Wrestlers selected for state

The Mountain Home Tigers placed seventh in the team standings during the District III 4A Wrestling Tournament held at Caldwell High School, which ended Friday.

During the tournament, six Mountain Home wrestlers qualified for the state finals.

Kuna won the district title, picking up 424.5 points while Mountain Home finished the weekend with 121.

Columbia finished second with 368 points, Caldwell was third with 276, Nampa fourth with 174, Middleton fifth at 141, Emmett sixth with 135, Skyview eighth at 107 and Bishop Kelly ninth with 19.

Those qualifying for state included Josh Saporta, who finished second in the 106-pound weight class. Ryan Goldsby and Jon Ryan finished third in the 220- and 145-pound weight classes respectively to also earn seats at state.

Meanwhile, Aerial Groene and Jeff Checketts both finished fourth in the 106 and 182 pound weight classes to qualify while Tanner Sessions finished fifth at district in the 132-pound division.

Competitors who finished in the top five places at last week's tournament advanced to state.

Others who placed in the district tournament included Jaime Ibarra at 113 pounds and Austin Clark at 160 pounds, who finished sixth overall in their respective divisions.

Tigers wrestling coach Lynn Knudson was hoping for more state qualifiers but remains optimistic his six wrestlers can do well.

"You're always hoping for more, but as young a team that we have, it didn't happen," he said. "But I'm happy with what we have. All of them have the capabilities of possibly placing in the top six over at state."

The State Wrestling Championships start Friday at Holt Arena at Idaho State University in Pocatello. Weigh-ins begin at 8 a.m. Friday with the matches getting underway at 9:30 a.m. Consolation loser-out matches begin at 1 p.m. with quarter-final matches following at 3 p.m. and consolation loser-out matches continuing at 7 p.m.

The Saturday sessions start with the semi-final matches at 9 a.m. with the consolation semi-finals beginning around 11 a.m. The consolation finals start at 1 p.m. with the Parade of Athletes following at 3:30 p.m.

The championship finals follow the parade of athletes ceremony.