Trio seeking titles at state

SANDPOINT — With the addition of three wild cards, the Bulldogs will have 11 wrestlers competing at the 4A state meet, which begins today at Holt Arena in Pocatello.

Led by a trio of wrestlers with state titles in mind — the Bulldogs’ “studs are studs,” as head coach Mike Randles described after districts — and with five of the 11 seeded in the top five of their respective brackets, the Bulldogs should improve on last year’s finish.

Casey Randles, who finished third at state last year as a freshman, is the No. 1 seed at 170 pounds, junior Tyler Presser is the No. 1 seed at 160 pounds and junior Jake Williams is the No. 2 seed at 195 pounds.

Favored or not, winning a state tournament is about navigating a bracket filled with, at least theoretically, the best 16 wrestlers in the state at said weight in each classification.

Junior Mahonri Hunsaker is the No. 5 seed in the 152 pound bracket, and will join Hyrum Hunsaker (138), Tanner McNelley (145), Alex O’Shea (160) and Tyler Brown (220) as wrestlers capable of making noise at state. Justin Hobson (285), Zach Alamillo (220) and Scout Nash (120) each received wild card berths and will make the trip.

“The kids have been wrestling well in recent weeks and are collectively capable of wrestling to or above their seeds, including those who were not seeded,” said Bulldogs head coach Mike Randles, who has kept the program on a steady incline for the past few years. “Scout Nash and Tanner just missed on being seeded and are quite capable of staking their claims once the tournament gets underway.”

The 5A/4A/3A state tournaments will be held today and Saturday, at Holt Arena.