Top Dog wrestlers Randles, Brown qualify for nationals

SANDPOINT — Top Dog wrestlers Scout Nash, Tyler Brown and Casey Randles competed at the first Idaho Super State Championships last weekend at Capital High School in Boise.

The purpose of the tournament is to bring the state’s best high school wrestlers together, regardless of classification, and have them compete for a chance to attend FloNationals.

Because some states allow eighth graders to compete at the high school level, both Randles and Nash, Sandpoint Middle School students, were allowed to compete in the event.

Competing at 145 pounds, Randles posted a 4-1 record against high school state placers to finish in second place. Randles opened the tournament with a last-second reversal to upend Blake Collins, the 5A fifth place finisher from Capital High School. He then scored a major decision over Trager Abatti, the 2A 5th place finisher from Challis.

In the semi-finals, Randles posted a 15-1 major over Donivan Banks, the 4A 3rd place finisher from Bonneville. The three-match win streak came to an end in the finals when the middle schooler fell to nationally-ranked junior Jonny Kenyon of Lewiston. In the true-second match, Randles scored a hard-fought 18-11 win over Demetrius Romero, the 5A third place finisher from Mountain View.

Despite not placing in his bracket, Brown won the wrestle-off to determine the highest finishing freshmen/sophomore in the 182-pound bracket. The SHS sophomore relied on a series of leg attacks to upend Triston Zamora of Fruitland.

Nash claimed a 2-3 record to finish in 6th place while competing at 98-pounds, posting wins against Bonneville freshman Zac McGuire and Jerome’s Cade Horn.

Randles and Brown will attend FloNationals with the rest of Team Idaho at Indiana University in Indiana, Pennsylvania April 4-7. While both will compete in the high school division, Randles will also compete in the middle school division. The tournament is expected to draw over 1,500 wrestlers from across the United States.