Six Top Dog wrestlers nab titles at home meet

SANDPOINT — Thirteen Top Dog wrestlers advanced to the championship round at Saturday’s North Idaho Wrestling League team championships held at Sandpoint Middle School. The tournament drew wrestlers from across the Idaho Panhandle as well as several from the Spokane area.

With more than 400 wrestlers in attendance, including 40 Top Dogs, six Top Dogs captured titles, including Dean Ramey, Owen Stebbins, Casey Randles, Ty Murray, Gage Sigman and Scout Nash. Also advancing to the championship round and earning second place finishes were Tanner McNelly, Patrick Kummer, Ryan McNelly, Casey Oleson, Braden Payne, Max Knight and Luke Stebbins.

The Top Dogs would likely have added two more champions had the runner-ups not had to face teammates in championship matches. Patrick Kummer was upended by teammate Dean Ramey for first place while Ryan McNelly was topped by teammate Gage Sigman. Also advancing to the medal rounds and claiming third place finishes were Damion Dalthorp, Brock Kluver, Elijah Carson, and Dominic Chabiel. Chabiel avenged a first round loss by securing a pin to finish third.

A handful of Level II Top Dogs will compete in Liberty Lake, Washington this weekend at the Northwest Bigfoot Battle, part of USA Wrestling’s Folkstyle Tour of America. To date, the tournament has registered wrestlers from at least eight states, including Michigan and Indiana.

Following that, the Top Dogs will conclude their season with the Panhandle Championships, scheduled for Dec. 4 at Lakeland High School. This year’s championship will open its doors to additional competitors from across the region.