Vikings make impressive showing at state tourney
About three hours before the Coeur d’Alene High wrestling team wrapped up a team trophy at the State 5A tournament last Saturday, Vikings coach Jeff Moffat was more than satisfied with his team’s showing.
Coeur d’Alene was in fourth place with a one-point lead over Caldwell going into the state championship matches.
“No matter what happens we’ve had a great tournament,” Moffat said.
The Vikings started the three-day tournament well and ended well. Ten of their 13 qualifiers won first-round matches. Sophomore Braden Mowry (112 pounds) and senior Jesse Nielsen (160) captured state titles, and the Vikings escaped with the fourth-place trophy.
It’s the first time since 1987 that two Viks won state titles in the same year.
Mowry and eight other state qualifiers return next year.
It was the Vikings’ second state trophy under Moffat since 2005. That year, the Viks took third.
“This is topping on the cake right there,” Moffat said of the trophy. “It will get them motivated to keep working.”
The state titles from Mowry and Nielsen were special in their own right.
Last year, Mowry was ranked No. 1 in the state and 25-0 after impressive tournament titles at the Tri-State, Rollie Lane and Rocky Mountain tournaments. But he suffered a season-ending neck injury and missed the state tournament.
He recovered from the injury and was looking forward to this season, knowing he would have a chance to pursue the state title he thought he should have captured last year. Then injury derailed the start of the season. He had to have knee surgery, missing the first month.
Mowry returned just after the holidays, but it took him until late January to get into the shape needed to win a state title.
He posted a pin in his state-opening match and followed with an 11-5 win in the quarterfinals and a 15-0 technical fall in the semifinals.
Mowry met returning state champ Holden Packard of Mountain View in the title match. Mowry beat Packard, also a sophomore, 10-5 in the Rollie Lane final last year.
In the state final, Mowry controlled Packard, winning 10-5.
Packard scored an early takedown against Mowry, but it didn’t deter the Vik.
“He wrestled solid and he was never in jeopardy,” Moffat said. “He didn’t panic and go to his back after the takedown. He was smart and in control.
“It just shows you what you can do if you believe in yourself and overcome adversity. He got in there and battled. I told him to go get some ice cream and (celebrate).”
Mowry was emotional after the match.
“Everything – coming back from the injuries – it’s all paid off,” said Mowry, who finished 18-3 overall. “I was dreaming about it all last year and then I didn’t get to come. So I’ve been dreaming about this twice as long as most people have dreamed about it.”
Nielsen was a state runner-up last year, falling 5-4 in the final at 152. He knew he would have his hands full against athletic Justin Allen of Highland in the title match last Saturday.
The match was tied 3-3 after the first period and 5-5 going into the final round. Nielsen, who chose down to start the period, scored a two-point reversal with 1:13 remaining. He bottled up Allen for the next minute, making him exert a lot of energy.
Allen escaped with 10 seconds remaining, but by then he was exhausted. Nielsen (44-1) prevailed 7-6.
“I was trying to wear him out so I could get him in the later rounds,” Nielsen said. “I could tell he was tired. I knew I had to push it at the end and that’s how I would win.”
Nielsen’s lone loss came in the title match at Tri-State. He rolled off 34 straight victories to end the season.
“He’s worked so hard for this,” Moffat said. “If they were all like him, it’d be easy money.”
Five other Vikings earned state medals. Junior Andrew Palmer took third at 103; senior Grant Turner finished fourth at heavyweight; senior Justin Allen took fourth at 171; freshman Kenny Staub was fifth at 103; and sophomore Christian Putman took fifth at 130.