Presser claims title at Westburg tourney

SANDPOINT — Tyler Presser went undefeated to claim the 160 pound title, leading the Bulldogs to a 7th place finish out of 15 teams last weekend at the Westburg Tournament in Ellensburg, Wash.

“Mat experience is helping Tyler to channel a load of energy into a very productive attack,” said Bulldogs head coach Mike Randles. “He knocked off the No. 2 ranked Washington 2A wrestler to claim his title.”

Scout Nash (120), Mahonri Hunsaker (152), Casey Randles (170), Jake Williams (195) and Tyler Brown (220) each finished third for the Bulldogs, as nine of 11 wrestlers scored points. Ideally, Randles would prefer to travel to South Idaho to help with state seedings, but it’s cost prohibitive.

“We saw some salty competition that we haven’t previously faced and we competed in a new environment,” said Randles. “Overall the kids wrestled very well. We had a few hiccups but they were fewer and farther between than what they have been.”

Hunsaker finished with four consecutive wins, including a double-overtime win that helps build confidence down the stretch. Randles was dominating his only loss when he slipped to his back and got pinned against a top-ranked Washington opponent. Williams scored two takedowns in less than 15 seconds to push a match to overtime, where the fit Williams prevailed.

Preston Bunty (126) and Hyrum Hunsaker (138) each won a pair of matches, and Justin Hobson (285), Alex O’Shea (160) and Zach Alamillo also competed.

The Bulldogs are at Coeur d’Alene on Thursday.