4 Spartan wrestlers headed to state

BONNERS FERRY — Four Priest River wrestlers are state bound.

Hayden Sorbel, Keith Poirier, Aidan Troumbley and Bradley Bennett claimed their spots in the state tournament this weekend with stellar performances last Thursday at the 3A District 1 championships at Bonners Ferry High.

Sorbel (106), Poirier (120) and Troumbley (126) each claimed district titles to punch their tickets to state while Bradley Bennett (160) placed second to lock in his spot. Those four also made it to state last year.

The top three finishers in each weight class at districts were guaranteed spots at state. Caedon McLaimtaig (120), Dylan Lord (126), Charles Bennett (160) and Matyus McLain all made it to third-place matches in their weight class, but fell just short.

Despite losing, those four still had a chance to earn wild card berths to state this past weekend, but unfortunately none of them did.

"There was a couple guys I was hoping to squeeze down there," head coach Quinton Holbrook said.

As a team, Priest River finished fourth at districts.

Sorbel won a district title for the second straight year. Last year as a freshman, Sorbel grabbed the 98-pound district title.

To claim his championship medal at 106 this year, Sorbel pinned Timberlake's Ayden Meehan with just 12 seconds left in their semifinal bout and defeated Kellogg's Kolter Wood 7-4 in the first place match.

Poirier pinned Stryker Huston from Timberlake in 4:48 in the semis and edged out Kellogg's Wyatt Hei 6-5 to earn his district crown at 120.

"We had [Poirier and Sorbel] that were No. 2 seeds that knocked out No. 1 seeds in the finals, so that was nice," Holbrook said after districts. "It came down to the wire on both of them."

Troumbley did what he's done all season — he dominated. Troumbley earned a pin in 33 seconds in the quarterfinals, another one in 31 seconds in the semis and he capped the tournament by pinning Kellogg's Raymond Heely in the 126-pound championship match.

Troumbley has a 29-3 record this season and will certainly be in contention for a state title on Saturday. He enters the state tournament as the No. 3 seed in his weight class and will begin his title pursuit against Braxton Brown (11-22) from Buhl.

McLaimtaig, Lord, McLain and Charles Bennett each placed fourth. Shayd Wong-Yuen went 1-2 at districts and Egil Williams was pinned in both his matches.

Sorbel, Poirier, Troumbley and Bradley Bennett will head to Nampa to compete in the 3A state championships starting at 8 a.m. PST Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center.

Sorbel (24-10), the No. 16 seed, will face No. 1 Grayson Williams (43-6) from American Falls in his opening match at state, while Poirier (26-9), a five seed, will take on Kolby Rau (13-24) from Fruitland, a No. 12 seed.

No. 10 Bradley Bennett (15-15) opens against No. 7 Davis Rudkin (12-8) from Parma.

This week during practice, Holbrook said he will focus on conditioning with his four state wrestlers.

"I'm going to drive them into the mat and run them," he said. "I got to get those guys to where they can last that third period for sure. They're doing it right now, but I want to get them to where they're pushing the other guy in the third period."

Priest River results

3A District 1 championships

106 — Quarterfinal: Hayden Sorbel, PR, received a bye, Semifinal: Hayden Sorbel, PR, p. Ayden Meehan, 5:48. First Place Match - Hayden Sorbel, PR, d. Kolter Wood, 7-4. 120 — Quarterfinal: Keith Poirier, PR, received a bye, Semifinal: Keith Poirier, PR, p. Stryker Huston, 4:48, First Place Match: Keith Poirier, PR, d. Wyatt Hei, 6-5, Quarterfinal: Caedon McLaimtaig, PR, p. Taylor Stovern, 4:00, Semifinal: Wyatt Hei, K, p. Caedon McLaimtaig, 0:57, Cons. Semi: Caedon McLaimtaig, PR, 7-7 received a bye, Third Place Match: Stryker Huston, TL, p. Caedon McLaimtaig, 1:38. 126 — Quarterfinal: Jaeger Hall, K, d. Dylan Lord, 4-0, Cons. Round 1: Dylan Lord, PR, received a bye, Cons. Semi: Dylan Lord, PR, p. Dillon McLeish, 4:09, Third Place Match: Jaeger Hall, K, d. Dylan Lord, 9-5, Quarterfinal: Aidan Troumbley, PR, p. Isaiah Winkler, 0:33, Semifinal: Aidan Troumbley, PR, p. Dillon McLeish, 0:31, First Place Match: Aidan Troumbley, PR, p. Raymond Heely, 2:57. 132 — Quarterfinal: Jake Summerfield, BF, p. Egil Williams, 0:36, Cons. Round 1: Jacob Howell, TL, p. Egil Williams, 4:17, Quarterfinal: Carter Stepro, K, p. Shayd Wong-Yuen, 3:12, Cons. Round 1: Shayd Wong-Yuen, PR, p. Emma Howard, 1:00, Cons. Semi: Jayce Garcia, K, p. Shayd Wong-Yuen, 3:44. 160 — Quarterfinal: Charles Bennett, PR, p. Miles Handlin, 2:29., Semifinal: Kyle Smith, BF, p. Charles Bennett, 0:30, Cons. Semi: Charles Bennett, PR, p. Nicholas Somers, 0:30), Third Place Match: Evan Howell, TL, p. Charles Bennett, 1:32, Quarterfinal: Bradley Bennett, PR, received a bye, Semifinal: Bradley Bennett, PR, p. Evan Howell, 0:31, First Place Match: Kyle Smith, BF, p. Bradley Bennett, 2:31. 182 — Quarterfinal: Matyus McLain, PR, received a bye, Semifinal: Ryder Paslay, T, d. Matyus McLain, 10-5, Cons. Semi: Matyus McLain, PR, received a bye, Third Place Match: Blaine Goodner, K, p. Matyus McLain, 1:07.