Dillon leads Bulldogs with third-place finish at state

SANDPOINT — There may be strength in numbers, but the Sandpoint wrestling team proved that quality will always trump quantity at the state wrestling tournament.

After finishing more than 100 points behind Lakeland at districts, and despite sending only eight wrestlers to state compared to 17 for Lakeland, the Bulldogs finished in 11th place at state last weekend in Pocatello, three places ahead of the 4A North rival Hawks.

“At least for now, quality trumped quantity. We came into the tournament with zero returning state placers and were fortunate to put four kids on the podium,” said Bulldogs head coach Mike Randles. “We are still a long ways off from where we want to be, but we are certainly headed in the right direction.”

 Senior Peyton Dillon (120 pounds) capped his career with a solid third place showing. He posted four wins, with three coming against returning state placers in one of the most loaded brackets. He avenged an earlier season loss to an opponent from Caldwell who finished third at state last year in the 5A ranks, and also pinned a wrestler from Middleton who beat him at last year’s state meet.

“Despite not ever placing at state, Peyton finished ahead of two returning placers, including a returning state runner up,” said Randles.

Both of junior Matt Lockey’s losses were a bit controversial, especially in the 3rd-4th place championship, where he lost 6-4 to the No. 1 seed from Shelley in overtime. Lockey was awarded the winning takedown, but after a lengthy discussion the referee thought he stepped out of bounds. Lockey will be one of the top 220 pound wrestlers in the 4A ranks next season.

Senior Justin Pepperdine (182) finished fifth, no small accomplishment after wrestling most of the season with a torn ACL in his knee. Pepperdine had to alter some of his technique to avoid positions that were painful, often wrestling with just one leg.

“One would be hard pressed to find any athlete who would come back from such an injury, let alone place in state,” said Randles. “He also had to do some acting when he was in pain. If an opponent noticed that that knee was causing him pain, they would likely shoot on it. He deserves an Academy Award.”

Sophomore Adam Weindl (170) might have been the biggest surprise on the Bulldogs’ team. While the aforementioned placers were state-ranked and boasting high seeds, Weindl entered state with a modest 8-9 record, winning four matches en route to a sixth place finish.  

“Adam stepped up to the plate when he needed to, including posting a pin over an opponent who had won nearly four times as many matches,” said Randles of the much improved wrestler. “Most of Adam’s wins came at the end of the season.”