Confidence of Lawlor, CdA continues to grow with success

When Coeur d’Alene High’s wrestling team dominated Lake City in this year’s TerHark Cup, the Vikings showed flashes of brilliance.

Two weeks later, CdA is gearing up for districts and asking itself the question: “Just how good are we?”

Senior stalwart Isaak Lawlor took a few minutes Monday after attending North Idaho College’s match with Pacific University to share his thoughts on the “State of the Vikings.”

“We have a pretty strong team this year,” said Lawlor, the top-ranked 135-pounder in the region. “It’s pretty close to being as strong as the team a couple of years ago.

“We have a chance of placing at state, but we would have had a better chance with (injured freshman) Braden Mowry in the lineup – he’s doing all right, though. He has to wear a neck brace, but he’s been coming to our meets and stuff.”

There are still some immediate hurdles to clear.

“Right now, we’re mainly focusing on our next two duals – Sandpoint and Lewiston,” Lawlor said. “Then we’ve got the district tournament, which we want to win, but, more importantly, we want to get as many guys as we can to go to state.”

Lawlor said he feels the most confidence of his career.

“With help from my coaches, I’ve fixed a lot of my flukes from years past – a lot of chaining stuff together and getting better on my feet,” Lawlor said. “But this year is going to be tough, because at 135, at the state level, is one of the tougher weight classes in the state.

“I have a returning state champ and a couple of state placers to deal with – (a state title) is possible, but I’m going to have to wrestle smart.”

Speaking of smart, Lawlor has also given plenty of consideration to what comes after high school.

“I’m looking into wrestling in college, but I don’t know what college yet,” said Lawlor, a 3.8 student who studied anatomy as a junior and is considering a career in physical therapy. “Pacific, the college NIC just wrestled, was looking into me, and the coach wants me to come down and wrestle for them.

“I wouldn’t mind wrestling there, but they’re kind of a smaller school – but they’re also really high up there in academics, and so it would look good for getting a job in the future.”