SMS girls wrestling take first at state
Sandpoint Middle School girls' wrestling team recently took first at the 2022 Idaho Middle School Girls State Championships.
(Photo courtesy VALERIE JOHANSEN)
It was a great year for Sandpoint Middle School's girls wrestling team.
Because there are no large female-only teams in the area, the girls wrestled boys for the majority of the season, head coach Valerie Johansen said.
“It was important to us as coaches to give these girls, who worked hard all season, the opportunity to compete against girls,” Johansen said. “It gave them an opportunity of equal competition which they do not experience during the season.”
Win or lose, every time the team traveled to an opponent's gyms, Johansen said the team picked up 500 pieces of trash to demonstrate community service.
Because the event was held after the official middle school season ended, Johansen said that meant that a recent tournament wasn’t a school-sanctioned event. The team worked hard to fundraise and raised enough money within a couple of weeks so that they could attend the event.
Out of the 15 girls who competed at the meet for Sandpoint, seven of them placed.
Bayah Ratigan, 132 weight class, Isabella Stark, 124, and Kaysha Kimura, heavyweight, all took third place in their respective weight classes. Breanna Crum, 124, Zxyloh Johnson, 145, and Maci Rosholt, heavyweight, all took fourth and Teagan Newsom, 132, brought home sixth.
“Our girls dug deep,” Johansen said. “They fought hard for every point and proved what can be accomplished when we dare greatly.”
The girls championship team included Ratigan, Stark, Kimuram, Crum, Johnson, Rosholt, Newson, Honesty Christofferson, Mackenzie Donenfeld, Miriam Hammond, Avery Inge, Leah Kerfoot, Sawyer Lee, Jayah Rosenau and Jordyn Tomco.
“This season has been nothing short of extraordinary,” Johansen said. “These girls met every challenge.”
Johansen went on to say that the girls lived and breathed the slogan, “It is not the critic who counts, but the (wo)man in the arena.”
What’s even more impressive is that the girls team placed 10th overall out of the 140 teams in the tournament, including the boys teams.
The Idaho middle school championship event has grown tremendously the past few years along with the sport of women's wrestling in the greater Idaho area.
“I am thankful I’m now in a position to make sure the girls of today get an opportunity and to have a positive experience,” Johansen said.