Belgarde, Goodman go undefeated at River City Duals

POST FALLS — Senior Garret Belgarde (125 pounds) pinned all five of his opponents, and Troy Goodman (135) also went 5-0, leading a strong showing by the Sandpoint wrestling team this weekend at the River City Duals in Post Falls.

“Absolutely dominating performance, Belgarde has re-established himself as one of the state’s premier wrestlers,” described Bulldogs head coach Mike Randles, also lauding the work of Goodman. “He has strung together several wins in a row as a result of making smart decisions during matches.”

The Bulldogs fell 54-25 to Nampa on day one, before tying Connell 39-39 and losing the tie-breaker criteria. The second day they went 3-0, beating St. Maries 52-30, Bishop Kelly 51-30 and Cheney 41-38 to win the Bronze Division championship.

Despite the overall inexperience and two forfeits the team performed well over the weekend, one criteria decision away from posting a 4-1 record. In the 36-36 tie with Connell, officials had to go the seventh criteria to determine the winner.

Peyton Dillon (119), Kyle Csizmar (140) and Mike Fowler (152) each went 4-1, with Dillon’s lone loss coming by a one-point decision to a state champion from Washington.

“Dillon continues to wrestle with increasing consistency,” said Randles. “Csizmar is wrestling with a lot of confidence. His wins are not only important to the team, but he is also setting himself for an important seed position at state next month.”

Tim Pepperdine (189) and Matt Lockey (215) each went 3-2, and Jerad Fowler (103), Dokota Blaese (130), Josh Allen (160), and Josh Wren (171) each went 2-3 over the weekend of duals. The young Bulldogs quietly boast the deepest dual teams they’ve had in a few years.

“Both Wren and Allen, like several Bulldogs, are competing in their first year at the varsity level,” said Randles. “Their hard work is paying off as both picked up important wins over the weekend.”

The Bulldogs will switch from a duals mindset to tournament style, wrestling at the Clearwater Classic in Lewiston on Friday and Saturday.