149-0 and counting: Idaho wrestler moving up the list of the state’s all-time greats

Post Falls’ Ridge Lovett won his 149th consecutive high school match and fourth straight Rollie Lane wrestling title Saturday with a first-round pin, putting him in rarefied air. But you’d never know it from the senior’s demeanor.

He calmly shook hands with his opponent and coaches, then retreated into a hall at Nampa’s Idaho Center to get a couple of cool-down laps in. It’s all part of Lovett’s philosophy to treat every match — from a national title to a midweek dual — the same.

The philosophy has paid dividends, as Lovett creates a space for himself among Idaho’s all-time great wrestlers. He’s just the third wrestler to win four titles at Rollie Lane, Idaho’s largest and most prestigious tournament. But Saturday’s win also keeps him on pace for a larger goal — an undefeated high school career.

Only three wrestlers from Idaho’s largest classification have ever finished their career without losing a single match. And they represent a who’s who of the state’s wrestling royalty.

Marsh Valley’s Monte Lish was the first, finishing 76-0 in 1967. Former Boise State coach and multiple NCAA All-American Chris Owens went 123-0 before graduating from Idaho Falls in 1988. And Sandpoint’s Jared Lawrence, a future NCAA champion and Olympic trial runner-up, finished 133-0, in 1998.

“It’s just awesome to be up there with those guys because they went on to do great things in college,” Lovett said. “To be there with them, it’s incredible.”

A son of a wrestling coach and former Lakeland state champ, Lovett has spent his entire life around the mat. He attended his father’s practices at 18 months old, grappling with a teddy bear to mimic the older boys.

Lovett broke through on the national stage in the fourth grade, winning a national triple crown by sweeping the freestyle, folkstyle and greco national championships. He entered his senior season with 11 national titles under his belt, a scholarship to wrestle at No. 11 Nebraska and an appearance with Team USA at the greco world championships in 2017 in Greece.

Post Falls coach Pete Reardon said Lovett inherited natural talent. But he’s taken that to the next level with his work ethic, dedicating nine to 10 months a year to his craft. Add in his innate sense for positioning, balance and in-match strategy, and he’s proved impossible to beat.

“That’s hard to teach,” Reardon said. “I didn’t teach him that. His club coaches didn’t teach him that stuff. We may have polished it a bit, but he has sort of that unique sense that a lot of kids don’t have.”

Lovett received his closest call at last year’s Rollie Lane, when he received a stalling call that forced overtime. He bounced back to earn a takedown in overtime and preserve his perfect record.

The near-defeat showed him how quickly the perfect record can disappear, creating pressure for the first time. But he said he soon put it out of his mind, deciding he doesn’t need to battle history and an opponent at the same time inside the ring.

Lovett faced no such challenges at Rollie Lane this year. He pinned five of the six opponents he faced, including Zachary Mauras of Oregon’s Crook County in 1 minute, 43 seconds in the championship match.

Mtn View girl makes history

Hailey Jo Ahsmuhs wasted no time to become the first Treasure Valley girl to win a Rollie Lane championship. The sophomore pinned all three opponents she faced in less than a minute to win the 170-pound bracket, including a 29-second pin in the title match.

Ahsmuhs moved to Idaho last summer from Tri-Cities, Washington, where girls wrestling is well established. This year marked the first time Rollie Lane has hosted separate girls-only weight classes. The significance of Saturday’s title was not lost on Ahsmuhs.

“These girls, they made it so we are the first girls who have won in Idaho,” Ahsmuhs said. “It’s just so exciting.”

Oregon’s Ontario won the girls team title with 97 points, 11 points ahead of Post Falls. Idaho Falls junior Brigid Shannon won the tournament’s outstanding female wrestler after winning the 132-pound bracket.

Post Falls’ reign ends

Oregon’s Crook County snapped Post Falls’ four-year streak as Rollie Lane champion by racking up 212 points. Host Columbia finished second with 196 points, Post Falls was third at 177.5 and Kuna fourth at 153.

Fruitland’s Fagen repeats

Fruitland senior Jonathon Fagen is bound for bigger and better things with his scholarship to wrestle at Cornell. But back-to-back titles at Rollie Lane will always remain a memory the three-time state champ cherishes.

“It means a lot, bringing that back to Fruitland,” Fagen said. “I was born and raised there, trained there. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a little tournament in Idaho. But it doesn’t make it feel any less awesome.”

Fagen beat Columbia’s Michael Cox 5-3 for the title. He’ll attempt to become the 26th Idaho wrestler to win four state titles in February.

Centennial’s Wilson is back

After winning a state title as a freshman, Ryan Wilson admits the early success went to his head. He figured four straight state titles was nearly automatic.

Instead, the senior hasn’t won a major tournament since then. But he reasserted himself as one the state’s top wrestlers with a 145-pound title Saturday.

“I really wanted to prove myself my senior year, that I’m kind of an underrated wrestler and that people should be watching out for me,” Wilson said.

