High hopes for state title

You need a program to follow the Post Falls High wrestling team – or at least the family within the family, so to speak.

The Booth family and wrestling have been synonymous, going back nearly three decades. Dads, uncles, brothers and cousins comprise the family tree that includes several branches of Booths and a limb or two of Bergers, Osts and Wrights. Combined, there have been 17 wrestlers at Post Falls and six female managers. And there are more of both coming with hopes of the tree reaching into a third generation.

The family has yet to produce a state champion. But a couple of cousins in the second generation – Ryan and Danny Booth, both seniors – hope to break through next week. Danny’s brother, Derrick, and cousins Chad Booth and Seth Wright, also have high hopes for state.

The best state finishes among the family are second. Mike Booth did so in 1995 and Tony Berger matched his cousin in 2001.

Post Falls coach Dennis Amende knows a state title is within the grasp of Danny (145 pounds) and Ryan (152). The cousins thought the break through should have happened last year at the State 5A tournament.

Ryan was seeded second at state, but he didn’t wrestle anywhere close to the level that earned him the high seeding. Danny, meanwhile, was ahead 4-0 in a quarterfinal match when he suffered a dislocated elbow and had to default out of the tournament. The eventual state champion was someone Danny had beaten during the season.

“Had he not gotten hurt, he would have been a state champ,” Post Falls coach Dennis Amende said of Danny. “He was a machine last year.”

Amende had high expectations for Ryan, too.

“He was a No. 2 seed, but he didn’t wrestle well,” Amende said. “He lost a triple overtime match. He tightened up and didn’t have a good tournament.”

Ryan has used his disappointing state tourney as motivation this year. He’s ranked No. 1 and was 39-1 coming into the week.

“I had very high expectations last year,” said Ryan, whose father, Matt, was the first Booth wrestler at PF in the early 1980s. “It was a lot of nerves last year. I wasn’t as strong mentally as I have been this year. I didn’t want to come up short this year. I’ve always known I could do it. Now I just have to do it.”

Ryan’s lone loss was a 1-0 decision to senior Kaden Piva, of Challis, a defending state champ who is ranked No. 1 in 2A.

Ryan has scored 55 takedowns to his opponents’ three. In three-point near falls, he has outscored opponents 49-0.

“He’s having a dominating year,” Amende said of Ryan. “He’s unquestionably the leader on our team. He’s fairly quiet, but he leads by example. His teammates have an amazing amount of respect for him.”

Amende said that what defines Ryan is his work ethic.

“He outworks everybody,” Amende said. “He’s skilled, but he wrestles in an unorthodox fashion. He’s not as fluid as Danny, but he very seldom gets taken down. Ryan wrestles at a tempo that people can’t match.”

Danny is ranked second in the state and is 38-3. He has 68 takedowns to his opponents’ six, and he’s scored 46 three-point near fall points. He’s allowed just one three-point near fall.

“He has a lot of things in his arsenal,” Amende said. “The matches he’s lost, he’s looked for specific things rather than engaging the rest of his arsenal. He can do a lot more things than Ryan.”

Both wrestlers have gone over the 100-victory milestone this season. Ryan is 117-50 overall and Danny is 135-41. He needs just four more wins to match the school record of most career victories set by Chad Jennings.

“The thing Ryan and Danny have in common is they beat people out of stuff they would score with on other kids,” Amende said. “It really breaks their opponents.”

Since they’re within a few pounds of each other, the cousins square off daily in practice.

“That is one of the big reasons for where they’re at,” Amende said. “The kids make each other better. It’s acquired in practice.”

Danny expects somebody in the family to bring home a state title this season. The 5A Region I state-qualifying tournament, along with the 4A Region I and 3A District I tourneys, will be held Saturday at Post Falls.

“It’s going to happen. If it’s not me it will be one of us,” said Danny, whose father, Todd, didn’t wrestle in high school but was director of the Post Falls youth program for several years.

Another thing that Ryan and Danny share in common is they’re honors students. Ryan ranks sixth in the senior class with a 4.04 grade-point average. Danny has a 3.7 grade-point average.

“They do all the right things – in the classroom and on the mat,” Amende said.

They both say they’re wrestling careers will conclude with high school. Both want to attend college and focus on their education.

“My motivation is to finish off my career (as a state champ),” Danny said. “I’ve been wrestling since I was 5 (Ryan since he was 6). I don’t know if I’d say I’m burned out, but it’s just time to move on with life.”

Ryan hopes to have boys some day so he can steer them into the sport.

“Wrestling has taught me a lot of lessons in life,” Ryan said. “It’s definitely something I want to pass on to my kids.”

Wrestling, after all, is a family tradition in this family tree.