in his abbreviated season.

Vaughan (21-4), Holbrook (30-4), Travis Pascoe (28-5), Pat Larson (30-1) and Hendrix (25-5) each finished as runners-up.

Post Falls’ Smith (35-4) finished third at heavyweight.

Named to the second team were: Travis Duffey (103) of St. Maries; Casey Holbrook (112) of Priest River; Lucas Blaine (119) of Priest River; Cody Crawford (125) of Sandpoint and Winter Braden (125) of Bonners Ferry; Brad Haney (130) of Lakeland and Kevin Schultz (130) of St. Maries; Shawn Garner (140) of Sandpoint; Sean Barnhart (152) of Lakeland; Todd VanGundy (160) of Bonners Ferry; Bryan Roberts (171) of Post Falls; Nick Primmer (189) of Coeur d’Alene; and Jack Allman (heavyweight) of St. Maries.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: ALL-NORTH IDAHO WRESTLING TEAM First team Wt. Wrestler Yr. School 103 Al Mack jr. Post Falls 112 Scott Hoogland jr. Lewiston 119 Jared Lawrence jr. Sandpoint 125 Zack Vaughan sr. Sandpoint 130 Brandon Larson sr. Sandpoint 135 Quinton Holbrook sr. Priest River 140 Jake Stark jr. Priest River 145 Travis Pascoe fr. Lakeland 152 Pat Larson sr. Sandpoint 160 A.J. Chubb sr. Sandpoint 171 Nathan Pascoe sr. Lakeland 189 Tyrel Hendrix sr. Kellogg Hwt Laki Ah Hi sr. Lewiston Matt Smith jr. Post Falls Coach of the Year: Ed Arvin, Priest River

Second team: Travis Duffey (103) St. Maries; Casey Holbrook (112) Priest River; Lucas Blaine (119) Priest River; Cody Crawford (125) Sandpoint and Winter Braden (125) Bonners Ferry; Brad Haney (130) Lakeland and Kevin Schultz (130) St. Maries; Shawn Garner (140) Sandpoint; Sean Barnhart (152) Lakeland; Todd VanGundy (160) Bonners Ferry; Bryan Roberts (171) Post Falls; Nick Primmer (189) Coeur d’Alene; Jack Allman (Hwt) St. Maries.