Bulldog wrestlers questing for state hardware
The nine Sandpoint wrestlers competing at state this year, pctured back row, left to right: Colter Sigman, Kyle Csizmar, Terry Taylor, Dylan Quigley and Leonard Fister. Front row: Jacob Porter, Garret Belgarde, Chris Book and Sid Winter. (Photo by ERIC PLUMMER)
SANDPOINT — It was Tuesday evening, and head coach Mike Randles’ voice boomed loudly as the Sandpoint wrestling team went through its second-to-last practice in preparation of the state wrestling tournament.
Randles wound the wrestling timer to two-minutes, and the nine Bulldogs heading to state, along with a few assistant coaches, wrestled hard until the buzzer sounded. But instead of resting between the two-minute periods, the wrestlers would exit one side of the room, run down two flights of stairs, before climbing the two flights and re-entering on the other side of the room.
If they ran the loop fast enough, they maybe had five seconds to rest before locking up and repeating the process — again and again.
Such workouts confirm two things: One, wrestling requires the most well-conditioned athletes in high school sports, and two, the state tournament is near and if wrestlers aren’t working hard, they’re probably losing ground to their opponents who are.
The Bulldogs will be taking down a host of wrestlers with legitimate shots to place in Pocatello, in the first year of the new two-day format., beginning this morning. Randles said it’s much more realistic than the old three-day tournament, of which Idaho was one of the only states to still employ.
Leading the way will be 103 pounder Garret Belgarde (23-3), who is seeded No. 1 in the 16-wrestler 4A bracket. Belgarde won at Tri-State earlier this year, and possesses the skills to grab a state title as just a sophomore.
“He just needs to wrestle to his abilities,” says Randles of Belgarde. “I don’t think there is anyone in the state that can stay with him when he does that.”
Also standing a good shot to nab state hardware is Sid Winter (21-12), seeded No. 5 at 135 pounds and riding a wave of confidence after a recent hard fought win over Lakeland’s Tristan Storrs, who is seeded No. 2 in the state draw. Winter finished fifth at state last year, and is hungry to improve.
Leonard Fister (21-9) is seeded No. 5 in the 152 pound draw, and like Winter, stands a great shot at placing high.
“Both of them have the potential to be in the finals, they just need to do what they’re capable of doing,” says Randles, noting some kids fall into the trap of trying to do too much at state. “They don’t need to wrestle above their heads.”
Randles believes Kyle Csizmar (112) and Colter Sigman (125) could be spoilers in their respective draws, perhaps flying a little under the radar as far as status.
“Colter could sneak in there,” says Randles of possibly placing. “It depends on which Kyle shows up. He can be very dangerous sometimes.”
Terry Taylor won two matches at state last year at 285 pounds, and will be vying for a trophy as a senior. Jacob Porter could also make some noise at 119 pounds, where he’s shown the ability to hold his own against state-caliber wrestlers in the past.
Action begins this morning, with the finals slated for Saturday evening, at Holt Arena.