A fraction decided the Rollie Lane wrestling title. It came down to a must-have pin
Down to its final wrestler, only one scenario could deliver Minico High the Rollie Lane Invitational team title Saturday.
Minico needed Garrett Vail to pin his championship opponent at the Ford Idaho Center. A tech fall would result in a tie. Any other result would award Fruitland the team trophy.
But Vail (25-1) came through. The 220-pound senior pinned Koen Mattern of Lake Stevens, Washington, in 4:21 to earn the Spartans two bonus points and a 190-189.5 edge over Fruitland atop the boys team standings.
Minico fans erupted in celebration of their first Rollie Lane title; in unison, Fruitland’s wrestlers hung their heads, falling by the closest of possible margins.
“We thought we had a chance, but we knew that Vail kid is tough,” Fruitland coach Isaac MacKenzie said. “He’s a two-time state champ from Minico. And he’s a pinner, too. He’s a pinner like Quinn (Hood).
“We were hopeful. But when I saw that kid was tired in the second round, I was like, ‘Ah, we’re in trouble.’”
The second-place trophy still stands as Fruitland’s best finish at Idaho’s largest and toughest high school wrestling tournament. Kaden MacKenzie (18-4) captured the 152-pound title and Hood (19-4) pinned Owyhee’s Maxim Osmond in 31 seconds for the 195-pound crown to lead the charge for the Grizzlies.
Hood’s pin and bonus points appeared to deliver Fruitland the title until Vail responded minutes later with a pin of his own.
Fruitland added two more placers with Marcus Aleman’s third-place medal at 120 pounds and Coye Coffman’s fifth-place finish at 138. But the Grizzlies’ second-place trophy bodes well for their chase for a 3A state title next month.
Isaac MacKenzie pointed out that he didn’t fill all his weights this weekend. He opted to let his athletes compete at their natural weights instead of moving them up to field a full lineup and score more points.
“It was a total team effort,” Isaac MacKenzie said. “I think we wrestled great this weekend. It’s something to build off of, and hopefully we can sustain it.”
TWO DIVISION I COMMITS BATTLE
A pair of three-time state champs and future Division I wrestlers met for the 138-pound title Saturday. And the match did not disappoint.
Nampa’s Carson Exferd, a Wisconsin commit, edged Century’s Kolter Burton, an Oklahoma State commit, by a 3-2 count, holding on in the final seconds before throwing up a “W” to the crowd.
Exferd (21-2) won the 106-pound crown at Rollie Lane as a freshman, then skipped the past two tournaments to head to the Doc Buchanan Invitational in Clovis, California. He qualified again for the prestigious meet this season, but he decided to stay close to home and be with his team instead of chasing individual glory.
“My freshman year I won Rollie, but it was a COVID year,” Exferd said. “So you could say that it wasn’t as tough as it is now, because you only really had teams from around the Idaho area.
“I just wanted to come here and have fun with my teammates. I wanted to see how well we could put up points going into state. I thought this would be a good indicator.
“Obviously, we did pretty good. We only had 10 people and we took third (166.5 points).”
Saturday’s huge victory added to a career already full of them. Exferd has never lost to an Idaho opponent, and he’s already the first three-time state champ in program history.
The larger goal, a fourth state title, will be up for grabs in February.
“To be honest, I don’t think we ever talk about it or think about it,” Nampa coach Roy Perales said of Exferd’s undefeated Idaho record. “It’s never been discussed.
“... The goal is February 24. That’s the goal. We want to win four.”
BK’S MARTINO A THREE-TIME CHAMP
History will have to wait one more year, but Bishop Kelly junior Matthew Martino added to his title haul Saturday, coming home with his third individual title from Rollie Lane.
Martino (24-1) needed only 1:30 to pin Joseph Downing (22-6) of Redmond, Oregon, in the 145-pound championship. Martino said he knew Downing would try to challenge him with upper-body throws. So he waited for the right moment, went low and racked up his fourth pin of the weekend.
