Idaho crowns its state wrestling tournament champions. 28 came from the Treasure Valley
Treasure Valley wrestlers cleaned up at the Idaho state wrestling tournaments Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center.
Twenty-eight individuals finished atop the podium, and local teams won three of the five team titles available.
Here are all the top highlights from the weekend.
MERIDIAN 5A CHAMPS AGAIN
The Warriors rode five individual champs and 12 placers to their third straight team title. Meridian finished with 280.5 points, 19 ahead of runner-up Post Falls and 39 clear of Nampa.
Junior Jason Mara (152 pounds) and senior Cade White (160) became Meridian’s first three-time state champs since 2011 moments apart. Mara (52-4) ran away with an 11-2 major decision over Middleton’s Jacob Blanford. White (41-5) scored an 11-7 decision against Nampa’s Jonathan Seamons.
Meridian has never had a four-time state champ. Mara, a Stanford commit, will try to erase that history next season.
“I’m just going to keep working,” Mara said. “Nothing is going to change, except more workouts, just to get better.”
Jerimiah Gonzalez (113), Isaiah Twait (182) and Carson Gooley (195) all captured their first state championships Saturday. But the Warriors also racked up points with their depth.
Twelve of their 23 wrestlers finished with medals. That included senior Tristan Smilie, who started the weekend unseeded before making an underdog run to face Twait in the finals.
“Obviously, all of our horses are super special,” Meridian coach Brad Muri said. “You get to coach a kid like that, even once in your career, and it’s awesome. And we have a lot of them coming through right now.
“But even our kids that took third and fourth, they’re the ones that lost in the semis and went and got the next best thing. They scored 30 points this morning, those five kids.”
That deep lineup doesn’t come via an accident. Twait credited Meridian’s coaching staff for the way it develops wrestlers, using himself as an example.
“I’ve lived in Meridian my whole life, and I was pretty bad when I was little,” Twait said. “... If it wasn’t for the coaches that we have, I don’t think I would have really enjoyed (wrestling) or even stuck with it.”
EAGLE GIRLS REPEAT
The second IHSAA-sanctioned state tournament more than doubled in size. But the team at the top remained the same.
Eagle racked up 126 points to run away with its third consecutive state title, including the final unofficial one in 2021. Mountain Home finished second with 71 points, 55 behind the Mustangs.
Eagle senior Reece Woods (26-2) pinned her way to back-to-back titles at 185, and Jordynn LeBeau (27-2) pinned three of the four opponents she faced for the 165-pound crown to lead the Mustangs’ onslaught.
Eagle also had three more placers: Olivia Woods (second, 235), Emry Woods (fourth, 235) and Holland Wieber (third, 126).
“It’s kind of bittersweet. Wrestling really isn’t my sport,” said Reece Woods, a dedicated rugby player. “But I’m just realizing how much I’m gonna miss it, and how much it’s taught me.”
NEW PLYMOUTH BACK ATOP 2A
After missing out on a state title by a single point last year, New Plymouth took care of business early for its second state championship in three seasons.
The Pilgrims racked up 190 points, edging defending champ Ririe by 12 points to recapture the title banner.
Junior Nathan Willoughby (40-7) led the way, pinning his way to the heavyweight title. Only one match lasted longer than 30 seconds and made it to the second round.
Sophomore Jacob Shaw (47-10) added an individual championship at 138, and the Pilgrims finished with eight placers. Ririe also had eight placers.
NAMPA’S GONZALEZ STOPS FOUR-PEAT
Senior Nikko Gonzalez (42-8) entered the weekend as a footnote, the wrestler two previous four-time champs beat on their way into the record books. But Gonzalez wouldn’t let it happen again Saturday.
The 138-pounder rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to shock Eagle’s Tanner Frothinger, spoiling his bid for a fourth state title with by pinning him in sudden-death overtime.
Frothinger (38-2) scored an escape in the third round to force overtime. But that didn’t worry Gonzalez, who needed only 39 seconds to put the Nebraska signee on his back for the win.
“I could see that he was a little tired,” Gonzalez said. “I knew if I kept pushing the pace, he wouldn’t be able to hang with me.”
Gonzalez admitted he doubted himself at times after three years and no state titles. But he proved those doubts unfounded Saturday.
