PREP WRESTLING: Five Bulldogs, two Spartans reach state semifinals

by MAX OSWALD
Sports Reporter | February 28, 2025 7:20 PM

BOYS

POCATELLO — Sandpoint High senior Jorden Tyler (190), junior Jackson Holman (215), freshman Ty Wood (98) and freshman Zak Wood (120) all wrestled their way to two championship round wins in order to clinch the semifinals of the 5A State Championship on Friday.

Tyler, who now has 149 career varsity wins, will look to book his trip to the state final for the second straight year after clinching a win by a 16-1 technical fall and another by a 9-0 decision. He's set to face Calvin Kimball of Vallivue, who he beat earlier this year at the North Idaho Rumble by a 21-5 technical fall.

Ty Wood won both of his bouts by pin and will look to take down Alex Vega of Minico, who he beat by a 12-2 major decision earlier this year at the Lakeland Duals.

Zak Wood also won both of his matches by pin and has set himself up for a rematch with Carson Leonard of Lakeland, who he fell to by a 15-0 technical fall in the 5A District 1-2 120-pound title match. On the season, he's 0-3 against Leonard, who won the 4A (now 5A) State Championship last year at 113 pounds.

Holman rounded out the day with two pins of his own. He'll dual Jason Vazquez-Islas of Jerome in the semis; the two have not previously met.

For Priest River, senior Colm McLaimtaig (144) reached the semifinals with a win by pin and a win by a 17-0 technical fall. He'll go head-to-head with Jerrett Brebner of St. Maries. McLaimtaig, looking for his second straight state title, defeated Brebner in the 3A District 1-2 144-pound title match and is 3-0 against him this year, winning all of those matches by pin.

Senior Caleb Grow (285) won by a first-round pin in his opener and then defeated Kyle Van Vleet of Kellogg by a 7-0 decision in the quarterfinals; Grow also defeated Van Vleet in the 3A District 1-2 285-pound title match by a 9-7 decision last weekend. He'll face off against Marcus Garcia of New Plymouth in the semis; the two have not previously met.

Sandpoint High junior Charlie Becker (175), junior Jeramiah Palmer (190) and senior Gavin Walters (285), who picked up a big upset win by a 3-2 decision in his opener, all remain alive for the Bulldogs after picking up multiple first day wins. The Bulldogs sit in eighth out of 25 teams with 61.5 points. Minico is in the lead with 122 points.

Priest River High junior Darien Ratzlaff (215) remains alive for the Spartans after a two-win day. The Spartans sit in 13th out of 42 teams with 34.5 points while Ririe leads the field with 101 points, just 1.5 points ahead of Malad.

Wrestling resumes at 7:30 a.m. (PST) Saturday at the ICCU Dome, formerly Holt Arena, in Pocatello.

SANDPOINT RESULTS

Ty Wood: 98 — Champ. Round 1: Ty Wood, Sandpoint, p. Brannick Reyes, Blackfoot, 1:06. Quarterfinal: Ty Wood, Sandpoint, p. Adrian Olivares, Mountain Home, 4:51.

Zak Wood: 120 — Champ. Round 1: Zak Wood, Sandpoint, p. Parker Fazio, Emmett, 3:55. Quarterfinal: Zak Wood, Sandpoint, p. Ryker Balmforth, Shelley, 4:53.

Jason Symons: 120 — Champ. Round 1: Gabe Pyne, Century, p. Jason Symons, Sandpoint, 0:37. Cons. Round 1: Toby Abbott, Middleton, p. Jason Symons, Sandpoint, 1:54.

Ashlei Hawkins: 132 — Champ. Round 1: Jase Hendren, Lewiston, d. Ashlei Hawkins, Sandpoint, 4-2. Cons. Round 1: Ashlei Hawkins, Sandpoint, d. Payton Coats, Burley, 7-2. Cons. Round 2: Hazen Thompson, Century, p. Ashlei Hawkins, Sandpoint, 2:27.

Daniel Holman: 165 — Champ. Round 1: Camron Pedigo, Mountain Home, p. Daniel Holman, Sandpoint, 2:51. Cons. Round 1: Daniel Holman, Sandpoint, p. Jaxton Scott, Century, 2:31. Cons. Round 2: Jace Allen, Idaho Falls, d. Daniel Holman, Sandpoint, 6-0.