He won his other two matches at the tournament via tech falls at 18-1 and 18-2 to cruise to another Rollie Lane crown.
“He’s at a different level right now,” Bishop Kelly coach Manny Ybarra said. “He’s finding his groove.”
The victory gives the Princeton commit a chance to become just the fifth four-time champ in Rollie Lane history next season. The other four-time champs are Coeur d’Alene’s Alyssa Randles (2020-23), Post Falls’ Ridge Lovett (2016-19), Kuna’s Michael Cook (2011-14) and Lewiston’s Casey George (2008-11).
“Some of the names on there are pretty prestigious,” Martino said. “It’s just setting me up for greatness.”
THUNDER RIDGE TAKES GIRLS TITLE
Tayler Brown’s 100-pound championship and four more placers led the Titans to their first girls team championship at Rollie Lane.
Thunder Ridge finished with 158.5 points, comfortably ahead of Reed, Nevada, in second place at 139 points. La Grande, Oregon, took third with 135 points, and Canyon Ridge was the top Idaho finisher with 115 points, good for fourth place.
The sixth edition of the Rollie Lane girls tournament broke another participation record. The weekend drew 491 girls from 74 teams, besting last year’s mark of 366 girls from 66 schools.
Overall, 1,384 boys and girls wrestlers competed at the Idaho Center, also a record.
11 LOCAL CHAMPS
Seven more Treasure Valley wrestlers climbed to the top of the podium Saturday:
Ryan Hirchert, Nampa (98 pounds): The sophomore (18-3) and reigning 4A state champ pinned three of his six opponents to improve upon his third-place finish last year.
Jaxson Freeman, Caldwell (113): The sophomore (30-2) upset top-seeded Jeremiah Gonzalez of Meridian in overtime in the semifinals before scoring a 2-1 win over Nampa’s Vincent Contreras in the championship.
Draven Johns, Caldwell (120): The junior (26-2) earned the tournament’s most outstanding lightweight wrestler award after a third-period takedown scored him a 3-1 decision over Lake Stevens’ Jacob Christianson.
Matthew Daniels, McCall-Donnelly (160): The senior (10-0) started the tournament seeded No. 32. He upset top-seeded Tyler Feeley of Payette in the second round en route to a surprise title.
Jonathan Seamons, Nampa (170): The senior (22-2) scored a 6-3 overtime decision over Post Falls’ Seth Martin to give the Bulldogs’ three individual champs, the most for any team entered.
Hudson Rogers, Meridian (182): The senior (22-3), an Oregon State commit and reigning folkstyle national champ, was named the meet’s most outstanding heavyweight after a 3-1 decision against Bonneville’s Easton Kemper in the finals.
Shilo Jones, Mountain View (285): The senior (22-3) broke through for his first Rollie Lane title after finishing second the past two years. He scored a 5-0 decision over Austin MacNaughtan of Wasatch, Utah.
ROLLIE LANE INVITATIONAL
At Ford Idaho Center, Nampa
Jan. 5-6
BOYS TEAM SCORES
1, Minico 190. 2, Fruitland 189.5. 3, Nampa 166.5. 4, Wasatch (UT) 153. 5, Post Falls 147. 6, Bishop Kelly 127.5. 7, Chiawana (WA) 124. 8, Lake Stevens (WA) 121.5. 9, Caldwell 120.5. 10, Meridian 118.5.
11, Riverton (UT) 115. 12, Eagle 114. 12, Redmond (OR) 114. 14, Crook County (OR) 113.5. 15, Madison 112.5. 16, Bonneville 105.5. 17, Burns (OR) 101. 18, Mountain View 100.5. 19, Middleton 96. 20, Hermiston (OR) 95.
21, Mountain View 92. 22, Central Catholic (CA) 90.5. 23, Kuna 86. 24, Coeur d’Alene 85. 25, Forest Grove (OR) 84. 26, New Plymouth 82.5. 27, McQueen (NV) 79. 28, American Falls 67.5. 29, Central Valley (WA) 67. 30, Bend (OR) 66. 31, Century 63.
