MHHS wrestlers place third at state

For the second year in a row, the Mountain Home Tigers finished third at the State 4A Wrestling Championships at Holt Arena in Pocatello.

Yet, after Friday night's action saw no Tigers make it into Saturday's Championship round, and the Tigers had dipped to fifth in the team standings, Saturday's efforts by the Mountain Home team helped them climb back into third place.

Kuna ended with 206 points to capture the 4A team championship. Blackfoot was second with 196.5 points, Mountain Home came in third with 170.5, Post Falls, fourth, with 158.5, and Vallivue, fifth, with 146.

Mountain Home qualified 16 wrestlers for state, and 12 of those made it to the quarterfinals without losing, and seven advanced to the semifinals before losing.

Three Tigers finished third, three finished fourth, and four came in fifth in their respective weight classes.

David Wise's win streak reached 39 before he dropped a 10-5 decision to Blake Thompson of Rigby in the semifinals of the 119-pound weight class action.

Fellow teammate Marcos Ortiz also made it to the 119-pound weight class semifinals before he lost a 12-5 decision to Kyler Wallin of Kuna. Wallin ended up winning the 119-pound championship.

Wise, who went in as the number one seed, bounced back with a 9-2 win over Jake Jackson of Kuna, then beat Ortiz, the number two seed going in, in the battle for third place.

Ortiz came back from his loss to Wallin to beat Kahn Borge of Emmett for the second time in the tournament to get to the third place match. Ortiz, who beat Borge on a 21-6 technical fall in the first round, got past him 4-1 the second time. Ortiz finished fourth.

A.J. Hutchison made it to the semifinals of the 125-pound weight class before dropping a 9-2 decision to Travis Temple of Kuna. The Tiger sophomore then major decisioned Em Powell of Jerome, 14-3, and then beat John Siddoway of Hillcrest, 6-4 for third place.

Kole Spaulding lost by pin to Mike Kuber of Post Falls in the 171-pound semifinals, but bounced back with a 34-second first round pin of Kameron Ogle of Bishop Kelly, then edged Alex Owen of Blackfoot, 6-4 for third place.

Mike Ramsey went in as the number one seed at 130 pounds, and dropped a 7-3 decision to Troy Vance of Hillcrest in the semifinals. The Tiger junior then pinned Jason Simmons of Blackfoot to make the third-place match, where he lost to Dallas Stinger of Vallivue, 9-3, to finish fourth.

At 135 pounds, Tigers Garrett Wells and James Greenfield both made it to the semifinals before losing. Wells lost to number one seed Quin Walkington of Sandpoint 10-9, while Greenfield, the number two seed, dropped a 7-6 decision to Bobby Kuber of Post Falls. Wells outscored Mike Stone of of Kuna, 15-13, to face Sam Suyehira of Emmett for third, and lost a tough 3-2 decision to finish fourth.

Greenfield lost 4-1 to Suyehira, but beat Stone, 8-4 for fifth place.

At 112 pounds, Kyle Hickerson and Daniel Doronio both won their first matches, but lost in the quarterfinals. Hickerson lost by pin to Kyle Cooley of Rigby, but beat Preston Brown of Blackfoot and Allen Ward of Sandpoint by pins, before losing to Adam Winkler of Kuna. The Tiger junior then beat Dallin Broadhead of Madison, 7-3 for fifth place.

Doronio lost to Preston Gentry of Emmett, then stayed alive with a 9-2 win over Ryan Powell of Post Falls. The Tiger freshman then lost to Dallin Broadhead to finish 2-2 at state.

At 140 pounds, Chris Hathaway opened with a pin over Brian Greenwalt of Jerome, then faced Creed Knee of Vallivue. The Tiger senior had beaten Knee 4-0 for the district title, but this time Knee edged him 5-4.

Hathaway then disposed of Tyson Hinkley of Century, 3-1, beat Ryan Brennan of Bishop Kelly by a 15-6 major decision. Hathaway then dropped a 9-5 decision to Brian Wirkus of Hillcrest, but major decisioned Dusty Waldo of Post Falls, 12-2, for fifth place.

At 145 pounds, Brennen Lawson took just 30 seconds to pin Matt Olives of Jerome, before losing to Derek Waldo of Post Falls. The Tiger senior then pinned Jeremiah Weston of Jerome and Brandon Badiola of Vallivue, before losing a tough 5-4 decision to Jason Welch of Rigby. Lawson then faced Olives again for fifth place, and won by an injury default.

At 152 pounds, Tiger freshman Kori Andrews won a 13-5 major decision over Brad Black of Bishop Kelly before dropping a 5-0 decision to Matt Turcato of Emmett. Andrews then lost a 6-1 decision to Matt Hailey of Moscow to finish 1-2 in his first state outing.

At 160 pounds, Tiger freshman Tyson Sessions also finished 1-2, dropping his opening round match to number one seed Kyle Cheney of Vallivue, 9-0. He then beat Christian Spearow of Kuna by pin, before losing to number two seed Jace Williams of Blackfoot.

At heavyweight (275), Robert Weed lost his first-round match to Melvin Burke of Rigby, but took just 48 seconds to pin Casey Simmons of Burley. The Tiger sophomore then lost to Sheldon Cramer of Sandpoint, to finish 1-2 at state.

At 103 pounds, Brandon Stempfley lost to eventual champion Taran Robinson of Blackfoot in the first round. The Tiger junior then lost to Darrin Thompson of Sandpoint to be eliminated from the competition.

At 215 pounds, Charles Davidson lost to Steve Moreau of Bonneville in the first round. The Tiger sophomore then lost a tough 5-4 decision to Kent Bernard of Kuna to be eliminated from the tournament.

Tiger wrestling coach Lynn Knudson was happy to see his team bounce back on Saturday.

"We knew that we had faltered Friday night, but we knew we also needed to come back and finish strong, and we talked with the kids, and sure enough, they came back for us and did the things they needed to do in the consolation rounds. I was really happy that they were able to bounce back and get the points back up where the team could place third and hold off Post Falls. We had our opportunities and we wrestled a tough season and the kids stepped up when we needed them to. I'm real happy with this group, and what they were able to accomplish."

The 16 Tigers went 41-29 in their matches at state this year, and just three of the 16 are seniors, so the future looks definitely bright for Tiger wrestling.

"We have seven state placers coming back with the team," said Coach Knudson, "so we're going to start strong next year.

" I know that with what we have coming back, and what we have coming into the program, we'll be a very good program again next year, and, hopefully, make a few adjustments and look for something at state next year better than third."