Rough day for Panhandle teams
POCATELLO, Idaho – Friday was a disappointing day for the 4A and 5A Panhandle schools, as Coeur d’Alene, Lewiston, Sandpoint and Lakeland could only manage a combined five wins in the state championship wrestling semifinals.
Only Lakeland remains in the hunt for a team trophy, as the Hawks sit in third place headed into today’s final round of the 4A competition. The Hawks have 93 team points, and will have to hold off Preston (90) and Mountain Home (88.5) to bring home a team trophy. Minico (199.5) and Skyview (122) have all but wrapped up first and second place in 4A.
While several Hawks remain in the medal hunt, only Brandon Palaniuk advanced to a championship match. Palaniuk, a senior at 135 pounds, will look to win it all after finishing second last year.
In other 4A action, Chad Spade advanced at 125 to give Sandpoint a representative in the finals. Defending champ Joey Fio was knocked out of the hunt by a knee injury, leaving his teammate as the Bulldogs’ last hope for an individual title.
“Joey told me I better win it for him,” Spade said. “I have a chance to do that tomorrow, and I am going to leave it all out there in my final match.”
Sandpoint is in 10th place with 67.5 points.
The 5A semifinals were filled with controversy, but a pair of Lewiston wrestlers made it through to the finals.
A day after setting a state record with a 6-second pin, Mark Skogrand was able to advance to the championship match, where he will get a rematch with last year’s finalist Mike Warden of Idaho Falls.
“This is what Mark has been preparing for all year, a chance to wrestle Warden in the finals,” Lewiston coach Dan Maurer said. “We really like that match-up for Mark.”
Tempers flared in the Bengals’ other semifinal win, as Trevor Williams was awarded the win at 215 when Mountain View’s Jestin Kearsley was disqualified for an illegal throw.
Kearsley threw Williams head-first into the mat, and the officials ruled that the move was executed illegally. When medical trainers ruled that Williams wasn’t fit to compete, Kearsley was disqualified and he stormed away as his coaches argued the ruling.
“They are telling us that Trevor has a mild concussion, so we don’t know if he will be able to go tomorrow,” Maurer said. “He’s a senior, so he is probably going to give it a try. We will have to see how he feels tomorrow.”
Lewiston will bring home at least five medals, but a team trophy is unlikely. The Bengals are in eighth place with 109 points, 19 points out of fourth place.
Coeur d’Alene’s Jeremy Zabel was the only Viking to advance to the finals.
He will wrestle for the 152-pound championship this afternoon. The Vikings sit in ninth in the team standings with 83.5 points, and have been mathematically eliminated from trophy contention.
Action will resume this morning. Title matches are set for 2:30 p.m.