31, Lewiston 63. 33, Othello (WA) 62. 34, Silverton (OR) 60. 35, Shelley 58. 36, West Side 57.5. 37, Hillsboro (OR) 57. 38, Grace 55.5. 39, Owyhee 55. 40, Blackfoot 54.
41, Gonzaga Prep (WA) 50. 42, Lakeland 49. 43, Canyon Ridge 46. 44, McCall-Donnelly 44. 45, Emmett 43. 46, Hanford (WA) 42.5. 47, Capistrano Valley (CA) 42. 47, Homedale 42. 47, South Fremont 42. 50, Skyline 40.5.
51, Timberlake 37. 52, Melba 36.5. 53, Sherwood (OR) 35.5. 54, Moscow 35. 55, Idaho Falls 34.5. 56, Newport (WA) 34. 56, Tri-Valley 34. 58, Capital 32. 59, Colville (WA) 31. 59, Rigby 31.
61, Baker/Powder Valley (OR) 29. 61, Ridgevue 29. 61, Thunder Ridge 29. 64, Borah 28.5. 65, Fallon (NV) 28. 66, Mountain Home 27.5. 66, Soda Springs 27.5. 68, Lowry (NV) 27. 69, Douglas (NV) 26. 69, Grangeville 26. 71, Priest River 25.
71, Vallivue 25. 73, Centennial 23. 74, Rocky Mountain 22. 75, Glenns Ferry 20. 75, Hillcrest 20. 77, Timberline 19. 78, Walla Walla (WA) 16. 79, Boise 13. 80, Columbia 9. 80, Nampa Christian 9. 80, Pocatello 9.
83, Payette 8. 84, Ontario (OR) 5. 85, Skyview 4. 85, Vale (OR) 4. 87, Orofino 3. 88, Four Rivers (OR) 0.
BOYS INDIVIDUAL PLACERS
98 pounds: 1, Ryan Hirchert, Nampa. 2, Casen Villastrigo, Crook County. 3, Easton Rolson, Riverton. 4, Brand`n Edstrom, Madison. 5, Cooper Sandoval, McQueen. 6, Mikael Teague, Minico.
106: 1, Jorge De La Rosa, Forest Grove. 2, Jeratt Robinson, Minico. 3, Dylan Frothinger, Eagle. 4, Samuel Moody, Riverton. 5, Camden Kuntz, Mountain Home. 6, Trevor Paynter, Homedale.
113: 1, Jaxson Freeman, Caldwell. 2, Vincent Contreras, Nampa. 3, Eliazar Valdez, Central Catholic. 4, Chase Hemphill, Crook County. 5, Jeremiah Gonzalez, Meridian. 6, Carter Kimball, Grace.
120: 1, Draven Johns, Caldwell. 2, Jacob Christianson, Lake Stevens. 3, Marcus Aleman, Fruitland. 4, Kekoa Ogawa, Central Catholic. 5, Mason Russell, Othello. 6, Kale Cornell, Burns.
126: 1, Jaxton Packer, South Fremont. 2, Tucker Bowen, Soda Springs. 3, Scout Santos, Mountain View. 4, Benjamin Kohler, Wasatch. 5, Jaysen Rodriguez, Hermiston. 6, Jake Mescher, Bishop Kelly.
132: 1, Victor-Alexander Gutierrez, Central Catholic. 2, Jake Castagneto, Bishop Kelly. 3, Hoyt Hvass, Lewiston. 4, Blaine Beard, Central Valley. 5, Sean Hall, Canyon Ridge. 6, Cole Currin, Kuna.
138: 1, Carson Exferd, Nampa. 2, Kolter Burton, Century. 3, Daeton Johnson, Chiawana. 4, Mason Aiken, American Falls. 5, Coye Coffman, Fruitland. 6, Wylie Stone, Eagle.
