Idaho state wrestling: Meridian’s dynasty, BK’s shared title and two four-time champs
Treasure Valley teams and individuals climbed the podiums over and over again at the Idaho state wrestling tournaments in Pocatello on Saturday.
Meridian, Bishop Kelly and Fruitland all brought home team championships. And a combined 27 Treasure Valley boys and girls earned individual titles at the ICCU Dome, formerly known as Holt Arena.
Here were all the highlights.
MERIDIAN FOUR-PEATS AS CHAMPS
The Warriors took their place in history Saturday.
Meridian cruised to its fourth straight state championship in Pocatello, a first in Idaho 5A wrestling history. The Warriors racked up 14 placers and four individual state champs to post 273.5 points, 67 points ahead of Post Falls.
“We’ve got something special going on, and, obviously, having really good senior leadership has been awesome,” Meridian coach Brad Muri said. “The seniors have won four district titles, four SIC titles and four state titles.”
The only longer state championship streaks come in Idaho’s smaller classifications. Ririe won six straight 2A state titles from 2015 to ‘20. And Teton won six straight B state titles from 1968 to ‘73.
Meridian’s seniors led the way atop the medal stand. Stanford signee Jason Mara (40-1) captured his fourth state title at 152 pounds. Oregon State signee Hudson Rogers (45-3) bulldozed his way through the 182-pound bracket. And Carson Gooley (39-8) defended his 195-pound title.
Junior Jerimiah Gonzalez (49-5) also repeated at 113 pounds. But the Warriors built an insurmountable lead Friday and brought home another banner thanks to their never-ending depth.
“It’s been a complete team effort,” Muri said. “We had 16 state placers four years ago, and then we had 14, and then 12, and this year 14. So it’s a lot of individuals, a lot of people working together.
“Iron sharpens iron. We have a tough room.”
BISHOP KELLY SHARES TITLE
Two days, 15 weight classes and a mountain of matches couldn’t separate Bishop Kelly and Minico. So the two ended the 4A state tournament tied with 248 points and shared the team championship.
National wrestling rules provide a list of tiebreaking criteria for dual matches. But it lists no tiebreakers for tournaments, resulting in Idaho’s first shared title since 1969, when Minico and Snake River shared the A classification crown.
“A win is a win. I’ll take it, right?” Bishop Kelly coach Manny Ybarra said. “I would have loved to win it outright. But so many things could have gone differently on both sides. A bonus point here, a bonus point there. It could have gone either way.
“So for it to come down to a tie is mind blowing. I never would have thought it would be a tie. What a roller coaster of a tournament.”
Minico entered the championship round with a 14-point lead over Bishop Kelly. The Knights placed eight wrestlers in the finals, but it needed a litany of breaks to fall their way to make up that ground.
They did with six individual championships swinging a 14-point lead in Bishop Kelly’s favor. But Minico swept its final three matches in the finals. That included a pin from 220-pound senior Garrett Vail (47-1), which earned the Spartans two bonus points and drew them even with Bishop Kelly at 248.
Any other result for Vail, a three-time state champ, would have allowed the Knights to leave with the sole championship trophy. Instead, the two teams both posed for pictures with the championship trophy and banner. Minico took both home, and the IHSAA will create another one for Bishop Kelly in Boise.
Regardless of the oddity, Saturday provided a watershed moment for Bishop Kelly. The private Catholic school displays more than 140 state championship trophies and banners on campus. But the school didn’t capture its first wrestling title until Saturday.
“What a journey,” Ybarra said. “Every kid at BK deserves credit. Even those from five years ago, when they were busting their butts in the room and not getting recognized because we’re not good enough yet. That’s where it started.”
Bishop Kelly junior Matthew Martino (152, 48-1) and senior Jake Castagneto (132, 44-4) led the title parade, each winning their third individual state championship.
Jadon Skellenger (160, 44-2) and Seiya Thompson (170, 35-8) both repeated. And Carlos Valdez (145, 25-2) and freshman Holten Crane (98, 29-5) each captured their first title.
FRUITLAND BACK ON TOP
The Grizzlies steamrolled the 3A competition for their first state championship since 2014, setting a classification scoring record with 318 points. Buhl finished in second place, 83 points behind Fruitland.
Seventeen of the Grizzlies’ 26 state qualifiers placed at the tournament in Pocatello. Both numbers led all classifications.
The list included three state champions. Kaden MacKenzie (49-6) repeated atop the podium after winning the 152-pound bracket. Quinn Hood (49-7) followed up his Rollie Lane title with a gold medal at 220 pounds. And Braden Griffith (35-13) added a title at 98 pounds.
All three are juniors and will return next year.
