FIGHT TO THE FINISH
By Jordan Rodriguez
Defending team champion: Malad Dragons
Highest-scoring 1A team: Challis (third place overall)
Returning individual champions (last year’s weight class):
Radney Smith, Ririe (98 pounds)
Levi Austin, New Plymouth (106)
Conner Burley, Salmon (120)
Seth Lowen, McCall-Donnelly (126)
Rowdy Paul, Potlatch (160)
Trager Abatti, Challis (170)
Noah Grossman, Marsing (220)
Notable departures:
Ruger Jarvis-Piva, Challis (two-time state champion), T.J. Thacker, Ririe (two-time state champ), Kevin Mora, Challis (two-time state champ), Rainier Montes, McCall-Donnelly (138-pound champ), Wyatt Smith, Raft River (132-pound champ), Kyle Brown, Potlatch (182-pound champ), Coltyr Brewington, Firth (285-pound champ).
Small school wrestlers set for another state tournament brouhaha.
Year in and year out—while many of the larger classification races are decided by wide margins—the 2A/1A wrestling title comes down to Saturday’s state championship matches.
Last season was no exception, with Malad edging Firth 149-147 to capture the team title. Challis was third, just 13 points back, and Declo finished fourth with 118.5 points, ending the Hornets’ three-year run as champion.
The past five 2A/1A titles have been decided by an average of just 26 points, and the small school race should once again be a dandy this winter. The seven returning individual champions hail from seven different schools, and perennial contenders Malad and Declo both have strong contingents of returning state medalists back in uniform.
Depth is the key to winning team tournament titles, and Malad has plenty with seven returning state placers led by juniors Dallin Ward and Drew Heyder, who finished as state runners-up for the Dragons last season. Hazen Smith, Chet Potter, Derek Checketts, Brock Udy and Eric Eliason also return to the mat for the defending champions.
Declo is another central Idaho power with good depth, returning five placers led by runner-up John Nunnelee. The Hornets will be gunning for their fourth title in five season.
In eastern Idaho, Challis will be in the hunt again, led by defending 170-pound champion Trager Abatti. The Vikings scored the most state tournament points of any 1A school last season. Ririe, bolstered by defending 98-pound champ Radney Smith, and Salmon, featuring defending 120-pound winner Conner Burley, also bring strong programs out of District 6.
In District 3, New Plymouth’s Levi Austin (106 pounds), McCall Donnelly’s Seth Lowen (126) and Marsing’s Noah Grossman (220) will look to lead their teams into the trophy hunt. McCall-Donnelly just missed the podium last season, placing fifth. No District 3 team has won a 2A/1A state title since Parma in 1990.
Up north, Potlatch is led by 160-pound standout Rowdy Paul, the only two-time champion in this year’s field. The Loggers placed 11th at last year’s state tournament, one place behind District 1 rival St. Maries. Paul has a chance at a rare three-peat this season, but District 1-2 squads will be hard-pressed to make the podium—no north Idaho team has ever won a 2A/1A title, and it’s more than a decade since a team trophy went to the panhandle.
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