145: 1, Matthew Martino, Bishop Kelly. 2, Joseph Downing, Redmond. 3, Carlos Valdez, Bishop Kelly. 4, DJ Neider, Idaho Falls. 5, Ryker Vail, Bonneville. 6, Tyson Barnhart, Post Falls.
152: 1, Kaden MacKenzie, Fruitland. 2, Henry Hanssen, Wasatch. 3, Damion Hamilton, Post Falls. 4, Bo Zurcher, Silverton. 5, Jared Ake, Redmond. 6, Caeden McLaimtaig, Priest River.
160: 1, Matthew Daniels, McCall. 2, Noah Holman, Gonzaga Prep. 3, Hunter Lowe, Kuna. 4, Colten Gundersen, West Side. 5, Jacob Blandford, Middleton. 6, Trey Smith, Post Falls.
170: 1, Jonathan Seamons, Nampa. 2, Seth Martin, Post Falls. 3, Jackson Potts, Mountain View. 4, Caden Wilson, Hanford. 5, Leif Larwin, Bend Senior. 6, Xander Zollinger, Skyline.
182: 1, Hudson Rogers, Meridian. 2, Easton Kemper, Burns. 3, Spencer Pease, Minico. 4, Gage Watt, Riverton. 5, Adam Rushton, McCall. 6, Bayden Beard, Central Valley.
195: 1, Quinn Hood, Fruitland. 2, Maxim Osmond, Owyhee. 3, Preston Echeverria, Hillsboro. 4, Joe Weil, Burns. 5, Preston Sonner-Cranney, Minico. 6, Britton Sorenson, Bonneville.
220: 1, Garrett Vail, Minico. 2, Koen Mattern, Lake Stevens. 3, Troy Grizzle, Mountain View. 4, Evan Michaelson, Melba. 5, Seth Brock, Eagle. 6, Carter Bennett, Forest Grove.
285: 1, Shilo Jones, Mountain View. 2, Austin McNaughtan, Wasatch. 3, Brash Henderson, Silverton. 4, Lane Hedrick, Chiawana. 5, Aiden McGinnis, Mountain View. 6, Rex Salas, Madison.
GIRLS TEAM SCORES
1, Thunder Ridge 158.5. 2, Reed (NV) 139. 3, La Grande (OR) 135.5. 4, Canyon Ridge 115. 5, Wasatch (UT) 110. 6, Redmond (OR) 102. 7, Forest Grove (OR) 101. 8, Crook County (OR) 99. 9, McQueen (NV) 93. 9, Skyline 93.
11, Kuna 92. 12, Walla Walla (WA) 91. 13, Caldwell 86. 14, American Falls 85. 14, Columbia 85. 16, Eagle 82. 17, Buhl 74. 18, Rocky Mountain 72. 19, Emmett 71. 20, Capistrano Valley (CA) 65.
21, Baker/Powder (OR) 60. 21, Vale (OR) 60. 23, Borah 59.5. 24, Bonneville 57. 25, Silverton (OR) 56. 26, Boise 55. 26, Lewiston 55. 26, Mountain Home 55. 29, Blackfoot 53.5. 30, Juab (UT) 52.
31, Hanford (WA) 51. 32, Post Falls 50. 33, Coeur d’Alene 46. 34, Bend (OR) 45. 35, Douglas (NV) 43. 36, Grace 42. 37, Vallivue 41. 38, Middleton 40. 39, Nampa 39. 40, Owyhee 37.
41, Potlatch 35. 42, Minico 34. 42, Ontario (OR) 34. 42, Tri-Valley 34. 45, Riverton (UT) 33.5. 46, Century 28. 46, Four Rivers (OR) 28. 46, Fruitland 28. 49, Lakeview (OR) 27.5. 50, Glenns Ferry 26. 50, Newport (WA) 26.
