Top wrestlers, weights and storylines to watch at the state wrestling tournaments
Months of work in sweltering and dark wrestling rooms pays off this weekend with the Idaho state wrestling championships.
Nearly 1,000 of the state’s top wrestlers will battle in the two-day event at Pocatello’s Holt Arena. Wrestling starts at 9:30 a.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. Saturday, with the finals following at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Here are a few of the top wrestlers and storylines to keep an eye out for this weekend.
[Related: Full state tournament brackets, live results]
UNDEFEATED LOVETT AIMS FOR HISTORY
Only three wrestlers in Idaho history have finished their careers undefeated in the state’s largest classification. Post Falls senior Ridge Lovett will try to join that exclusive club this weekend.
The Nebraska signee and the top seed in 5A’s 145-pound bracket enters the weekend 36-0 for the year and 165-0 for his career, well ahead of his predecessors as the high school season has expanded.
Marsh Valley’s Monte Lish went 76-0 from 1964 to 1967, Idaho Falls’ Chris Owens went 123-0 from 1985 to 1988 and Sandpoint’s Jared Lawrence finished 133-0 from 1995 to 1998. That trio represents a who’s who of Idaho wrestling. Owens coached at Boise State and was a multiple-time NCAA All-American at Oklahoma State. Lawrence won an NCAA title at Minnesota before finishing as an Olympic trial runner-up in 2004.
“It’s just awesome to be up there with those guys because they went on to do great things in college,” Lovett told the Idaho Statesman after winning the 132-pound title at the Rollie Lane Invitational in January. “To be there with them, it’s incredible.”
Lovett has jumped weight classes all season, starting at 145 before dropping two divisions to 132 for Rollie Lane and Tri-State. He since has moved back up to 145, setting up a potential battle with Centennial senior Ryan Wilson in the finals.
Wilson won the 145-pound title at Rollie Lane in January and a state championship as a freshman.
“This has the potential to be the match of the decade,” Borah coach Justin Gardner said in an email.
Lovett is the only undefeated wrestler in 5A or 4A this season.
FAGEN GOES FOR FOURTH TITLE
Fruitland senior Jonathon Fagen has made a name for himself nationwide, winning a Greco-Roman national title in 2017 and representing the U.S. at the Cadet Greco-Roman World Championships last summer.
But he has one final goal to check off his list in Idaho with a fourth straight state title. He enters the 3A 195-pound bracket as the top seed at 43-1. Only 25 wrestlers in state history have won four individual titles, including former teammate Sammy Eckart, who wrapped up a four-peat two years ago.
Fagen has signed a letter of intent to wrestle for Cornell in the Ivy League. But he’s also excelled on the football field, winning two state titles and making the 3A All-Idaho first team each of the past three years as either a linebacker or an offensive lineman.
CAN OJUKWU BREAK THROUGH?
Boise senior Alex Ojukwu, the program’s all-time leader in wins at 184-25, has reached the state semifinals each of the past three years. But he’s fallen one round short of the finals each time, finishing fourth (195), third (182) and fourth (170) the past three years.
This could finally be his year as he enters 5A’s 220-pound division as its top-seeded wrestler. Ojukwu (41-2) hasn’t lost to an Idaho wrestler all season. He’s dominated his in-state opponents, winning all but five matches via a pin. That includes a pin over the bracket’s No. 2 seed, Highland sophomore Logan George, three weeks ago.
Ojukwu’s only two losses this season came to Jose Sanchez of Nyssa, Oregon, a two-time state champ and the top seed in his state tournament this weekend.
Like his older brother, Ojukwu’s future lies on the football field, where he’s signed as a defensive lineman with the College of Idaho. John Ojukwu started the final seven games last fall on Boise State’s offensive line as a redshirt freshman.
But a state championship would give Alex Ojukwu family bragging rights. John Ojukwu’s best finish came as a state runner-up as a junior in 2016. He graduated early in 2017 and didn’t compete at state.
BRACKET OF CHAMPIONS
You know a bracket is loaded when the state’s defending champ at that weight class can only earn the third seed. Welcome to 4A’s 138-pound division, where three previous state champions are crammed into one bracket, including one who isn’t even seeded.
Columbia junior Angel Rios (43-10) holds the top seed after winning state as a freshman at 120, then finishing second last year at 132. Sandpoint senior Mason Bageman (22-14) took the second seed as new seeding criteria heavily weights district champs.
