Sandpoint wrestling gains much needed experience at state

NAMPA — The Sandpoint wrestling team saw its season come to an end Friday at the 4A state championships in Nampa.

The 10 Bulldogs that made the eight-hour trip to the Ford Idaho Center were unable to place, but head coach Jake Stark said his young wrestlers gained valuable experience that will help them for years to come and in his book, that counts as a win.

"This is huge," he said about the trip to state. "They got their foot in the door now. They know what it's all about and they know what to expect, so when they come down here next year they won't get all caught up in the glitz and the glamour of state. It's time to come down here for business now."

After a strong showing at districts last week, Stark was hoping his team would be able to carry some momentum into the state tournament, but they just fell short.

"We fought," he said. "I got to give it to the state of Idaho, there's some really tough kids. We kind of got a little starstruck. I think we got down there and got a little too big and didn't wrestle to our potential."

Sophomore Forrest Ambridge (113), junior Blake Sherrill (182) and senior Trevan Adam (152) all went 1-2 at the tournament. Freshman Shane Sherrill (132), sophomores Owen Wimmer (182) and Carson Laybourne (285), and seniors Tanner Dickson (120), Sam Becker (160) and Matt Thurlow (220) all had 0-2 records.

The state tournament was condensed from two days to one due to COVID-19, and Stark said the limited breaks in-between matches certainly impacted his squad.

"The one-day tournament format is definitely very tough," he said. "I hope they go back to a two-day tournament next year because it's taken a toll on everybody. It's a lot of wrestling in one day."

Sophomore Darrian Resso was the only Sandpoint wrestler that won their opening match, and he was also the sole Bulldog to compete in more than three matches.

Resso pinned Jerome's Camren Firth in 1:45 in his opening match at 145 pounds, before falling to Lakeland's Riley Siegford in the quarterfinals. Siegford went on to win the state title at 145.

With his back against the wall, Resso pinned Moscow's Kyson Anderson in 2:05 to keep his hopes of placing at state alive.

But Lakeland's Colton Dow was able to edge out Resso 6-5 in the next bout to end his state run. Dow went on to place sixth. Resso took down Dow 5-2 in the third place match at districts.

"He wrestled like he's been wrestling all year," Stark said about Resso. "He came out there with some hard hands and good intensity and it paid off for him."

Stark said he will lean on Resso a lot next season.

"He's one of the guys that I'm going to look to next year as one of our leaders," he said. "He's got what it takes."

It was the end of the road for Sandpoint's four seniors that made it to state — Dickson, Adam, Becker and Thurlow. Stark said it wasn't the ending those guys were looking for, but the character they've built over the course of their high school careers will take them far in life.

"It was bittersweet," he said. "It sucks because they lost, but at the same time, they got to experience state. All-in-all I'm proud of the people they've become."

4A state championships

Sandpoint results

113 — Champ. Round 1: Tyson Tatum, Twin Falls, p. Forrest Ambridge, 2:00, Cons. Round 1: Forrest Ambridge, Sandpoint, d. Jason Swam, 7-0, Cons. Round 2: Ryan Nuno, Bonneville, p. Forrest Ambridge, 0:33. 120 — Champ. Round 1: Brody Ottley, Minico, tf. Tanner Dickson, 20-4, Cons. Round 1: Cooper Scarrow, Jerome, d. Tanner Dickson, 12-7. 132 — Champ. Round 1: James Burr, Minico, p. Shane Sherrill, 1:35, Cons. Round 1: Gracin Go, Caldwell, d. Shane Sherrill, 11-6. 145 — Champ. Round 1: Darrian Resso, Sandpoint, p. Camren Firth, 1:45, Quarterfinal: Riley Siegford, Lakeland, p. Darrian Resso, 5:59, Cons. Round 2: Darrian Resso, Sandpoint, p. Kyson Anderson, 2:05, Cons. Round 3: Colton Dow, Lakeland, d. Darrian Resso, 5-4. 152 — Champ. Round 1: Milton Hernandez, Minico, p. Trevan Adam, 3:00, Cons. Round 1: Trevan Adam, Sandpoint, d. Jimmie Johnson, Blackfoot, 4-1, Cons. Round 2: Jaden Perkins, Preston, d. Trevan Adam, 5-3. 160 — Champ. Round 1: Caleb Somers, Canyon Ridge, p. Sam Becker, 2:10, Cons. Round 1: John Reimers, Emmett, p. Sam Becker, 3:58. 182 — Champ. Round 1: Adrian Martinez, Columbia, p. Blake Sherrill, 2:56, Cons. Round 1: Blake Sherrill, Sandpoint, p. Orrin Hill, 0:26, Cons. Round 2: Marcus Robinson, Mountain Home, p. Blake Sherrill, 4:03, Champ. Round 1: Nathan Parsons, Jerome, p. Owen Wimmer, 0:32, Cons. Round 1: Zahne Ruiz, Twin Falls, p. Owen Wimmer, 3:22. 220 — Champ. Round 1: Demetri Smith, Mountain Home, p. Matt Thurlow, 0:52, Cons. Round 1: Tyler Barry, Emmett, p. Matt Thurlow, 0:36. 285 — Champ. Round 1: Baylee Carney, Twin Falls, p. Carson Laybourne, 1:17, Cons. Round 1: Martin Kronberg, Canyon Ridge, p. Carson Laybourne, 2:40.