52, Meridian 24.5. 53, New Plymouth 21. 54, Idaho Falls 20. 55, Marsing 18. 56, Centennial 17.5. 57, Rigby 17. 58, McCall 15. 59, Kellogg 13. 59, Lakeland 13. 59, Madison 13.
62, Timberlake 12. 63, Garden Valley 10. 63, Payette 10. 65, Bishop Kelly 8. 65, Ridgevue 8. 65, Timberline 8. 68, Hillcrest 7. 68, Shelley 7. 70, Sherwood (OR) 6.
71, Grangeville 3. 71, Homedale 3. 73, Moscow 0. 73, Mountain View 0
GIRLS INDIVIDUAL PLACERS
100 pounds: 1, Tayler Brown, Thunder Ridge. 2, Brooke Hensley, Skyline. 3, Gracie Price, Thunder Ridge. 4, Taylor Drake, Kuna. 5, Ella Kavanagh, Douglas. 6, Ryleigh Slocum, Borah.
107: 1, Ali Svancara, Buhl. 2, Toni Avelino, Caldwell. 3, Nia Avelino, Caldwell. 4, Mia Ragan, Thunder Ridge. 5, Bella Cornado, McQueen. 6, Grace Belmont, Capistrano Valley.
114: 1, Joely Slyter, Lewiston. 2, Maya Fiodorova, Reed. 3, Talea Nichols, Rocky Mountain. 4, Dahlia Yerby, Emmett. 5, Brooklyn Lanningham, Columbia. 6, Makayla Smith, Mountain Home.
120: 1, MaKenna Duran, Crook County. 2, McKayla Bonham, Silverton. 3, Mia Pedersen, Redmond. 4, Alexa Kemp, Walla Walla. 5, Allister Dillow, American Falls. 6, Aviyanah Gonzalez, Borah.
126: 1, Keanna Conrad, Blackfoot. 2, Kylie Whitaker, Walla Walla. 3, Renae Cook, Forest Grove. 4, Courtney Hunt, American Falls. 5, Meredith Nash, Reed. 6, Kiana Dullanty, Fruitland.
132: 1, Zoe Ortiz, Bonneville. 2, Paige Allen, La Grande. 3, Ava Collins, Vale. 4, Kailea Takahashi, Forest Grove. 5, Josie Newby, Grace. 6, Regan Heywood, Wasatch.
138: 1, Roxy Sheen, Buhl. 2, Kyler Scott, Century. 3, Kennedy Blanton, Forest Grove. 4, Jessica Williams, Vale. 5, Zoe Fries, Kuna. 6, Abby Wegner, Skyline.
145: 1, Hannah Hernandez, Ontario. 2, Clare Waite, Boise. 3, MacKenzie Shearon, Redmond. 4, Holland Wieber, Eagle. 5, Hayley McNeal, Potlach. 6, Elena Guerena, Owyhee.
152: 1, Brooklyn Anderson, Couer D Alene. 2, Jordyn Kearn, American Falls. 3, Marli Lind, Baker/Powder. 4, Gracin Dennis, Emmett. 5, Kaitlin Brock, La Grande. 6, Tyler Richter, Wasatch.
165: 1, Jasmine Morales, McQueen. 2, Kyra Richards, Nampa. 3, Riana Walter, Canyon Ridge. 4, Aliza Powlus, Canyon Ridge. 5, Maddie Armstrong, La Grande. 6, Marisa Patterson, Boise.
185: 1, Maria Aiono, Reed. 2, Ylyana Sandoval, Crook County. 3, Jordynn LeBeau, Eagle. 4, Shauna Anderson, Thunder Ridge. 5, Molly Olague, Skyline. 6, Ella Lulich, Silverton.
235: 1, Amie Hartman, Mountain Home. 2, Madisen Pillers, Newport. 3, Ashley Barnes, Thunder Ridge. 4, Reece Moody, Rocky Mountain. 5, Charley Timms, Reed. 6, Madison Meyer, Baker/Powder.
This story was originally published January 6, 2024 at 10:10 PM.
