Bulldogs are true champions

It was quite an interesting weekend as I shared the plight of many Bulldog wrestling family members and drove to Pocatello to cover the state wrestling tournament. I managed to watch five times as much wrestling in one weekend than I had in my entire life to that point. Here's a smattering of news, notes and observations from a weekend of wrestling.

Second to none — Sandpoint may have finished 13 points behind Blackfoot in the final team standings, but anyone who saw the abundance of red and black warm-ups in the lineup of finalists knew who the best 4A team was.

Six Bulldogs made the finals, with Timmy Pepperdine, Joey Fio, Kyle Meschko and Jerod Morris winning titles, and Alec Ward and Taylor Morris finishing second. The four champions set a 4A record for one team, besting the old mark by one.

The bottom line was Blackfoot brought 19 wrestlers to state, while the Bulldogs only brought 13. Blackfoot's district gets six berths per weight class, while Sandpoint's only gets two. It's purely a numbers game and isn't always entirely fair, but that's topic for another column.

Enemy colors — It felt kind of odd to be covering schools other than the Bulldogs. I was covering the event for the Hagadone News Network, and was thusly responsible for not only covering Sandpoint, but Coeur d'Alene, Lake City, Post Falls, Lakeland, Kellogg, Bonners Ferry and Priest River as well. It was fun to watch and meet new wrestlers, but after two days, 300 photos and 80 inches of copy — lets just say the adult beverage tasted awfully good Saturday night.

Well done ref — One of the better referees at the tournament was less than three feet tall. While I was shooting photos of a match he was officiating, he came over for a drink of water. I said to him "refs aren't supposed to sweat," and he replied with a chuckle, "I was 6-feet tall when I started."

Blond moment — One of the more humorous moments came late Saturday, when the Holt Arena announcer came over the loudspeaker with this announcement: "Lady with the blond, curly hair, please return the wrestling program to the Mallad coaches. It's the only one they have. Thank you lady with the blond, curly hair."

Sweet emotion — Many a wrestler shed a tear following defeat, and rightfully so. In baseball, eight teammates are on the field when the season comes to an end. In football, 10 other players share each loss; in basketball four. While there are teammates in wrestling, there is only one person standing alongside the ref when he raises the winning opponent's hand.

Wrestling is also a sport that requires uniquely intense training, commitment and sacrifice to reach the top. When that quest is ultimately denied, it's not just tears falling, but a season, and sometimes a career's worth of effort. I have much respect for the athletes whose emotions pour forth, win or lose. It signifies that it means something to them.

I was reminded of this watching Alec Ward, who left all he had on the mat, with his head between his legs after losing in the final to a superb wrestler. I was also reminded of the value of teammates, when Joey Fio, who won a title, was patting Ward on the back and offering encouragement and consolation.

? Eric Plummer is the sports editor of The Daily Bee. For comments, suggestions or story ideas, he can be reached at "eplummer@cdapress.com" or via phone at 263-7392.