McCormick 6th at state to lead Bulldog wrestlers

SANDPOINT — Led by a surprise performance from junior Jon McCormick, it was a mixed bag of results for the Sandpoint wrestling team at the 4A state tournament last weekend at Holt Arena in Pocatello.

McCormick finished sixth at182 pounds, the lone Bulldog placer of the six who went to state. McCormick knocked off an opponent from Nampa who had a 34-16 record, and also took down the No. 6 seed from Jerome who boasted a 31-10 record.

“We weren’t sure if Jon had enough experience to even get out of our district at 160 or 160 pounds, so we moved him up to 182 where he was obviously giving up a lot of weight,” said Bulldogs head coach Mike Randles. “Jon worked with pretty much limited technique and a lot of heart.”

Tanner McNelly (113) scored several impressive wins, including pinning the same opponent who he’d lost to by tech fall in last year’s opening round. McNelly’s two losses were to the two-time defending state champion and this year’s runner up. McNelly figures to be a prime contender for a high state finish in the next two years.

Adam Weindl was seeded fifth at 170 pounds and was dominating his opponent in the first round but got caught on his back. In the second round, he was again winning when the flu that has kept him out of practice and meets caught up with him and left him out of energy. Lewis Dunton (132) also went two and  out in a brutally tough bracket.

Brent Buchmiller (126) and Josh Travers (195) were each one match away from placing. Buchmiller won some very hard fought battles and just missed out on placing — an impressive feat for someone in their first year. Travers, who went two and out a year ago, was one period away from placing. Travers was winning in the consolation quarters when he made a costly mistake.

“We are pretty optimistic about the future,” said Randles, who went with a young team this season. “With some productive off season work, all six qualifiers, a few of the alternates and some incoming eighth graders have very legitimate shots at not only reaching the podium but finishing high on that podium.”