Presser, Randles claim state titles for Bulldogs

SANDPOINT — Led by state championships from senior Tyler Presser (160) and junior Casey Randles (182), the Sandpoint wrestling team had its strongest showing in recent memory, grabbing a fifth-place finish among 20 teams and just missing a team trophy at the 4A state tournament last weekend at Holt Arena in Pocatello.

Randles capped an undefeated season by mowing his way through the bracket, claiming his second state title and cementing his status as one of the top prep wrestlers in the region. He pinned his Jerome opponent early in the second round in the title match, which was never much in doubt.

Presser’s final was much closer, winning a 4-3 final over Caldwell to finally claim a title he’s had his sights set on for years. Out of the 16 Sandpoint wrestlers, a whopping seven found their way onto the podium.

Senior Jake Williams (285) finished fourth, suffering a somewhat controversial call on a quick pin in a loss in the semis. Despite giving up more than 50 pounds to most opponents, Williams advanced in to the third place match, where he suffered a tough loss.

“He was handling his opponent from Mountain Home 5-1 when he got caught and rolled to his back,” described head coach Mike Randles.

Senior Mahonri Hunsaker (152) capped a solid high school career with a fifth place finish, winning his first two matches before being upended by the top seed from Kuna in the semis. He bounced back to notch a huge win over the No. 3 seed from Blackfoot in the fifth place match, grinding out a 6-5 win.

“His best performance of the season, maybe his career, came in the quarter finals when he unleashed a relentless attack against the No. 5 seed, racking up a 20-1 lead when he collected the pin,” described Randles. “All state in soccer and state medalist in wrestling is a great way to close out his high school athletics career.”

Another soccer/wrestler combo athlete is sophomore Tanner Kohal (145), who went 4-2 at state en route to a fifth place finish. Both of his losses came against the No. 2 seed from Caldwell, losing 10-6 the first time, then reeling off a few wins in consolation.

In the fifth place match, Kohal won 12-5 over Canyon Ridge.

Also finishing fifth was senior Elijah Guthrie (160), who was part of a tough bracket.

“Elijah brings a lot of quickness and aggression to the mat — sometimes too aggressive. He opened with a win before losing to a very salty opponent from Middleton,” said Randles. “His win over the No. 5 seed in the fifth place match was dominant, relying on speedy takedowns and a non-stop attack from the top.”

Rounding out the podium placers was junior Owen Stebbins (170), who found himself in arguably the deepest bracket of the tournament, with five returning state placers. Nonetheless, Stebbins did enough to find hard-earned spot on the podium.

“While Owen’s losses were heart breakers, he had nothing to be ashamed of. I don’t know that anyone pushed themselves as hard as he did during those two days,” praised Randles. “After not wrestling as a sophomore, he nearly took out the returning state runner up once he was able to square up with him a second time.”

Randles said the team was close to having another couple medalists in junior Zach Alamillo (220) and sophomore Hyrum Hunsaker. Each wrestled tough, but suffered last second errors that proved costly. Scout Nash (126) didn’t make weight, and was forced to forfeit.

“Overall the 15 kids actually entered wrestled very well as I believe 12 scored something, including Casey Oleson, Levi Guthrie and Cal Wilcox. Wilcox just missing out at 195 as a freshman is mind-blowing, especially in light of where he was a few months ago.”

All in all, the team wasn’t far from a trophy, and with a host of strong underclassmen returning next season, including injured sophomores Tucker Hall and Andrew Webster, and freshman Jacob Fleck, the future looks bright for the program. Both the Bulldogs and 4A North rival Hawks figure to be strong in the future, which can be both good and bad.

“With two of the top five teams in the state in the same district, we will benefit from the competition but will likely do some damage to each other as far as state qualifiers go,” admitted Randles.