PREP WRESTLING: Sandpoint's Tyler defeats three defending state champions in consecutive order to take home Rollie Lane gold

NAMPA — With 13 seconds left in the final period, Sandpoint High senior Jorden Tyler trailed 7-4 to 3-time defending state champion Easton Kemper of Burns, Ore.

As the clocked ticked down, Tyler spun into a 2-point reversal and eventually was granted a 4-point nearfall to take home a 10-7 win by decision. He became the first wrestler in Sandpoint High history to win their bracket at the renowned Rollie Lane Wrestling Invitational held at the Ford Idaho Center on Saturday.

After the win, Tyler did a little dance, shook hands with the opposing coaches, and then jumped right into the arms of Sandpoint High head coach Josh Ratigan, who's been a mentor of his since roughly the age of seven.

"Emotionally, watching the way he finished, do what he did, it's just unreal — it's hard to put into words, " Sandpoint High head coach Josh Ratigan said. "He just put it all together all at once... he had roughly 13 seconds and scored six points."

Earlier in the day, the 190-pounder knocked off two-time defending 4A state champion Preston Sonner-Cranney of Minico with a second round pin. Last year, Tyler lost to Sonner-Cranney by a 4-2 decision in the state championship match.

"That's more than big, beating someone you know you lost to before, knowing there should have been a better outcome (in the past). You have to make the outcome different this year... and Jorden did that," coach Ratigan said. 'We figured things would go our way, especially with the way Jorden has been wrestling. He's been top notch all year, clicking on all cylinders. Heck of a captain."

In the semifinals, Tyler took down 2A defending state champion Gabriel Cox of New Plymouth. It was the only other match Tyler didn't win by pin, defeating Cox by a 17-5 major decision after outscoring him 14-4 over the final two periods.

"That kid is a very slick, smooth wrestler," coach Ratigan said. "Hands down, on paper, he's ranked as one of the top kids in the state. He is no joke, and I thought Jorden wrestled him about the smartest I've seen."

Ratigan said he knew Tyler was destined to do great things from an early age.

"It comes down to hard work, and I can tell you right now, that kid is the epitome of hard work," coach Ratigan said. "On top of that, he's the most coachable kid I have ever met in my life. I have gotten really lucky with some of these kids I have got to coach."

In addition to Tyler's historic performance at the tournament, which Sandpoint was officially attending for the first time, Jackson Holman (215) picked up a consolation round win, William Bomba (285) two consolation round wins for the Bulldogs, which placed 13th out of 93 teams.

"I know we went to Red Havlerson when we were younger, but we've never been to Rollie as a team," coach Ratigan said. "Not a bad showing for never coming down here, both boys and girls."

On the girls side, it was an equally as impressive team effort. Leading the way on day two was senior Sylvia Becker, who finished fifth at 165 pounds after a 3-1 effort. She won by the way of two first round pins while climbing the consolation ladder and then won by pin again in the fifth-place match.

"Sylvia went against Brooklyn Anderson of Coeur d'Alene (in the quarterfinals), and it was the closest match she's ever had against her... only 1-0 in the third," coach Ratigan said. "She is getting better and better everyday. She is literally putting herself in the status of being one of the the best in the state at 165. Right now, with the way she's wrestling, she's top four, without a doubt."

Junior Lilli Marti, wrestling at 235 pounds, was sixth after a 2-2 effort, winning consolation matches by a 5-2 decision and by a second round pin.

"The 235-pound bracket had 27 girls for heavyweight, that is unheard of," coach Ratigan said. "I'm blown away, and there were a lot of seniors in that bracket that were tough. She held her own and wrestled hard."

Zxyloh Jonhson (152) notched two consolation wins on day two, Emma Garman (120) and Vanessa Hood (126) one each for the Lady Bulldogs, which proved their one of the best programs in the West with a sixth-place finish out of 81 teams.

"Our sophomore class really stepped up, but I'll say, there were so many girls that were winning matches," coach Ratigan said. "I think between girls and boys, this was probably the youngest class anyone would ever take to Rollie. Most people would look at me and tell me I'm crazy, but almost every one of our kids won a match. I don't think the competition gets harder than this... Rollie, and even Tri-State, are harder than state itself. That's saying something."

Sandpoint's girls will return to action on Jan. 10-11 at the Hellgate Tourney in Missoula. The boys will travel to Post Falls on those same dates for the River City Duals.

