Idaho State Wrestlers Work Out The Butterflies

First-round matches at the 38th annual Idaho high school wrestling championships produced lopsided results.

More importantly, the openers went a long way toward relaxing the individuals, Sandpoint coach Dan Taylor observed.

“Today will tell you a lot,” Taylor said Thursday night at the Kibbie Dome. “Once they get a match under their belts, they feel a lot more confident.

“A lot of the kids have never been to state. It’s a really new experience.”

The top teams lived up to billing in all three classifications.

Defending champion Sandpoint nosed Capital of Boise for the A-1 lead, 37.5 points to 36.5. Centennial of Boise sits third with 28.5.

“They’re handling that pressure,” Taylor said of his team. “Each one knows they have to do their job to make the team happen.

“You can tell Southern Idaho wants (the title) back,” Taylor added. “Last year, when A-1 went up North for the first time in 37 years, some people were not real happy about that. The bottom line is performance. The kids have to wrestle above their ability.”

Sugar-Salem grabbed the A-2 team lead with 49. Defending champ Snake Ri6er is right behind with 42.5.

North Freemont tops a tight pack of A-3 teams with 27.5. West Jefferson tops a tight pack of teams with 31. North Freemont is second at 27.5. Matches resume today at 9 a.m. with the A-1 quarterfinals, followed by A-2 at 10 and A-3 at 11. The semifinals for all classes start at 7:30 p.m.

A-1: Sandpoint collected victories in nine of its 15 first-round matches.

Defending individual champs Brett Lawrence at 119 and Pat Larson at 140 both pinned.

Lawrence, a junior, hiked his record to 27-0, tipping Minico’s Vance Anderson on his shoulders in 1:30.

Larson, a sophomore, built an 11-4 first-period lead on Capital’s Shane Grove. Larson rolled through for the fall at 3:02.

Senior Rusty Irish tacked on another pin for the Bulldogs at 160.

Sandpoint freshman Jared Lawrence improved to 24-0 at 103. The Bulldogs also advanced Shawn Garner and Zach Vaughn at 112, Travis Carter at 125, Trevor Walkington at 130 and Rusty Cessna at 171.

Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls won three matches each. Lake City won twice.

The Vikings’ winners included Scott Kirking at 171, Matt Butkovich at 189 and Josh Curran at heavyweight.

Curran won by technical fall over senior Ben Kennelly of Hillcrest 20-5.

“Two or three times I could have had him (pinned),” Curran said. “He was good at working the ring. He was trying to play the outside circle.”

“(Curran) needs to be aggressive,” Vikings coach Craig Hanson said. “Heavyweights that score a lot are more dangerous. Josh is a threat.”

Post Falls struggled early, losing 12 of 15 opening-round matches.

The Trojans send a trio of seniors into the quarterfinals, including Tim Herbert at 125, Ben Frank at 135 and Mike Booth at 152.

Chris Howerton’s head gear slipped over his eyes, and that was all that saved the Highland sophomore from being pinned in the first round of his 140-pound match with Lake City’s Shawn Gust. Gust led 10-1 to start the third period, before getting the fall at the 5-minute mark.

“I went for a duck and missed,” Gust said. “It came out the kid was wide open and I hit (the head and arm). He was pretty strong physically, but I outwrestled him.

“My toughest matches are to come,” Gust added. “I’m on the road.”

A-2: Lakeland and Bonners Ferry dominated the middle- to upperweight brackets, with each team advancing four into the quarterfinals.

“At this point in the season you’ve got to wrestle with making no mistakes and being solid,” Hawks coach Mark Johnson said. “”Our good kids are doing that.”

Lakeland seniors Erik Martin at 152, Kole Clausen at 160 and Kelly Robbins at 171, along with sophomore Nathan Pascoe, all posted firstround wins.

Clausen, who won the 145-pound title two years ago, pinned Victor Ixta of Weiser in 1:20.

Bonners Ferry picked up a pair of pins from juniors Dennis Liermann at 130 and heavyweight Kyle Watts.

The Badgers got decisions from Justin Pluid at 171 and Glen Fairchild at 189.

Priest River put three in the quarterfinals, including Jake Stark at 112, Quinton Holbrook at 119 and Adam Lamb at 160.

A-3: Wallace inched a pair of juniors into the quarterfinals, as Richard Clark and Michael LaBau held on for 3-2 decisions at 125 and 171, respectively.

Kootenai senior Al Mattox at 135 was the lone Warriors’ victor.