Parity in the 4A could benefit Bulldogs

SANDPOINT — After knocking off 4A Region 1 defending champion Post Falls, the Sandpoint Bulldogs head into the 4A state championships with a little momentum on their side.

The Region 1 champion Bulldogs, who qualified 11 wrestlers for state at the tournament last weekend in Post Falls, ended up taking 15 wrestlers after earning an additional four at-large berths.

"That was a pretty good chunk of at-larges for us," said Sandpoint coach Mike Randles. "Hopefully those at-larges will compensate for some of the tougher seeds that we pulled."

As the No. 1 seed at 119 pounds, Sandpoint sophomore Joey Fio is an obvious favorite. Meanwhile, No. 3 seed Sheldon Cramer (215), No. 5 seed Joe Heil (171) and sixth seed Gale Belgarde (140) are also expected to do well for the Bulldogs.

"In those weight classes, with the exception of Joey (Fio), there are no clear favorites," said Randles. "Maybe in one or two of the 14 weight classes can you point to a clear favorite. But in the remaining weight classes, I think the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds could easily be knocked off. Because, there is just a ton of parity right now in the A4s."

"The A4 is as tough as I've seen Idaho wrestling in a long, long time, with the addition of Nampa and Skyview," said Randles. "As far as who could win the state title, it's really difficult to tell. Every coach down at the state seeding meeting felt the same way."

Seed wise, Nampa would have to be the favorite. But, if the Nampa Bulldogs don't deliver on their seeds there are up to five teams that could win it, said Randles.

"In addition to us, you have Nampa, Bonneville and Skyview basically. And a couple teams behind them like Preston," he said.

Sandpoint is probably the dark horse, but unlike some sleepers, the Bulldogs have a long history of stepping up for state competition.

"For some reason we always feel kind of upbeat around districts and state," said Randles. "I think it's just the attitude that we definitely belong down there and we can hang with the best of the teams."

The 4A state wrestling championships open Thursday and conclude Saturday at Holt Arena in Pocatello.