‘I’m not going down without a fight.’ Meridian senior captures Rollie Lane title on one leg
One title eluded Meridian senior Cade White his entire career. So he wasn’t about to let his last chance slip away Saturday — even if he had to do it on one leg.
The Oregon State signee fought through a scary-looking ankle injury, turning what looked like a forfeit into a come-from-behind, 6-5 victory for the 160-pound title at the Rollie Lane Invitational at the Ford Idaho Center to help the Warriors capture the team trophy too.
“It’s just knowing that I’m not only trying to win a title for myself, but I’m here for my team as well,” White said, his ankle heavily wrapped in ice after the match. “I’m not going down without a fight.”
Noah Holman of Washington’s Gonzaga Prep lifted White off the mat 12 seconds into the second right and drove him to the ground. White’s ankle folded underneath him, leaving him writhing on the mat as gasps spread through the crowd.
No matter, said White (20-5). He just had to figure out how to push off his knee instead of his right foot.
White rebounded from an early hole to earn a 4-4 draw, then let Holman (13-4) up in the third round, putting himself back in a deficit. But the hobbled Warrior continued to get under Holman’s skin, drawing a stalling call to even the match before sending Holman off the mat in a wild scramble with 17 seconds left.
A flustered Holman barked at the official, drawing an unsportsmanlike penalty that awarded White a point and, eventually, the 160-pound title.
“After he got hit for the stalling call when I shot him one more time, he wasn’t very happy,” White said. “I just had to keep myself together and realize it’s just 15 more seconds and I can win this.”
Meridian coach Brad Muri admitted White’s injury scared him as he lay on the mat reaching for his ankle. But once he got up back on his feet, he knew not to count out White.
“I told him, ‘Hey, let’s get up and see if you can put weight on it because we’ve run out of injury time,’” Meridian coach Brad Muri said. “And he’s like, ‘I’m wrestling. It doesn’t matter.’
“He’s tough.”
MERIDIAN BOYS CROWNED AGAIN
White was one of three Warriors to climb to the top of the podium at Idaho’s largest and most prestigious meet, leading Meridian to its second team title in the past three years.
Junior Jason Mara (25-4) won the 145-pound title for his second straight Rollie Lane title with a 3-1 decision. And senior Isaiah Twait (20-3) captured his first Rollie Lane championship at 182 pounds, pinning Shane Haepner of McQueen, Nevada, in 1:07 in the finals.
The three champions, combined with five more placers, earned Meridian 247.5 points — 18 ahead of Post Falls in second place and 63.5 ahead of Minico in third.
“It’s a pretty prestigious tournament with a lot of really tough teams and tough competition,” Muri said. “We’re excited for the kids. This is something they wanted to do.”
EAGLE GIRLS BACK ON TOP
The Mustangs rode their depth to capture the Rollie Lane girls team title for the second time in three years despite not crowning a single individual champion.
Jordynn LeBeau (165), Reece Woods (185) and Olivia Woods (235) each reached the finals before finishing second. Holland Wieber (fourth, 126) and Tommy Stone (fifth, 100) also placed, allowing Eagle to rack up 153 points — 47.5 points ahead of second-place Columbia.
“For me, I’m happy with the team’s performance,” Eagle coach Mike Stone said. “But I know it’s not what the girls wanted. So we’ll just go back to practice and start getting better.”
The reigning state champs have continued to dominate this season, winning every event they’ve entered this year except the Reno Tournament of Champions. But Stone pointed out Rollie Lane featured larger brackets this year than Reno.
Rollie Lane was the first Idaho tournament to add a separate division for girls. It has grown each year, drawing a record 366 girls from 66 schools this weekend, up from 227 girls from 53 schools a year ago.
The tournament also set an overall record with 1,182 wrestlers.
FOUR-TIME CHAMP
Coeur d’Alene senior Alyssa Randles etched her name in the record books Saturday, pinning her way to the girls’ 126-pound finals and then scoring a 16-1 tech fall to become the first female four-time champion in Rollie Lane history.
Ranked No. 6 nationally by USA Wrestling, Randles joins a short list of four-time champions. Post Falls’ Ridge Lovett (2016-19), Kuna’s Michael Cook (2011-14) and Lewiston’s Casey George (2008-11) are the only other four-time champs in the Rollie Lane Invite’s 23-year history, tournament director Todd Cady said.
Saturday marked the fifth year Idaho’s largest tournament hosted a separate girls division.
12 LOCAL CHAMPS
In addition to Meridian’s three champions, nine more Treasure Valley wrestlers captured titles Saturday at the Idaho Center.
