Idaho wrestlers aim for state berths this weekend

While prep wrestlers in Washington decide championships this weekend, athletes in North Idaho determine state berths.

The 5A Region I, 4A Region I and 3A District I tournaments will be at Lakeland in Rathdrum on Friday and Saturday.

Matches begin at 5 p.m. Friday. Action resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday with championship matches at 1:30 p.m. The finals could be started earlier if morning matches move along, tournament director Mark Johnson said.

The top three in 5A advance to state and the fourth-place finisher may also earn an at-large berth to be determined at the state seeding meeting Sunday.

The top two in 4A go to state and the top four in 3A qualify.

State is Feb. 24-27 at the Idaho Center in Idaho.

The 5A Region I tourney could be a tug of war between defending state champ Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Lewiston.

In the 5A state rankings this week, Lewiston, Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls were ranked second, third and fourth, respectively.

In the power rankings, a combined poll for all classifications, Post Falls was ranked first, Lewiston fourth and CdA fifth.