Lakeland Puts Three In Finals
State wrestling
The once-dominant Lakeland High wrestling program is on the rebound.
Lakeland won’t bring home the A-2 team championship, but it could earn the second-place trophy and some individual titles.
Three Hawks wrestlers won semifinal matches Friday to move into today’s state finals as the second day of the three-day state wrestling tournaments concluded at Idaho State University’s Holt Arena.
The Hawks had 99.5 points through Friday, trailing leader Sugar-Salem (132). American Falls was six points behind Lakeland.
Lakeland had entered the semifinals tied for second with American Falls with 64.5 points.
Thirteen wrestlers from the Panhandle will compete for individual state championships today.
In A-1, Blackfoot built a lead with 127.5 points. Madison was next with 71.5, and Moscow was a half-point behind in third. Sandpoint was tied for seventh with Pocatello (62.5).
A-2
Lakeland’s Clint Leonard, a freshman, pulled off the biggest surprise.
Leonard upset No. 1-seeded Ladd Mauger of powerhouse Snake River 8-3 at 125 pounds. Mauger finished the regular season ranked No.1 in the state, and he was second at state at the same weight last year.
Leonard will meet second-seeded Clint Kelly of Payette in the final. Kelly went to state unranked, but took third at 119 last year.
Lakeland’s other two finalists are junior Casey Phelps (189) and sophomore Sky Pruitt (heavyweight).
Phelps scored an 11-5 victory over Hyrun Allen of Sugar-Salem and Pruitt took just 23 seconds to pin Matt Kam of Sugar-Salem.
Not every semifinal went Lakeland’s way. Senior Dylan Steigemeier fell to top-seeded Drew Dickerson of Weiser 9-6 at 145. Steigemeier will take on St. Maries’ Kevin Moore in the consolation semifinals.
Kellogg junior James Bush was upset at 130. Mason Michaelis of Middleton knocked off the second-seeded Bush 8-4, sending Bush into the consolation semifinals.
Several other area wrestlers remained alive for medals in the consolation bracket.
At 140, Jake Hatfield of Priest River upset No. 2 seed Jeff Singleton of South Fremont 6-5. Earlier in the quarterfinals, Hatfield survived another tight match, topping David Haderlie of American Falls 7-5.
Seemingly every year a Bonners Ferry wrestler reaches the state finals, and this year is no different.
Junior Badger J.B. Plato will challenge for gold today after upsetting No. 2 seed Andy Lyon of Preston 6-1. Plato will meet favored Cory Goecoechea of Wood River, the top seed. Goecoechea edged Jordon Peterson of Sugar-Salem 3-1 in the other semifinal.
Goecoechea won a state title last year at 152.
A-1
In what’s become a familiar match, whether in a dual or tourney, Sandpoint’s Jake Rosholt and Lewiston’s Joe Forsman will tangle again in the final at 171.
They squared off in a season-opening Border League tournament and met again shortly thereafter in the Tri-State final.
Rosholt, who is seeking a second consecutive state title, has yet to lose to Forsman.
Rosholt breezed into the finals, pinning Morgan Knickrehm of Pocatello in 2:38 and stopping Brett Hammond of Nampa in 1:56 in the quarterfinals.
Forsman topped Tyler Tew of Idaho Falls 9-7 to earn another shot at Rosholt.
Sophomore Tony Hook of Sandpoint edged Brandon Hanna of Madison 6-4 at 145.
Hook will meet Cade Coltrin of Capital in the final. Hook defeated Coltrin in the semifinals at the Tri-State tournament in December.
Hook had an easy quarterfinal, pinning Jeremy Poland of Mountain Home in 55 seconds.
Coltrin advanced with a 10-4 decision over Andy Park of Century.
Coeur d’Alene senior Carl Thompson’s quest for a state championship moved a step closer, but the Viking had to defeat a local rival to advance.
Thompson pinned Reggie Ross of Sandpoint in 5:32 to earn a state finals date with top-seeded Travis Jacobson of Blackfoot. It was Thompson’s fourth win in as many matches against Ross.
“He handled the pressure well in the semis,” CdA coach Tom Bailey said.
Jacobson won a state title lat year at 135.
“He’s for real,” Bailey said of Jacobson. “I don’t think he’s broke a sweat in the tournament so far. Carl’s got his work cut out for him. It’ll be a major upset if Carl wins.”
Unbeaten Post Falls senior Aristo Arana had his toughest match thus far in the 215-pound semifinals, but he prevailed with a 5-2 win over Justin Peterson of Rigby.
Arana (38-0) will meet Josh Wallace of Blackfoot in the finals.
Moscow senior heavyweight Todd Drage scored an 11-1 major decision over Eric Cole of Hillcrest to move one win away from a state title. Drage will take on Dave Johnson of Bonneville, a 9-4 winner over Shane Claborn of Skyview.
Moscow freshman Kevin Spangler moved into the title match at 112 with a 7-2 win over Paul Korpalski of Timberline.
Spangler will take on top-seeded Jose Martinez of Blackfoot today. Martinez won a title at 103 last year.
In the other semifinal at 112, Martinez scored a 23-6 technical fall over Lewiston’s Luke Rinebold, a state runner-up last year.
Seth Merickel of Moscow fell apparently one miracle short of making the finals.
Merickel (pronounced miracle) upset second seed Matt King of Idaho Falls 6-4 in the quarterfinals before falling 10-8 to Roberto Valesquez of Pocatello in the semis.
Several other area wrestlers remain in contention for medals in the consolation bracket.
A-3
Senior Brandon Pine of Wallace pulled a tight decision to move into the state title match at 145.
Pine slipped past Tyson Harker of Aberdeen 9-8 in the semifinals after topping Ian Webb of Declo 9-1 in the quarterfinals.
Pine, who is second-seeded, will meet top-seeded Lex Case of North Fremont, a state champ at 140 last year. Case shut out Ryan Johnson of Glenns Ferry 8-0 in the other semifinal.