Boys:
Matthew Martino, Bishop Kelly (120): The sophomore (22-3) pulled away in the third round for his second straight Rollie Lane title with a 5-2 victory over American Falls’ Kolter Burton (19-1), another defending Rollie Lane champ, in one of the most anticipated matchups of the day.
Tyler Feeley, Payette (132): The junior (14-1) mounted an underdog run as the No. 4 seed for his biggest tournament title yet, scoring a pin in 3:21 in the finals.
Hunter Bidelman, Caldwell (138): The senior (21-0) kept his perfect record intact for his second Rollie Lane title in the most dramatic match of the day. He scored a last-second escape to force overtime, then added a takedown 19 seconds into sudden-death overtime.
Jadon Skellenger, Bishop Kelly (152): The decorated club wrestler continues to make the most of his first high school season, scoring an 8-5 decision in the finals to stretch the junior’s record to 24-0.
Aden Attao, Borah (285): The senior (14-0) and reigning national triple crown winner won his first Rollie Lane tournament with a 6-1 decision over Mountain View’s Shilo Jones in the finals.
Girls:
Dahlia Yerby, Emmett (107): The sophomore (15-2) pinned her way to the finals before scoring a 10-6 decision over Hillcrest’s Taylor Call.
Clare Waite, Boise (138): The junior (14-2) won her second straight tournament title, spoiling the perfect record of Meridian’s Elise Twait (15-1) with a 3-2 decision.
Hallie Campbell, Columbia (152): The senior (15-3) took down top-seeded Ellah Olson of Carson, Nevada, with a 4-2 victory in sudden-death overtime.
Kyra Richards, Columbia (165): The junior (13-5) recovered from a last-second reversal that forced sudden death to score an 8-5, overtime victory over Eagle’s Jordynn LeBeau (12-2).
Rollie Lane Invite
At Ford Idaho Center, Nampa
Friday-Saturday
BOYS TEAM SCORES
1, Meridian 247.5. 2, Post Falls 229.5. 3, Minico 184. 4, Wasatch (UT) 152. 5, Bishop Kelly 149.5. 6, Mtn View (OR) 142.5. 7, American Falls 141. 8, Syracuse (UT) 133. 9, Caldwell 130. 10, Nampa 111.5.
11, Hermiston (OR) 103.5. 12, Eagle 102. 13, Highland 101. 14, Mountain View 95. 15, Sunnyside (WA) 93. 16, Burns (OR) 88.5. 17, Middleton 85. 18, Bonneville 84.5. 19, Blackfoot 82.5. 20, Crook County (OR) 82. 20, La Pine (OR) 82.
22, Fruitland 81.5. 23, Silverton (OR) 79. 24, Redmond (OR) 76.5. 25, McQueen (CV) 73.5. 26, Central Valley (WA) 71.5. 27, Thunder Ridge 68. 28, Kuna 67. 29, Borah 63.5. 30, New Plymouth 61.5.
31, Forest Grove (OR) 61. 31, Mountain Home 61. 33, Shelley 58.5. 34, Boise 58. 35, Lakeland 56.5. 36, Madison 55.5. 37, Columbia 51. 37, Coeur d’Alene 51. 39, Gooding 49. 40, Payette 48.
41, Ridgevue 46. 42, Emmett 44. 42, Hillsboro (OR) 44. 44, Skyline 43. 45, Capital 42. 46, Melba 39. 46, Timberlake 39. 46, Walla Walla (WA) 39. 49, Bend (OR) 38. 50, Rocky Mountain 36.
51, Gonzaga Prep (WA) 34.5. 52, Owyhee 34. 53, Priest River 33. 54, Idaho Falls 32. 55, Scappoose (OR) 31.5. 56, Baker (OR) 30. 57, Centennial 27. 58, Lowry (NV) 21. 59, Ontario (OR) 19. 60, Vallivue 17.
61, Rigby 16. 61, Timberline 16. 63, Nampa Christian 14. 63, Skyview 14. 65, Homedale 13. 66, Colville (WA) 12. 66, Grangeville 12. 66, Nyssa (OR) 12. 69, West Side 9. 70, Potlatch 7.
71, Hillcrest 5. 72, Four Rivers (OR) 0.
BOYS INDIVIDUAL PLACERS
98 pounds: 1, Rider Seguine, Post Falls. 2, Dylan Frothinger, Eagle. 3, Ryan Hirchert, Caldwell. 4, Porter Carlson, Syracuse. 5, Johnny Behm, Shelley. 6, Mason Motley, Meridian.
