Meridian smashes ‘untouchable’ record, cruises to another state wrestling title
The Meridian High wrestling team didn’t just set a record Saturday. The Warriors obliterated it.
Meridian racked up 364.5 points at the 6A state tournament at the Ford Idaho Center, topping the previous all-classification scoring record by 26 points.
“It just shows that we’re the best. We’re No. 1,” Meridian sophomore Blake Nevils said. “It also shows that we put in a lot of work.”
Post Falls set the previous record in 2018 behind future NCAA champ Ridge Lovett, and the Trojans made their 338.5-point total look untouchable with seven individual state champs and 10 finalists. Meridian doesn’t rely on that kind of star power, so instead rode an unfathomably deep lineup to the new record.
The Warriors sent 29 of the maximum 30 wrestlers to state, and 28 of them contributed to Meridian’s record-setting team score. That included 18 state placers across Idaho’s 15 weight classes, as well as three individual champions.
“It’s wild,” Meridian coach Brad Muri said. “That is one thing we talked about. We kind of made a game out of it, trying to chase the scoring record.
“Like I said, this group was special. They were bought in, wrestling for each other. And it took a full collective effort.”
Nevils (45-5) led the parade of individual champs with his second straight state title. He opened the 138-pound bracket with a pair of first-round pins, and he topped Madison’s Jordan Loya with a 16-9 decision in the finals.
Fellow sophomore Bodee Williams (33-4) avenged a heartbreaking loss in last year’s final with a dominant run through the 98-pound bracket. He pinned three of the four opponents he faced, including Coeur d’Alene’s Micah Miller in 3 minutes, 4 seconds in the finals to score a team-high 29.5 points.
Senior Ryan Amoureux (27-10) added the 132-pound title after needing overtime to win his second-round bout. And Meridian received runner-up medals from 113-pound junior Tobias Guillen (30-9), 126-pound senior Justus Briggs (41-6) and 175-pound junior Leo Klinger (31-9).
The record-setting performance earned Meridian its fifth state championship in the past six years. Post Falls knocked the Warriors off their throne last season. But Muri said he knew early on this season Meridian could threaten the scoring record.
“We’ve got a lot of kids that are just chasing it the right way year-round,” Muri said. “They got to see the fruit of their labor this week.”
NAMPA’S HIRCHERT WINS 4TH STATE TITLE
Nampa coach Roy Perales tempted fate, ordering a four-time state champion shirt and bringing it to the Idaho Center. But Ryan Hirchert didn’t need any luck to join the state’s most exclusive club.
The senior pinned Shelley’s John Behm in 3:32 in the 5A 113-pound finals to cap his high school career with a fourth straight state title. He’s just the second in school history to win four titles, alongside Carson Exferd.
But the Reinhardt College (NAIA) signee made it clear he’s not done yet.
“It’s amazing. I’ve worked all my life for this,” Hirchert said. “But now we’re on to the next level, hopefully to win four national titles.”
Hirchert (41-4) rolled through the weekend like he’s rolled through Idaho all season. He opened the tournament with pins in 31 and 36 seconds, then added a 15-0 tech fall in the semifinals before his championship-clinching pin.
The weekend run left him 33-0 vs. Idaho competition this winter, and he won 21 of those 33 matches with a pin.
“People see the four-time state champion stuff, but they don’t see the leader and the young man that he is,” Perales said. “He’s a better person than he is a wrestler, and I think he’s great at wrestling.”
Senior Vincent Contreras (45-6) gave Nampa a second individual champ. He hung on for a 1-0 decision in the 5A 132-pound finals, capturing his second title in his fourth appearance in the championship round.
The duo led nine placers as Nampa finished second in the 5A team standings for the program’s sixth trophy in the past seven years. Nampa racked up 172.5 points, 16.5 behind Minico.
BISHOP KELLY CROWNS 3 STATE CHAMPS
The Knights couldn’t defend their team title, finishing sixth in the 5A team standings. But Bishop Kelly still brought home a trio of individual champions in three straight weight classes.
Junior Jake Mescher (38-4) started the Knights’ middleweight onslaught, cruising to a second straight state championship by pinning his way through the 150-pound bracket.
Senior Tensei Thompson (43-5) made quick work of Middleton’s Lucas Edmunson for the 157-pound crown, recording a 21-6 tech fall in 2:30 for his first title.
And sophomore Samson Castillo (38-6) wrapped up the Knights’ run, pinning Wood River’s Garrett Larsen in 1:03. He pinned three of the four opponents he faced in the first round.
HOMEDALE TAKES SECOND WITH 3 CHAMPS
The Trojans also brought home three individual champions, and the trio propelled Homedale to a second-place finish at the 4A tournament. Homedale finished with 255.5 points, 35 behind first-place finisher Snake River.
Sophomore Braelyn Arredondo (45-7) led the Homedale trio, pinning all four opponents he faced for the 132-pound crown.
Sophomore Jakobe Valle (40-5) won a second straight title with a 3-1 decision in the 106-pound finals. And junior Trevor Paynter (47-7) brought home his second championship, scoring an escape with 2 seconds left for a 5-4 decision in the 113-pound title bout.
MORE BOISE-AREA STATE CHAMPS
- Caldwell senior Jaxson Freeman (49-4) broke through for his first state championship, avenging a loss in last week’s district final to Meridian’s Justus Briggs with a 14-9 decision. A state title was the last thing missing from Freeman’s resume, which includes two All-American awards and a college commitment to Western Colorado.
- Kuna sophomore Konnor Fordyce (39-4) brought home the school’s first boys state title in four years, scoring a 19-3 tech fall in the 6A 150-pound finals over Coeur d’Alene’s Logan Nitti.
- Eagle senior Anthony Butler (45-5) dominated the 6A 175-pound bracket, racking up three pins to reach the finals before a 15-0 tech fall over Meridian’s Leo Klinger.
- Middleton senior Ryan Lewis (41-2) became the school’s first back-to-back state champ since 1990, pinning Minico’s Boady Baker in 3:15 to repeat as the 5A 175-pound champion.
- Weiser junior Ty Cobb (51-6) made the most of his first podium finish, winning the 4A 157-pound division with a 15-4 major decision in the finals.
- Tri-Valley sophomore Bill Avery (42-9) captured Southwest Idaho’s only title in the 3A classification, recording a 3-0 decision over Malad’s Riggin Montgomery to win the 126-pound bracket.
This story was originally published February 28, 2026 at 10:35 PM.
