Bulldogs place four on state podium

SANDPOINT — Sandpoint’s Josh Travers capped a strong senior season with a second place finish at 220 pounds, getting pinned by the No. 1 seed from Canyon Ridge late in the first round in the finals on Saturday at the state wrestling tournament in Nampa.

The Bulldogs placed four wrestlers on the podium and finished in 10th place among 23 teams, a huge improvement from last year and maybe the start of good things to come.

“We finished ahead of both of our district rivals and nearly tripled our score from a year ago, while moving up 11 places,” said Bulldogs head coach Mike Randles. “While it’s not where we want to be, it is definitely a step in the right direction. Of the seven kids we took, six scored points for us and four of them placed.”

Travers showed why he was the No. 2 seed, mowing through the bracket en route to the final, capping a year that saw him post a 41-6 record.

“With only three years of high school experience, Josh had a tremendous year and fulfilled the lofty expectations of the No. 2 seed,” said Randles. “Josh’s success at state came as a result of a competitive nature and just smart wrestling.”

Freshman Casey Randles made his presence known at the state level, finishing third at 160 pounds after the state forced him to move up a weight prior to districts. After a quick second period pin over Bonneville in consolation, Randles avenged a loss in districts to Lakeland’s Brandon Mailhot, earning a hard fought 2-0 decision over the No. 2 seed in the consolation final.

Dad Mike said despite all of the adversity of wrestling up a weight class, Casey had a heck of a tournament in a loaded draw, going 4-1 at state with the lone loss coming against the defending state champ.

Sophomore Jacob Williams might have been the biggest surprise for the Bulldogs, going 4-2 at state with both losses coming to the No. 1 seed. Unseeded and slotted into the No. 16 spot in a blind draw, Williams made a name for himself with a sixth place finish at 182 pounds.

“Everyone, except the coaches, was surprised by Jake’s finish,” admitted Randles. “Jake’s willingness to wrestle hard through the entire match can create problems for bigger guys and that is exactly what happened at state. He avoided getting out of position and kept pressuring his opponents for the duration of the match.”

Senior Lewis Dunton capped his high school career with a sixth place finish at 145. The podium finish was the result of a lot of four years of yeoman work on the mat.

“Lewis becomes one of those stories we end up using as an example of hard work. He wasn’t on any radar a few years back,” described Randles. “He competed in one of the toughest brackets in the state, which included a pair of state champions and a host of other kids with a wealth of experience. He put on a dominant display with a pin over his opponent from Bonneville to secure his place on the podium.”