Idaho native crowned NCAA national wrestling champ. ‘I had a whole state behind me’
Ridge Lovett already stood as one of the best wrestlers in Idaho history. But on Saturday, he took his place as one of the best in the nation.
The Post Falls High grad won the 149-pound NCAA national title in Philadelphia, scoring a 1-0 victory over the defending champ to become the first NCAA title winner from Idaho and lead Nebraska to the second-place team trophy, its best finish.
“Shout out to my Idaho people,” Lovett said in a postmatch press conference. “I had a whole state behind me, all of them cheering me on. And it’s just, it’s so awesome to accomplish this goal.”
Nebraska’s sixth-year senior broke through after finishing as the national runner-up in 2022 and reaching the semifinals last year. He lost to Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson in the semifinals a year ago but got revenge in the finals Saturday.
Henson appeared to take a 3-0 lead with a takedown in the second round, but officials overturned those points on a coach’s challenge. The four-time All-American then scored the only point in the match with an escape to start the third round and held on for the next 2 minutes, including the final 20 seconds balanced on his head with his legs wrapped around Henson.
“I was fortunate with that call,” Lovett told ESPN in a postmatch interview. “I didn’t have to go get one (a takedown) there at the end, and held on.”
The most recent previous NCAA champs from an Idaho high school include a pair of Sandpoint grads. Jake Rosholt won three titles at Oklahoma State in 2003, ‘05 and ‘06. And Jared Lawrence was a national champ for Minnesota in 2002.
Boise State’s Ben Cherrington, a Colorado native, also captured a national title in 2006.
Lovett graduated from Post Falls in 2019 with a 169-0 career record — one of just four wrestlers to finish their career undefeated in the state’s top high school classification. He joined Lawrence (123-0), 1988 Idaho Falls grad Chris Owens (123-0) and 1967 Marsh Valley grad Monte Lish (76-0).
“A lot of people did a lot of things for me to get to where I am today,” Lovett said. “Wrestling is an individual sport, but I had a fantastic team around me — fantastic family, fantastic partners, fans, teammates, everyone who poured their heart and soul into me. You guys all mean the world to me.”
This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 3:49 PM.
