Post Falls Tournament Will Debut

Wrestling

Post Falls High wrestling coach Dennis Amende has wanted to host his own tournament for some time.

Problem is he didn’t want just another invitational tournament like the handfuls held in the region each weekend from December through January.

So, Amende borrowed a format from a tourney in southern Idaho, and his meet debuts this weekend.

The 16-team River City Duals will be held Friday evening and all day Saturday. Badger Building Center, a hardware store in Post Falls, is sponsoring the tournament and is providing the awards.

It’s a dual-style tournament, meaning teams advance based on the outcome of head-to-head matches. All teams will wrestle four matches, beginning with one match Friday night at 6. Action resumes Saturday morning at 10 and concludes at 6:15 p.m. with four matches, including the championship final.

“The way it works is all teams will be placed from first through 16th,” Amende said. “Only one team won’t win a match.”

The field includes Sandpoint, Priest River, Lake City, Coeur d’Alene, Kellogg, Lakeland, Skyview of Nampa, Shadle Park, Colville, Mt. Spokane, West Valley, Ephrata (Wash.), Pasco, Kootenai/Wallace (combined team) and the Renegades (the top junior varsity wrestlers from each team).

Sandpoint, Priest River, Colville, Post Falls and Skyview figure to challenge for the team title.

Former Lakeland High standout Kole Clauson, a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin, recently won the outstanding wrestler award at 168 pounds in the Arlington Hilton Lonestar Duals at Dallas.

He’s ranked 15th in the nation.

, DataTimes