Wilson rolled to his first Rollie Lane title with his closest match coming in the finals, an 11-3 win over Kai Ward of Nevada’s McQueen High.

Sacrifice pays off for Fouret

Columbia senior Kekana Fouret, a defensive captain for the Wildcats last season, gave up football this fall to focus on his wrestling career. The decision paid off Saturday as Fouret took home the 160-pound title, topping his previous best finish of fourth place last winter and winning the meet’s outstanding upperweight wrestler.

Fouret and Trevor Morrison of Colville, Washington, battled to a 2-2 tie after two periods. But Fouret scored a reverse and a near fall in the final period to emerge with a 7-3 decision.

But Fouret, a state champ as a sophomore, knows his work isn’t done.

“I’m just glad to see how far I’ve come from last year to this year,” Fouret said. “I just got to keep working because I know a lot of kids, they still chase and they still claw. I’ll wrestle like I took second.”

Rollie Lane Invitational results

Friday-Saturday

Ford Idaho Center, Nampa

GIRLS TEAM SCORES

1, Ontario 97. 2, Post Falls 86. 3, Walla Walla 78. 4, Kuna 41. 5, Homedale 40. 6, Idaho Falls 38. 7, Mtn View 35. 8, Central Valley 34. 9, Minico 31.5. t-10, Lakeland 26. t-10, Nampa 26. t-10, Rogers 26. t-10, Timberline 26.

t-14, Nyssa 24. t-14, Vale 24. 16, Rocky Mtn 23.5. t-17, Capital 20. t-17, Melba 20. t-19, Borah 18. t-19, Pocatello 18.

21, La Grande 16. t-22, Aberdeen 13. t-22, Timberlake 13. 24, Payette 11. 25, Caldwell 9. t-26, Baker 7. t-26, Clearwater Valley 7. 28, Blackfoot 6. t-29, Hillcrest 4. t-29, Thunder Ridge 4. 31, Centennial 3. t-32, Mtn Home 0. t-32, Ridgevue 0.

GIRLS INDIVIDUAL PLACERS

106 pounds: 1, Nayeli Flores-Roque, Walla Walla. 2, Riley Holland, Rogers. 3, Nicole Rue, Pocatello. 4, Bella Gulzow, La Grande. 5, Ashleigh Creeger, Central Valley. 6, Amber Allen, Homedale.

120: 1, Brelane Huber, Post Falls. 2, Lita Burgaracruz, Rocky Mtn. 3, Frankie Graham, Minico. 4, Nat Dalan, Walla Walla. 5, Savannah Kidwell, Lakeland. 6, Kawehi Beck, Aberdeen.

132: 1, Brigid Shannon, Idaho Falls. 2, Annelise Whitaker, Walla Walla. 3, Kaydince Turner, Homedale. 4, Bethany White, Melba. 5, Aliana Giddings, Kuna. 6, Kaci Bice, Borah.

145: 1, Jaselyn Jones, Post Falls. 2, Tyler Richardson, Vale. 3, Jen Adams, Capital. 4, Taylor Cook, Post Falls. 5, Mercedes Ellison, Timberline. 6, Brittney Benavidez, Grangeville.

170: 1, Hailey Jo Ahsumhs, Mtn View. 2, Noelle Acosta, Nyssa. 3, Shekinah Talamantez, Nampa. 4, Shelby Menga, Central Valley. 5, Anni Austin, Timberlake. 6, Jasmine Lopez, Ontario.

285: 1, Abby Osei, Ontario. 2, Aiyana Luna, Ontario. 3, Brianna Hettinga, Kuna. 4, Mary Galindo, Ontario. 5, Maya Luna, Ontario. 6, Maritza Gonzalez, Ontario.

BOYS TEAM SCORES

1, Crook County 212. 2, Columbia 196. 3, Post Falls 177.5. 4, Kuna 153. 5, Fruitland 135.5. 6, Pasco 132.5. t-7, Central Valley 116. t-7, Minico 116. 9, Lakeland 115.5. 10, Colville 114.

11, Pocatello 110. 12, Bonneville 107.5. 13, Coeur d’Alene 96.5. 14, Blackfoot 90. 15, La Grande 87. t-16, Emmett 86. t-16, Meridian 86. 18, Nampa 85. 19, Bishop Kelly 84. t-20, Centennial 83. t-20, Redmond 83.

22, Arvada West 77.5. 23, Rogers 76. t-24, Burns 75. t-24, Nyssa 75. t-24, Timberlake 75. 27, Eagle 67. 28, Homedale 65. 29, McQueen 64.5. 30, Thunder Ridge 62.5.

31, Borah 60.5. 32, Shelley 60. t-33, Capital 58.5. t-33, Skyview 58.5. 35, Lewiston 58. t-36, Baker/Powder Valley 57. t-36, Rigby 57. 38, McCall 53.5. t-39, Idaho Falls 52. t-39, Twin Falls 52.

