Lakeland, Bonners Ferry start well at state

POCATELLO, Idaho – It was a good first day for North Idaho schools at the state wrestling tournament Thursday, as several teams had solid opening rounds and a few individuals made themselves known at the Holt Arena.

Lewiston heavyweight Mark Skogrand was the highlight of the day in 5A, as he etched his name in the record books with a 6-second pin in the first round.

Lakeland took the 4A field by surprise by ending the first day in second place in the team race.

Bonners Ferry, a 3A power, got off to a fast start, racking up 33.5 points in a tight battle for the team championship.

All 10 Badgers wrestlers won their opening-round matches.

5A

Aside from Skogrand’s record, it wasn’t a great day for Lewiston. Several higher seeds were upset, but 15 wrestlers remained in the medal hunt for Dan Maurer’s squad, which sat in fourth place with 44 points at day’s end.

“We expected to be higher, but we still have a lot of kids wrestling,” Maurer said. “We had a couple of pleasant surprises at 215 and 275, where Paul Merrill and Kyle Kasper got big wins for us.”

But the biggest surprise in 5A – and perhaps in the entire tournament – came when Skogrand pinned Mountain View’s Dan Corbert in 6 seconds to break the state record.

“It was amazing,” said Skogrand, who was a state runner-up a year ago. “It gives me a lot of confidence, but at the same time, I have to stay focused and not overlook anyone.”

The Coeur d’Alene Vikings recorded 32.5 points, led by first-round winners Greg Lee at 103 and Isaac Lawler at 125. The Vikings are in ninth place.

“We are about where we thought we would be,” Vikings coach Jeff Moffat said. “I thought we wrestled well today, particularly in the morning round.”

Lake City sits in 13th place after the opening round, having advanced four into the winner’s bracket.

4A

Lakeland was the story of the day, as 11 wrestlers stayed in the winner’s bracket en route to a second-place team standing with 40.5 points.

Head coach Rob Edelblute was pleased with his team’s performance, but he knows there is a lot of work ahead if the Hawks are to bring home a trophy.

“We had a great first round,” Edelblute said. “I thought everyone gave it their all, and the kids wrestled really well. Hopefully, we can keep it up.”

Lakeland’s Brandon Palaniuk, a runner-up at state last year, remains a favorite at 135.

Sandpoint is in eighth place. Defending champion Joey Fio won his opening-round match at 125, and nine Bulldogs wrestlers are still alive.

Post Falls had two opening-round winners – Bobby Kuber at 140 and Ryan Booth at 130 – but managed 13 points (16th place) with a strong consolation round.

3A

Bonners Ferry is undefeated, and the Badgers’ fourth-place standing is mainly because of a lack of numbers. The Badgers were in second place after going 10-0 in the opening round, but they were passed by Shelley and Weiser, which scored points in the evening’s consolation round.

David Hayes and Adam Hall, the Badgers’ two top seeds, both won their first-round matches with relative ease, especially Hall, who recorded a 13-second pin.

Kellogg had three advance in the winner’s bracket. Ryan Durick, Michael Ryan and Steven Frank remain in the hunt for a championship. Kellogg sits in 14th with 16 points.

The action resumes today at the Holt Arena, with matches scheduled from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.