Meanwhile, Emmett senior Monte Zufelt (51-3), a state champ at 138 and 132 the past two years, is the third seed after finishing third at district. And Kuna junior John Kallmeyer (11-5), a 98-pound champ two years ago, lurks in the unseeded ranks thanks to his seventh-place finish at district.
SIX GIRLS MAKE IT TO STATE
Six females will battle amongst the boys at the state tournament, down from a record seven each of the past two years.
Each will try to become the third girl to place at Idaho’s state wrestling tournament, joining Mountain Home’s Aerial Groene (fourth at 4A 106 in 2012) and Post Falls’ Cierra Foster (third at 5A 106 in 2014).
Post Falls junior Brelane Huber (5A, 113) remains the best shot to end up on the podium. She pinned her way to the 5A state semifinals as a 98-pound freshman two years ago before getting disqualified after missing weight.
Other girls battling for a spot in history include Post Falls sophomore Raji Singh (5A, 98), Lakeland sophomore Savannah Kidwell (4A, 113), Homedale senior Amber Allen (3A, 98), Snake River freshman Hali Statham (3A, 98) and Clearwater Valley junior Fallon Wilkins (2A, 106).
Idaho does not have a separate girls wrestling state tournament, an event coaches have pushed for the past two years as more states add it and the sport grows in Idaho. Pocatello High hosted an unofficial state tournament two weeks ago trying to prove the sport’s viability.
CAN ANYONE STOP POST FALLS?
Post Falls cruised to last season’s 5A team title, setting an all-classification scoring record with 338.5 points. With last year’s second- (Bonneville), third- (Kuna) and fourth-place (Columbia) finishers all dropping to 4A, the Trojans enter as the heavy favorites for their fourth championship in five years.
Post Falls brings back five of its seven individual state champs from a year ago, including Roddy Romero (98 pounds), Isaac Jessen (126), A.J. de la Rosa (138), Lovett (145) and Tyler Morris (160). Everyone but Morris enters as the top seed in their bracket. And defending runner-up Wyatt Shelly is the No. 1 seed at 170 pounds.
Centennial, Meridian and Highland pose the top threats to Post Falls’ dynasty. Meridian qualified 22 wrestlers for state compared to Post Falls’ 21. Highland will send 20, and Centennial brings 19 after going from eighth at district last year to a team title last week.
Meridian has two No. 1 seeds in Cade Hernandez (120) and Grant Neukom (160), while Centennial (Elijah Fisher, 182) and Highland (Kael Anderson, 152) sport one each. So all three will need to pull major upsets or rely on their depth in the consolation brackets to bring home a state title.
4A RACE LOADED WITH POWERS
Two-time defending state champ Minico appears to have taken a step backward, finishing third in its own district tournament. That opens the door for a new slate of contenders as former 5A powers Columbia, Kuna and Bonneville join 4A threats Jerome and Lakeland.
Columbia, Kuna and Jerome enter the tournament with three No. 1 seeds. Columbia also has three wrestlers seeded second, making it a nominal favorite. But who’s standing on top of the podium Saturday remains anyone’s guess.
TREASURE VALLEY NO. 1 SEEDS
Class 5A
- 106: Edward Soto, Skyview, 37-10
- 113: Sebastian Peterson, Borah, 36-2
- 120: Cade Hernandez, Meridian, 20-2
- 160: Grant Neukom, Meridian, 33-4
- 182: Elijah Fisher, Centennial, 18-4
- 220: Alex Ojukwu, Boise, 41-2
Class 4A
- 98: Christopher Martino, Bishop Kelly, 34-1
- 113: Michael Mitchell, Kuna, 42-6
- 132: Dante Roggio, Kuna, 45-2
- 138: Angel Rios, Columbia, 43-10
- 160: Kekana Fouret, Columbia, 43-2
- 170: Cedar Miller, Kuna, 40-5
- 285: Skylar Hughes, Columbia, 34-10
Class 3A
- 120: Joseph Egusquiza, Homedale, 27-10
- 145: Corey Eckhart, Fruitland, 47-8
- 160: Dre Salinas, Parma, 34-7
- 195: Jonathon Fagen, Fruitland, 43-1
Class 2A
- 106: Kyle Rice, New Plymouth, 33-2
- 126: Trent Myers, New Plymouth, 27-1
This story was originally published February 20, 2019 at 7:47 PM.