BOYS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Meridian 221.5. 2, Fruitland 178.5. 3, Wasatch 158.5. 4, American Falls 155.5. 5, Chiawana 129. 6, Coeur d'Alene 125. 7, Minico 115. 8, McQueen 114.5. 9, Burns 111.5. 10, Crook County 111. 11, Bishop Kelly 106.5. 12, Redmond 102.5. 13, Sandpoint 98. 14, Riverton 96. 15, Hermiston 95.5. t-16, La Pine, Lakeland 94. 18, South Fremont 88. 19, Madison 85. t-20, Buhl, Middleton 83. 22, Rocky Mountain 82.5. 23, Weiser 82. 24, LaGrande 80.5. 25, Eagle 78.5. 26, Post Falls 72.5. 27, Lowry 72. 28, Mountain View 71.5. 29, Nampa 67.5. 30, Blackfoot 67. 31, Idaho Falls 64.5. 32, Lewiston 62.5. 33, Homedale 61.5. t-34, Bend Senior, Forest Grove 60. 36, New Plymouth 59.5. 37, San Clemente 57. 38, Bonita Vista 55. 38, Churchill County 55. 40, Ridgevue 53.5. 41, Centennial 53. 42, Capistrano Valley 50.5. 43, Caldwell 50. 44, Emmett 48.5. 45, Mountain View (OR) 46.5. 46, Siuslaw 45.5. 47, Moscow 44.5. T-48, Hillcrest, Timberlake 43. 50, Timberline 42.5. 51, Caldera 39.5. t-52, Bonneville, Shelley 38.5. t-54, Mountain Home, Rigby 38. 56, Kuna 37. t-57, Newport, Tri-Valley 34.5. 59, Scappoose 34. 60, Skyline 33. 61, Highland 32.5. t-62, Hillsboro, Nampa Christian 32. 64, Canyon Ridge 31.5. 65, Filer 30.5. 66, Borah 30. t-67, Douglas, Gonzaga Prep, West Side 29.5. 70, Pocatello 27. 71, Grants Pass, Thunder Ridge 26. t-73, Owyhee, Vale 25.5. 75, Boise 25. 76, Glenns Ferry 22.5. 77, Columbia 22. 78, Burley 21.5. 79, Grangeville 21. 80, Potlatch 20. t-81, Payette, Soda Springs 15. 83, Capital 13.5. t-84, Priest River, West Jefferson 13. 86, Yerington 11.5. 87, Skyview 11. t-88, Grace, Orofino 6. t-90, East Valley, Melba 5. 92, Nyssa 4. 93, Four Rivers 0.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

98 — Jakobe Valle, Homedale, p. Zach Teal, Lakeland, 5:24. 106 — Cooper Sandoval, McQueen, p. Ryan Hirchert, Nampa, 0:00. 113 — Greysen Packer, South Fremont, d. Camden Kuntz, Mountain Home, 7-2. 120 — Abraham Coronado, McQueen, d. Jeremiah Gonzalez, Meridian, 4-1. 126 — Blake Nevils, Meridian, d. Draven Johns, Caldwell, 6-1. 132 — Aidan Larson, Hermiston, d. Benjamin Kohler, Wasatch, 6-3. 138 — Sean Hall, Canyon Ridge, d. Jake Mescher, Bishop Kelly, 7-0. 144 — Landyn Philpott, La Pine, p. Daeton Johnson, Chiawana, 4:45. 150 — Nathan Gugelman II, American Falls, d. Carlos Valdez, Bishop Kelly, 17-15. 157 — Kaden Mackenzie, Fruitland, d. Logan Shaver, Meridian, 4-0. 165 — Leif Larwin, Bend Senior, md. Brock Armstrong, Coeur d'Alene, 10-1. 175 — Jhett Harber, Lowry, tf. Camden Crespi, Meridian, 18-3. 190 — Jorden Tyler, Sandpoint, d. Easton Kemper, Burns, 10-7. 215 — Quinn Hood, Fruitland, d. Joe Weil, Burns, 11-10. 285 — Gabe Finley, Buhl, p. Anthony Toomey, Eagle, 1:52.

THIRD-PLACE MATCHES

98 — Burke Blue, Centennial, md. Cole Jensen, Rocky Mountain, 16-3. 106 — Easton Olson, Riverton, tf. Tobias Guillen, Meridian, 19-4. 113 — Tanner Brumble, Crook County, d. Ayden Tokita, Skyline, 5-0. 120 — Marcus Aleman, Fruitland, d. Sawyer Anderson, Highland, 5-3. 126 — Boden Banta, South Fremont, sv. Jeratt Robinson, Minico, 11-8. 132 — Raidyn Pugsley, Buhl, p. Koy Orr, Filer, 0:19. 138 — Daxton Bonner, Wasatch Utah, tf. Ty Adams, Blackfoot, 15-0. 144 — Wade Williams, American Falls, d. Mason Thynes, Redmond, 4-1. 150 — DJ Neider, Idaho Falls, utb. Coye Coffman, Fruitland, 4-3. 157 — Tommy Belding, La Grande, p. Cannon Kemper, Burns, 4:41. 165 — Owen Hull, Grants Pass, p. Eli Noah, Tri-Valley, 2:16. 175 — Ryan Lewis, Middleton, d. Wyatt Hanssen, Wasatch, 5-3. 190 — Blaise Turner, American Falls, md. Jean-luc Guerra, Mountain View, 12-4. 215 — Jacob Mann, Siuslaw, md. Jaydin Chacon, Minico, 13-0. 285 — Austin Reeves, Hillcrest, p. Rex Salas, Madison, 3:52.