“I can’t express my feelings right now,” Gonzalez said. “I’m just happy to be a state champion.”
Two other wrestlers became four-time state champs Saturday. South Fremont’s Hunter Hobbs finished an undefeated season (53-0) with the 3A 182-pound title. And Grace’s Hans Newby (37-0) completed a four-peat with the 2A 113 crown.
Coeur d’Alene Alyssa Randles (35-4) also finished first for the fourth straight year with the girls 126-pound title. But Idaho didn’t begin sponsoring an official state tournament until last year.
NAMPA’S FIRST THREE-TIME CHAMP
Carson Exferd knows some call him crazy for driving 20 minutes from Meridian to go to school and compete at Nampa. But few can question the decision now.
The junior rolled to the 5A 132-pound title Saturday to become the first three-time state champ in program history. He’ll have a shot at a fourth title next year.
“I’m always looking for the next tournament, the next big thing to prove myself,” Exferd said. “It’s just the beginning.”
Exferd (43-7) has yet to lose to an Idaho opponent in three seasons. And he celebrated the third title in style, mimicking a stepback 3-pointer while shooting his ankle band into the middle of the mat.
“It was either between baseball and being a catcher and throwing down (to third) for three strikes out, or a basketball jump shot behind the line and then holding up my three (fingers),” Exferd said with a smile.
CALDWELL’S THREE-TIME TITLE WINNER
Caldwell senior Hunter Bidelman capped an undefeated season with an exclamation point, pinning his way to the 4A 145-pound title for his third state championship.
Bidelman (48-0) made the finals every year of his career and is just the second three-time state champ in Caldwell history. Colby Kloetzer also did it in 2011.
Bidelman’s title helped Caldwell finish second as a team with 207.5 points, 55 behind back-to-back champ Minico.
SKELLENGER CAPS PERFECT SEASON
Jadon Skellenger led a group of five state champions for Bishop Kelly that carried the Knights to a third-place team trophy. But the junior took the top billing by finishing the year undefeated at 44-0.
The decorated club wrestler turned out for the high school team for the first time this season, and he wasted little time making a splash. He rode two pins and a tech fall into the finals before a 7-1 decision over Caldwell’s Gracin Go in the 4A 152 finals.
Juniors Jake Castagneto (132), Manuel Valdez (138) and Seiya Thompson (160) all captured their first state titles. And sophomore Matthew Martino (126) won his second in two attempts.
MORE DISTRICT THREE CHAMPS
Eleven more Treasure Valley wrestlers climbed to the top of the podium Saturday, including:
Nampa senior Dedrick Navarro (44-8) won his second title thanks to a reversal with 8 seconds left for a 3-2 decision over Thunder Ridge’s Talen Eck in the 5A 120-pound division.
Borah senior Aden Attao (36-0) capped an undefeated season where he didn’t surrender a single contested offensive point with a 10-2 major decision to repeat as the 5A heavyweight champ.
Caldwell freshman Ryan Hirchert (26-1) started his career with a bang, scoring a 19-3 tech fall for the 4A 98-pound title.
Columbia senior Nakoa Fouret (28-3) captured his second straight state title, using a 16-3 major decision for the 4A 170-pound title.
Caldwell senior Miguel Perez (36-3) broke through after three straight third-place finishes for the 4A heavyweight title.
Fruitland senior Ezra Clemens (43-6) brought home his second title by pinning his way to the top of the 3A 132 podium. No match made it to the third round.
Fruitland sophomore Kaden MacKenzie (26-1) improved upon a second-place finish last year with the 3A 145-pound title.
Payette senior Jordan Barrett (32-5) won her first state title with an 11-3 decision in the girls 132-pound final.
Meridian sophomore Elise Twait (36-2) joined her brother Isaiah atop the podium after a 4-3 overtime win in the girls 138 final. They are the first brother-sister duo to win state titles in the same year.
Rocky Mountain senior Mia Furman (39-1) pinned her way to the girls 145 title with only one match reaching the third round. The No. 6-ranked girl in the country also won an unofficial state title in 2021.
Boise senior Ornella Kero (34-5) rode three straight pins into the girls 152 final before bringing home the title with a 4-2 decision.
This story was originally published February 25, 2023 at 11:07 PM.