MERIDIAN’S MARA WINS FOURTH TITLE
Few had more fun Saturday than Meridian senior Jason Mara.
The Stanford signee showed off his favorite teddy bear to the crowd and donned a Mickey Mouse shirt after becoming the first four-time state champ in school history. But the lighthearted moments belied a tense afternoon for Mara.
He realized he only had one high school match left after walking in the parade of championships Saturday. Four years had all led up to this moment. He’d never get to put on a Meridian uniform again, and the pressure of becoming a four-time champ loomed.
“It was all hitting me there,” Mara said. “I was pretty nervous and a little bit scared. But right as the (145s) started and got on the mat, I was like, ‘It’s just another tournament.’
“Pressure is always going to be on you. It’s whether or not you acknowledge it or crumble to it.”
Mara certainly didn’t crumble, snapping back into focus. He pinned his way to the finals before scoring a quick takedown en route to a 7-1 decision over Post Falls’ Damion Hamilton in the finals.
Meridian first opened in 1904, long before Idaho started sponsoring a state wrestling tournament in 1958. The school has captured eight state championships as a team, and four individuals have won three state titles. But it took 66 years for Mara to become the first to finish his state tournament career undefeated.
“He’s a special kid,” Muri said. “He’s the complete package as a student athlete — super intelligent, a high wrestling IQ. There’s a reason he’s going to wrestle Division I at Stanford.”
NAMPA’S EXFERD A FOUR-TIME CHAMP
Carson Exferd celebrated the first three-time state championship in Nampa history by mimicking a stepback 3-pointer last season. But with another shot at history Saturday, he upped the stakes and roped Nampa coach Roy Perales into a TikTok dance after clinching a fourth straight title.
Exferd (50-4) had little trouble dispatching Eagle’s Wylie Stone in the 5A 138-pound final, jumping out to a 7-1 lead after the first period and finishing with a 12-1 major decision. That left Perales plenty of time to break out a surprise T-shirt declaring Exferd a four-time champ and for the pair to show off their dance moves.
Perales said Exferd tried to talk him into rehearsing beforehand. But Perales wanted to worry more about the match.
“We didn’t do a very good job,” Perales said with a laugh. “But we did it.”
Nampa is another storied wrestling program known for pumping out decorated athletes. But no one had ever won three, let alone four, state titles until Exferd came along.
“A lot of great wrestlers have come out of there, such as Dedrick Navarro, Nikko Gonzalez, guys that I wrestled with that were phenomenal wrestlers. So to be the first one to come out of there a four-timer is really special to me. My name will be up on the wall with four next to it.”
MORE BOISE-AREA CHAMPS
Nampa sophomore Ryan Hirchert (49-3) won his second straight title at 98 pounds. He was the 4A champ at 98 pounds for Caldwell last year before moving to Nampa and 5A this season.
Middleton senior Jacob Blandford (41-4) broke through for his first title after taking second each of the past two years. He edged Post Falls’ Trey Smith 2-0 in the 5A 160-pound finals.
Middleton senior Cash Weeks (37-7) gave the Vikings their second 5A state champion with the 220-pound title after Mountain View’s Troy Grizzle had to medically forfeit.
Mountain View senior Shilo Jones (45-3) became the school’s first state champ since 2015 when he topped teammate Aiden McGinnis for the 5A heavyweight crown 5-0.
Emmett senior Sam Buck (40-6) used a second-round escape for a 1-0 decision in the 4A heavyweight championship.
Weiser junior Kash Cobb (52-5) cruised to the 3A 182-pound title with three first-round pins and a 7-2 decision in the finals.
New Plymouth junior Gabriel Cox (42-3) recorded four straight pins for the 2A 182-pound championship. No match reached the second round.
Melba senior Evan Michaelson (38-2) scored a 3-1 win in sudden-death overtime against North Fremont’s Orrin Miller in the 2A 220-pound finals.
New Plymouth senior Nathan Willoughby (41-6) pinned his way to the 2A heavyweight crown for the second straight year. The longest match lasted 58 seconds.
Caldwell senior Nia Avelino (36-5) scored a 12-8 decision over Thunder Ridge’s Mia Ragan for the girls 107-pound title after finishing second last year.
Rocky Mountain sophomore Talea Nichols (33-4) knocked off Lewiston’s Joely Slyter, a defending state champ, 12-6 in the girls 114-pound finals.
Boise senior Clare Waite (37-1) captured her second title in three years in the girls 145-pound division with a 4-0 decision.
Meridian junior Elise Twait (23-1) won every tournament she entered this year to repeat as the girls 152-pound champ.
This story was originally published February 24, 2024 at 11:34 PM.