GIRLS 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Wasatch 169. 2, Reed 168.5. 3, San Clemente 128.5. 4, Eagle 119.5. 5, Forest Grove 107.5. 6, Sandpoint 105. 7, Redmond 104. 8, Thunder Ridge 100.5. 9, Rocky Mountain 94.5. 10, Kuna 93. t-11, Juab, McQueen 92.5. 13, Post Falls 89.5. 14, LaGrande 85.5. 15, Crook County 81.5. 16, Idaho Falls 80. 17, Buhl 77. 18, Middleton 74.5. 19, Chiawana 73. t-20, Baker/Powder, Emmett, Grace, Siuslaw 72. 24, Mountain Home 71. 25, Jerome 66. 26, Potlach 63. t-27, Capistrano Valley, Vallivue 60. t-29, Scappoose, West Jefferson 59. 31, Lewiston 58.5. t-32, Caldwell, Meridian 57. 34, Rigby 56. t-35, American Falls, Douglas, Skyline 53. 38, Tri-Valley 51. 39, Blackfoot 50. 40, Caldera 46. 41, Coeur d'Alene 42. t-42, Bend Senior, Borah 41.5. 44, Burley 38. 45, Burns 37. 46, Timberlake 34.5. t-47, New Plymouth, Vale 34. t-49, Nyssa, South Fremont, Timberline 33. t-52, Centennial, Riverton 32. 54, Salmon 31. 55, Garden Valley 28. t-56, Columbia, Newport 27. 58, Fruitland 26. 59, Glenns Ferry 25.5. 60, Nampa 25. 61, La Pine 23. t-62, Boise, Hillcrest 22. 64, Ontario 21.5. 65, Bonneville 20. 66, Madison 19. t-67, Bishop Kelly, Homedale, Ridgevue 18. 70, Filer 15. 71, Pocatello 13. 72, Shelley 11. t-73, Four Rivers, Payette 8. t-75, Mountain View (OR), Yerington 7. 77, Moscow 6. 78, Priest River 4. 79, Owyhee 3. t-80, Capital, Skyview 0.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

100 — Alena Messerli, West Jefferson, d. Ava Bui, Centennial, 7-6. 107 — Bella Cornado, McQueen, p. Irini Poka, San Clemente, 4:39. 114 — Charlee Noah, Tri-Valley, d. Joely Slyter, Lewiston, 3-0. 120 — Maya Fiodorova, Reed, d. Macali Lade, Siuslaw, 6-0. 126 — Kasia Hanks, Burley, p. Kailea Takahashi, Forest Grove, 3:33. 132 — Keanna Conrad, Blackfoot, p. Olivia Bezdicek, Jerome, 4:21. 138 — Zoe Fries, Kuna, p. Kennedy Blanton, Forest Grove, 1:00. 145 — Elise Twait, Meridian, p. Mackenzie Shearon, Redmond, 1:57. 152 — Hayley McNeal, Potlach, d. Roxy Sheen, Buhl, 12-7. 165 — Brooklyn Anderson, Coeur d'Alene, d. Elianna Santos-Banks, Reed, 6-2. 185 — Shauna Anderson, Thunder Ridge, p. Megan Weil, Burns, 5:05. 235 — Amie Hartman, Mountain Home, p. Charley Timms, Reed, 1:43.

THIRD-PLACE MATCHES

100 — Malibu Boynton, Crook County, p. Ryleigh Slocum, Borah, 2:44. 107 — Raelynn O'Connor, Salmon, p. Taylor Drake, Kuna, 2:00. 114 — Talea Nichols, Rocky Mountain, sv. Ali Svancara, Buhl, 6-3. 120 — Mia Pedersen, Redmond, p. Bella Eddins, Grace, 3:23. 126 — Makenzi Mccoy, Wasatch, p. Caddy Tverdy, Garden Valley, 4:59. 132 — Shelby Garten, Timberlake, tf. Renae Cook, Forest Grove, 15-0. 138 — Kahli Brown, Post Falls, d. Danin Lacouture, Siuslaw, 11-8. 145 — Gracin Dennis, Emmett, p. Josie Newby, Grace, 4:02. 152 — Marli Lind, Baker/Powder, tf. Dakota Frogge, Wasatch, 17-0. 165 — Jasmine Morales, McQueen, p. Ella Elordi, Eagle, 2:43. 185 — Ellie Smith, Reed, p. Maddie Armstrong, LaGrande, 4:36. 235 — Adyson Knight, Wasatch, p. Macee Ercanbrack, Juab, 0:55.

    Sandpoint's Sylvia Becker, second from left, is all smiles after placing fifth in the girls 165-pound bracket.
  

    Sandpoint's Lilli Marti, second from right, is all smiles after placing sixth in the girls 235-pound bracket on Saturday.