Charlie Becker: 175 — Champ. Round 1: Charlie Becker, Sandpoint, p. Jakob Jenks, Idaho Falls, 1:44. Quarterfinal: Ryan Lewis, Middleton, p. Charlie Becker, Sandpoint, 3:19.Cons. Round 2 - Charlie Becker, Sandpoint, md. Eduardo Cruz, Wood River, 9-1.

Jorden Tyler: 190 — Champ. Round 1: Jorden Tyler, Sandpoint, tf. Talen Scovil, Mountain Home, 16-1. Quarterfinal: Jorden Tyler, Sandpoint, md. Russell Moulton, Middleton, 9-0.

Jeramiah Palmer: 190 — Champ. Round 1: Jeramiah Palmer, Sandpoint, p. Raul Leon, Bonneville, 1:15. Quarterfinal: Preston Sonner-Cranney, Minico, p. Jeramiah Palmer, Sandpoint, 0:58. Cons. Round 2: Jeramiah Palmer, Sandpoint, md. Erik Gulbrandsen, Moscow, 10-0.

Jackson Holman: Champ. Round 1: Jackson Holman, Sandpoint, p. Francisco Leon, Minico, 2:40. Quarterfinal: Jackson Holman, Sandpoint, p. Maxton Hudson, Twin Falls, 1:35.

Gavin Walters: 285 — Champ. Round 1: Gavin Walters, Sandpoint, d. Sam Atkin, Jerome, 3-2. Quarterfinal: Stewart Young, Bonneville, p. Gavin Walters, Sandpoint, 4:00. Cons. Round 2: Gavin Walters, Sandpoint, d. Jakeem Ashley, Blackfoot, 7-0.

PRIEST RIVER RESULTS

Levi Holbrook: 98 — Champ. Round 1: Taylor Izzard, Marsing, p. Levi Holbrook, Priest River, 2:57. Cons. Round 2: Richard Krohn, Parma, p. Levi Holbrook, Priest River, 2:49.

Jack Zalewski: 113 — Champ. Round 1: Ben Reinke, North Fremont, p. Jack Zalewski, Priest River, 1:36. Cons. Round 1: Jack Zalewski, Priest River, md. Brock McGreal, Potlatch, 11-3. Cons. Round 2: Ayden Potter, Malad, p. Jack Zalewski, Priest River, 0:28.

Liam Pettit: 120 — Champ. Round 1: Hector Silvas, Firth, p. Liam Pettit, Priest River, 0:52. Cons. Round 1: Liam Pettit, Priest River, md. Lowden White, Kellogg, 12-1.Cons. Round 2: Wade Clark, Malad, p. Liam Pettit, Priest River, 1:52.

Orion Grimes: 126 — Champ. Round 1: Gabe Muilenburg, Glenns Ferry, tf. Orion Grimes, Priest River, 18-0. Cons. Round 1: Kaden Nokes, Tri-Valley, d. Orion Grimes, Priest River, 8-5.

Bill Rapier: 132 — Champ. Round 1: Kelby Harvey, St. Maries, p. Bill Rapier, Priest River, 1:09. Cons. Round 1: Bill Rapier, Priest River, by forfeit. Cons. Round 2: Wyatt Storey, Kellogg, tf. Bill Rapier, Priest River, 15-0.

Colm McLaimtaig: 144 — Champ. Round 1: Colm McLaimtaig, Priest River, p. Payton Martindale, North Fremont, 2:52. Quarterfinal: Colm McLaimtaig, Priest River, tf. Ashtyn Crapo, Ririe, 17-0.

Gunnar Eversole: 190 — Champ. Round 1: Rydon Montgomery, Malad, p. Gunnar Eversole, Priest River, 3:18. Cons. Round 1: Gunnar Eversole, Priest River, p. Isaac Hall, West Jefferson, 2:59. Cons. Round 2: Razden Harris, Ririe, p. Gunnar Eversole, Priest River, 3:08.

