4 Bulldogs place at North Idaho Rumble

COEUR d'ALENE — Sandpoint wrestling wrapped up competition at the North Idaho Rumble on Saturday and brought home some hardware despite being shorthanded.

Four Bulldogs placed at the tourney — Andrew Duke, Owen Wimmer, Emma Garman and Rylie Hancock.

Sandpoint finished 17th out of 18 teams. The Bulldogs didn't bring their whole varsity crew to the Rumble because about half of the team was sidelined due to sickness, according to head coach Jake Stark.

Stark said it was disappointing that the team wasn't at full strength and his number one goal this week is to get everyone back healthy.

"I thought the guys that we had kind of stepped it up," he said.

Eight Bulldogs wrestled Saturday and half of them secured top finishes.

Freshman Emma Garman grabbed second in the girls 113-pound bracket. She fell to Moscow's Skylar Zimmerman, who is 13-0 this season, in the first-place match.

Garman and Zimmerman could be duking it out for the regional title in the weight class in a few weeks.

"Emma came out and I told her that Moscow girl was tough and I don't think she was expecting that," Stark said. "She ran into a little bit of a wall, but she battled and she fought, and we're going to see her another time down in Moscow before we go to districts, so hopefully Emma can get a bead on her there."

Junior Owen Wimmer earned fifth at 170 pounds with a 4-2 record. He opened the day Saturday with a win by forfeit over teammate Calvin Hinds. He was pinned by Lakeland's Devon Suko in the consolation semis before bouncing back with an injury default victory in the fifth-place match.

"Owen is wrestling really great right now," Stark said. "This is probably the best year that he's had. He's on the up and up and I look for to him making some noise down south at state."

Sophomore Andrew Duke took fifth at 98 pounds with a 2-2 record. He pinned a pair of opponents from American Falls on Saturday. Stark said it was nice to see Duke dominate against wrestlers of a similar stature.

"Those kids, he's exactly the same size as them," he said, "so he can compete with those guys ... and run right through them, and that's awesome."

Rylie Hancock placed third in the girls 138-pound bracket. She was pinned in both her matches.

Sandpoint travels to Kellogg on Wednesday for a dual before facing Timberlake on Friday in Bonners Ferry.

TEAM SCORES — 1, Coeur d’Alene 274.5. 2, Post Falls 247.5. 3, Caldwell 190. 4, American Falls 171.5. 5, Buhl 132. 6, Lewiston 118.5. 7, Lakeland 115. 8, Bonners Ferry 96. 9, Lake City 93. 10, Priest River 91.5. 11, Kellogg 89. 12, Mountain Home 81. 13, Gooding 74. 14, Potlatch 68. 15, Timberlake 67. 16, St. Maries 56. 17, Sandpoint 43. 18, Moscow 38.

SANDPOINT RESULTS (Records at tourney only)

98 — 5, Andrew Duke 2-2. 113 — Kaiden Rose 0-2. 120 — Ashlei Hawkins 0-2. 126 — Forest Ambridge 2-2. 152 — Darrian Resso 0-2. 160 — Christian Troumbley-Karkoski 2-2; Jorden Tyler 1-2. 170 — 5, Owen Wimmer 4-2; Calvin Hinds 2-2. 285 — Bret McBrayer 0-2. Girls 113 — 2, Emma Garman 1-1. Girls 138 — 3, Rylie Hancock 0-2. Girls 145 — Aurla Palmer 0-2.