Timberlake, Post Falls, Lakeland nab titles

RATHDRUM — Timberlake reclaimed the 3A district title and Post Falls and Lakeland continued to reign supreme in their respective Region 1 classifications Saturday night at Lakeland High.

The Hawks picked up their 12th straight 4A Region 1 title by claiming 13 of the 15 individual titles. The Trojans continued their dominance over the 5A schools in North Idaho by securing their sixth consecutive district crown. The two time defending state champions earned eight individual titles.

Timberlake shook off last year’s runner-up finish to Bonners Ferry by edging out Kellogg 299-256 to take their second title in three years. The Tigers also took home six individual titles.

For the second straight year in 4A, the champions of each weight class at districts were the only ones to lock-up guaranteed state berths. This is the result of a state qualification process established last year that cut the 4A bids to state in half. This led to Lakeland having two of their wrestlers face off with each other in nine title matches with the winner earning a bid to state and the other unsure if they will receive an at-large bid.

The top three finishers in each weight class in 5A and 3A earn automatic bids to state.

Coaches from the 4A and 5A schools will head to Boise this morning to vouch for their wrestlers and find out who on their teams will receive at-large bids to state. That means a number of local athletes won’t know their fate until Sunday.

Regardless, the 3A, 4A and 5A schools will be well represented at the state championships this Friday and Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.

5A

It’s not hard to see why Post Falls is the reigning state champs. The Trojans depth is undeniable and the only thing potentially stopping them from a state three-peat is the at-large bids they may or may not receive.

Post Falls head coach Pete Reardon likes his teams’ chances of pulling it off with 14 wrestlers heading to state prior to at-large bids being announced.

“I think we have a good shot,” he said, “and I think there is a few teams that have a shot so that’s all you can hope for going into it.”

Roddy Romero (106), Braxton Mason (120), Lane Reardon (126), Isaac Jessen (132), A.J. Delarosa (145), Ethan Miller (152), Isaiah Laguna (195) and Tyler Cook (220) all grabbed titles for the Trojans to help them secure their sixth straight regional title.

“It’s just another milestone,” Reardon said about the streak. “I think it’s an indicator of the hard work that these guys have been putting in.”

Coeur d’Alene finished 68 points behind the Trojans to claim second.

Christian Paniagua (98), Drew Roberts (138), Gunner Giulio (160) and Jackson Kohal (285) notched titles for the Vikings.

Coeur d’Alene head coach Jeff Moffat said he expects his team to be in the hunt for a state trophy again after taking second last year.

Lake City took home third as a team at districts and had three wrestlers earn titles.

After just missing out on placing in the top three at state last year, Lake City head coach Corey Owen believes his team can this year.

“We had a good day today,” he said. “If the kids can wrestle like they did this weekend I think we can absolutely bring home a trophy and contend for a title.”

Coeur d’Alene will send 13 to state, Lake City will bring 11 and Lewiston will bring 7.

4A

At this point, the district trophy might as well be handed to Lakeland prior to the start of the season because the Hawks are showing no signs of slowing down their dominance over Moscow and Sandpoint.

Moscow only won two individual titles and Sandpoint came up empty-handed which means the Bulldogs will be sending no one to state as of right now.

The list of 13 automatic qualifiers for Lakeland is too long to list but it could’ve been even larger if they didn’t have to battle each other for state bids in a handful of first place matches on Saturday.

Lakeland head coach Rob Edelblute said the current qualification system is frustrating for him and the athletes.

“It’s pretty nerve-racking,” Edelblute said, “and we tell the kids one little slip up here and your season can be over so that’s the bad part of it. But we’re pretty happy.”

Keeping the district title streak alive is something the Hawks shoot for every season, but they aren’t satisfied with just earning a regional crown.

“It’s a pretty big accomplishment but we’re not finished yet,” Edelblute said. “It would be great for the kids to bring home a trophy.”

3A

After tasting defeat in last year’s regional championship, Timberlake was driven by revenge all season and they got it Saturday.

“That was on our wall,” Timberlake head coach Jason Jerome said. “One of our first goals is to win districts and then bring home something at state so the kids love it. This group of seniors that we have, that’s what they wanted.”

The Tigers, with 6 regional champs, will send 14 to state, Kellogg will take 13, Bonners Ferry will bring 12 and five from Priest River will go.