106: 1, Tyson Flack, La Pine. 2, Saxton Scott, Bonneville. 3, Gabe Rosales, Mountain Home. 4, Gabriel Arnold, Meridian. 5, Vincent Contreras, Nampa. 6, Jaren Knopp, Lakeland.
113: 1, Mason Carlson, Syracuse. 2, Nathan Gugelman II, American Falls. 3, Andre Valero, Minico. 4, Billy Jackson, Redmond. 5, Jerimiah Gonzalez, Meridian. 6, Ashton Ramos, Capital.
120: 1, Matthew Martino, Bishop Kelly. 2, Kolter Burton, American Falls. 3, Draven Johns, Caldwell. 4, Canon Winn, Burns. 5, Talen Eck, Thunder Ridge. 6, Scout Santos, Mtn View (OR).
126: 1, Drew Jones, Mtn View (OR). 2, Jake Castagneto, Bishop Kelly. 3, Caleb Shaw, New Plymouth. 4, Blaine Beard, Central Valley. 5, Mason Aiken, American Falls. 6, Payton Hernandez, Columbia.
132: 1, Tyler Feeley, Payette. 2, Austin Kelly, Wasatch. 3, Ezra Clemens, Fruitland. 4, Alejandro Fernandez, Sunnyside. 5, Andrew Worthington, Mtn View (OR). 6, Anthony Williams, Bonneville.
138: 1, Hunter Bidelman, Caldwell. 2, Ryder Robinson, Wasatch. 3, Joseph Terry, Minico. 4, Grayson Williams, American Falls. 5, Manuel Valdez, Bishop Kelly. 6, Dax Larsen, Coeur d’Alene .
145: 1, Jason Mara, Meridian. 2, Kayd Craig, Gooding. 3, Preston Harn, McQueen. 4, Grant Svedin, Melba. 5, Kody Rich, Kuna. 6, Carlos Valdez, Bishop Kelly.
152: 1, Jadon Skellenger, Bishop Kelly. 2, Jackson Potts, Mtn View (OR). 3, Seth Martin, Post Falls. 4, Jacob Blandford, Middleton. 5, Seiya Thompson, Bishop Kelly. 6, Hunter Kemper, Burns.
160: 1, Cade White, Meridian. 2, Noah Holman, Gonzaga Prep. 3, Benjamin Larson, Hermiston. 4, Jonathan Seamons, Nampa. 5, Paxton Twiss, Minico. 6, John Rudebaugh, Post Falls.
170: 1, Jose Laguna, Post Falls. 2, Rustan Cordingley, Highland. 3, Hudson Rogers, Meridian. 4, Trey Dieringer, Scappoose. 5, Liam Byrne, Mtn View (OR). 6, Treven Hokland, Middleton.
182: 1, Isaiah Twait, Meridian. 2, Shane Hepner, McQueen. 3, Jaxson Gribskov, Hermiston. 4, Preston Echeverria, Hillsboro. 5, Spencer Pease, Minico. 6, Steven Powell, Silverton.
195: 1, Gentry Smith, Post Falls. 2, Carson Gooley, Meridian. 3, Ethan Kincheloe, Nampa. 4, Kody Biggs, Kuna. 5, Anthony Hackman, Shelley. 6, Tarik Dzanic, Mountain View.
220: 1, Garrett Vail, Minico. 2, Trevor Miller, Post Falls. 3, Eli Anderton, Highland. 4, Brash Henderson, Silverton. 5, Connor Schwab, Syracuse. 6, Matyus McLain, Priest River.
285: 1, Aden Attao, Borah. 2, Shilo Jones, Mountain View. 3, Miguel Perez, Caldwell. 4, Austin McNaughtan, Wasatch. 5, Luke Almaguer, Sunnyside. 6, Mateo Armendariz, Sunnyside.
GIRLS TEAM SCORES
1, Eagle 153. 2, Columbia 105.5. 3, Thunder Ridge 103. 4, Boise 102. 4, Reed (NV) 102. 6, Syracuse (UT) 101. 7, Redmond (OR) 100. 8, LaGrande (OR) 95.5. 9, Emmett 79. 10, Caldwell 74.5.
11, La Pine (OR) 71. 12, Forest Grove (OR) 66. 12, McQueen (NV) 66. 14, Rocky Mountain 64. 15, Coeur d’Alene 63.5. 16, Baker (OR) 61. 17, Mountain Home 59. 18, Carson (NV) 58. 19, Grangeville 54. 20, Bend (OR) 53.5.
21, Bonneville 45. 21, Potlatch 45. 21, Walla Walla (WA) 45. 24, Meridian 43. 24, Vale (OR) 43. 26, Owyhee 42. 27, Wasatch (UT) 41. 28, Rigby 39. 29, Blackfoot 38. 29, Fruitland 38. 29, Vallivue 38.