41, Mtn Home 51.5. 42, Lowry 51. 43, Ridgevue 46.5. 44, Boise 43.5. 45, New Plymouth 42. t-46, American Falls 41. t-46, Caldwell 41. t-48, Madison 32. 48, Mtn View 32. 50, Gooding 30.

t-51, Moscow 29. t-51, Potlatch 29. t-51, Rocky Mtn 29. 54, Aberdeen 27.5. 55, Skyline 26.5. 56, Timberline 25. t-57, Burley 23. t-57, Walla Walla 23. 59, Post Falls B 22.5. 60, Middleton 19.5.

61, Orofino 19. 62, Grangeville 15. 63, Vale 14. 64, Vallivue 13. 65, Melba 10.5. t-66, Hillcrest 10. t-66, Payette 10. 68, Ontario 3.

BOYS INDIVIDUAL PLACERS

98 pounds: 1, Kaden Ramos, Thunder Ridge. 2, Christopher Martino, Bishop Kelly. 3, Roddy Romero, Post Falls. 4, Tristan Bremer, Lewiston. 5, Peyton Munson, Nampa. 6, Bennett Beard, Central Valley.

106: 1, Kolton Stacey, Shelley. 2, Mitchell Romero, Arvada West. 3, Isaiah Blanco, Lowry. 4, Kyle Rice, New Plymouth. 5, Jahaun Hicks, McQueen. 6, Landon Abercrombie, Blackfoot.

113: 1, Dylan Kruse, Arvada West. 2, Sebastian Peterson, Borah. 3, Kagen Lawrence, Redmond. 4, Michael Mitchell, Kuna. 5, Nathaniel Tovar, Pasco. 6, Steven Ware, Crook County.

120: 1, Kase Mauger, Twin Falls. 2, Sam Hyde, Emmett. 3, Zak Allred, Minico. 4, Kayson Kenney, Idaho Falls. 5, Derek Madden, Eagle. 6, Alex Edelblute, Lakeland.

126: 1, Hunter Mode, Crook County. 2, Sam Edelblute, Lakeland. 3, Isaiah Evans, Timberlake. 4, Justin Winn, Burns. 5, Isaac Jessen, Post Falls. 6, Esai Castaneda, Blackfoot.

132: 1, Ridge Lovett, Post Falls. 2, Zachary Mauras, Crook County. 3, Dante Roggio, Kuna. 4, Blake Beal, Skyview. 5, Dawson Osterhout, Minico. 6, Tommy Gallamore, Blackfoot.

138: 1, Isaiah Gonzalez, Pasco. 2, Angel Rios, Columbia. 3, A.J. Delarosa, Post Falls. 4, Preston Owens, Kuna. 5, Monte Zufelt, Emmett. 6, Braxton Sorenson, Bonneville.

145: 1, Ryan Wilson, Centennial. 2, Kai Ward, McQueen. 3, Jaegar Rose, Homedale. 4, Corey Eckhart, Fruitland. 5, Lorenzo Brower, Pocatello. 6, Cade Krishnek, Capital.

152: 1, Elijah Cleaver, Nyssa. 2, Gunner Giulio, Coeur d’Alene. 3, Kaleb Smith, Meridian. 4, Gavin Hazell, Mtn Home. 5, Cage Hendry, Lakeland. 6, Malakai Moyer, Kuna.

160: 1, Kekana Fouret, Columbia. 2, Trevor Morrison, Colville. 3, Grant Neukom, Meridian. 4, Tyler Morris, Post Falls. 5, Parker Robinson, La Grande. 6, Mitchell Moffat, Coeur d’Alene.

170: 1, Zack Stratton, Central Valley. 2, Grayson Livingston, La Grande. 3, Tazyn Twiss, Minico. 4, Tre Phillips, Rogers. 5, Dillon Kellar, Columbia. 6, Nick Chappell, Blackfoot.

182: 1, John Knight, Colville. 2, Kyle Knudtson, Crook County. 3, Allamar Alexander, Columbia. 4, Charley Hastriter, Capital. 5, Joey Follini, Timberlake. 6, Liam Shannon, Nampa.

195: 1, Jonathon Fagen, Fruitland. 2, Michael Cox, Columbia. 3, Kash Anderson, Bishop Kelly. 4, Jaxson Rhoden, Crook County. 5, Sione Halo, Pasco. 6, Christopher Woodworth, La Grande.

220: 1, Brian Jackson, Pocatello. 2, Jose Sanchez, Nyssa. 3, Alex Ojukwu, Boise. 4, Wyatt Kearn, American Falls. 5, Brisyn Cutburth, Fruitland. 6, Nico Rodriguez, Columbia.

285: 1, Jake McGinnis, Gooding. 2, Caleb Parrott, Crook County. 3, Braxton Mikesell, Central Valley. 4, Davion Pruitt, Pasco. 5, Skylar Hughes, Columbia. 6, Joshua Guzik, Rogers.

This story was originally published January 5, 2019 at 8:09 PM.