Darien Ratzlaff: 215 — Champ. Round 1: Darien Ratzlaff, Priest River, p. Mishka Rapp, Tri-Valley, 5:28. Quarterfinal: Cole Garbett, Soda Springs, p. Darien Ratzlaff, Priest River, 1:16. Cons. Round 2: Darien Ratzlaff, Priest River, d. Rustle Brusseau, St. Maries, 7-2.

Caleb Grow: 285 — Champ. Round 1: Caleb Grow, Priest River, p. Samuel Carlson, Wendell, 1:10. Quarterfinal: Caleb Grow, Priest River, d. Kyle VanVleet, Kellogg, 7-0.

GIRLS

POCATELLO — Sandpoint High junior Lilli Marti (235) led all area wrestlers, winning both of her championship round matches by pin to reach the semifinals of the All-Class State Championship Friday.

Marti will face Amie Martin of Mountain Home, who won the heavyweight state title last year, for a chance to advance to the state title match. The two have met on two previous occasions dating back to 2023, with Hartman taking both matches by pin.

Senior Emma Garman (120), sophomore Izzy Stark (126), and junior Sylvia Becker (165) all remain alive after winning two consolation matches each. Garman won both of her backdraw matches by pin, Stark won one by decision and one by pin and Becker won one by major decision and one by pin.

Overall, the Lady Bulldogs sit in fifth place out of 74 schools with 31 points. Rocky Mountain is in the lead with 51 points.

Wrestling resumes at 7:30 a.m. (PST) Saturday at the ICCU Dome, formerly Holt Arena, in Pocatello.

SANDPOINT RESULTS

Mackenzee Donenfeld: 100 — Champ. Round 1: Brooke Hensley, Skyline, p. Mackenzee Donenfeld, Sandpoint, 3:54. Cons. Round 1: Marlie Skidmore, Owyhee, d. Mackenzee Donenfeld, Sandpoint, 9-2.

Hunter Edmondson: 120 — Champ. Round 1: Zuri Tavarez, South Fremont, tf. Hunter Edmondson, Sandpoint, 16-0. Cons. Round 1: Hunter Edmondson, Sandpoint, p. Abigail Hamblin, Jerome, 2:27. Cons. Round 2: Whitney Cawthra, Rocky Mountain, p. Hunter Edmondson, Sandpoint, 2:28.

Emma Garman: 120 — Champ. Round 1: Audry Winkles, Tri-Valley, d. Emma Garman, Sandpoint, 1-0. Cons. Round 1: Emma Garman, Sandpoint, p. Anna Niyongahire, Borah, 3:38. Cons. Round 2: Emma Garman, Sandpoint, p. Josie Reed, Challis, 4:07.

Izzy Stark: 126 — Champ. Round 1: Elyse Asaro, Rocky Mountain, p. Izzy Stark, Sandpoint, 5:10. Cons. Round 1: Izzy Stark, Sandpoint, d. Matti Bidiman, Homedale, 7-3. Cons. Round 2: Izzy Stark, Sandpoint, p. Olivia Gutierrez, Jerome, 1:16.

Teagan Newsom: 145 — Champ. Round 1: Gracin Dennis, Emmett, p. Teagan Newsom, Sandpoint, 1:44. Cons. Round 1: Julia Banks, Challis, p. Teagan Newsom, Sandpoint, 0:52.

Sylvia Becker: 165 — Champ. Round 1: Sylvia Becker, Sandpoint, p. Aubree Anderson, Vallivue, 3:14. Quarterfinal: Sarah Toribau, Oakley, md. Sylvia Becker, Sandpoint, 11-3. Cons. Round 2: Sylvia Becker, Sandpoint, p. Kayla Angulo, Burley, 2:32.

Lilli Marti: 235 — Champ. Round 1: Lilli Marti, Sandpoint, p. Saydie Lindsay, Bonneville, 0:56. Quarterfinal: Lilli Marti, Sandpoint, p. Ella Chandler, Fruitland, 2:25.

PRIEST RIVER RESULTS

Hailey Cook: 235 — Champ. Round 1: Ella Chandler, Fruitland, p. Hailey Cook, Priest River, 0:41. Cons. Round 1: Hailey Cook, Priest River, p. Saydie Lindsay, Bonneville, 0:30.Cons. Round 2: Bella Smith, Malad, p. Hailey Cook, Priest River, 1:12.