32, American Falls 37. 32, Crook County (OR) 37. 34, Timberline 35. 35, Moscow 34. 36, Nyssa (OR) 33. 37, Silverton (OR) 32. 38, Mountain View 31.5. 39, Lakeland 31. 40, Payette 30.
41, Ontario (OR) 29. 41, Post Falls 29. 43, Borah 28. 43, Capital 28. 43, Hillcrest 28. 46, Kuna 27. 46, Middleton 27. 48, Nampa 24.5. 49, Mtn View (OR) 24. 50, New Plymouth 22.
51, Garden Valley 20. 52, Idaho Falls 17. 52, Skyline 17. 54, Tri-Valley 16. 55, Highland 15. 56, Gonzaga Prep (WA) 14. 56, Madison 14. 58, Centennial 12. 59, Buhl 11. 60, Bishop Manogue (NV) 8.
61, Galena (NV) 7. 61, Minico 7. 63, Homedale 4. 63, Ridgevue 4. 65, Bishop Kelly 3. 66, Four Rivers (OR) 0.
GIRLS INDIVIDUAL PLACERS
100 pounds: 1, Taylor Brown, Thunder Ridge. 2, Payton Gines, Syracuse. 3, Nia Avelino, Caldwell. 4, Em Ball, Syracuse. 5, Tommy Stone, Eagle. 6, Marlie Skidmore, Owyhee.
107: 1, Dahlia Yerby, Emmett. 2, Taylor Call, Hillcrest. 3, Toni Avelino, Caldwell. 4, Mia Ragan, Thunder Ridge. 5, Rihanna Mora, Vallivue. 6, Brailey Sterling, Bonneville.
114: 1, Kadence Beck, Grangeville. 2, Amber Perkins, Carson. 3, Allister Dillow, American Falls. 4, Arianne Korish, Mtn View (OR). 5, Mia Pedersen, Redmond. 6, Kylie Whitaker, Walla Walla.
120: 1, Skyla Zimmerman, Moscow. 2, Katie Ward, McQueen. 3, Sophie Sarver, Mountain View. 4, Delia Gulzow, LaGrande. 5, MaKenna Duran, Crook County. 6, Kayla Vail, Bonneville.
126: 1, Alyssa Randles, Coeur d’Alene . 2, Jade Seymour, La Pine. 3, Kailea Takahashi, Forest Grove. 4, Holland Wieber, Eagle. 5, Alyssa Foreman, Lakeland. 6, Shekina Happuc, Boise.
132: 1, MacKenzie Shearon, Redmond. 2, Hannah Hernandez, Ontario. 3, Julietta Leal, La Pine. 4, Aneka Mathews, Reed. 5, Jordan Barrett, Payette. 6, Kennedy Blanton, Forest Grove.
138: 1, Clare Waite, Boise. 2, Elise Twait, Meridian. 3, Hayley McNeal, Potlatch. 4, Kaci Anderson, Baker/Powder. 5, Amelia Roennebeck, Syracuse. 6, Lizzy Hodges, Capital.
145: 1, Ava Collins, Vale. 2, Mia Furman, Rocky Mountain. 3, Abigale Piper, Post Falls. 4, Brooklyn Anderson, Coeur d’Alene. 5, Zoe Fries, Kuna. 6, Maria Sifuentes, Columbia.
152: 1, Hallie Campbell, Columbia. 2, Ellah Olson, Carson. 3, Ashlyn Packer, Syracuse. 4, Ornella Kero, Boise. 5, Kaitlin Brock, LaGrande. 6, Liliana Montufar, Rigby.
165: 1, Kyra Richards, Columbia. 2, Jordynn LeBeau, Eagle. 3, Jasmine Morales, McQueen. 4, Maralise Benson, Redmond. 5, Oakley Anderson, Baker/Powder. 6, Jady Cook, Middleton.
185: 1, Maria Aiono, Reed. 2, Reece Woods, Eagle. 3, Gracie Castillo, Garden Valley. 4, Sarah Witts, Bend Senior. 5, Shauna Anderson, Thunder Ridge. 6, Maxine Crawford, Blackfoot.
235: 1, Amie Hartman, Mountain Home. 2, Olivia Woods, Eagle. 3, Reece Moody, Rocky Mountain. 4, Alexandra Wright, Emmett. 5, Olivia Jenkins, Galena. 6, Emry Woods, Eagle.
This story was originally published January 7, 2023 at 9:42 PM.
