WIDE OPEN SPACES
By Jordan Rodriguez
Defending team champion: Kuna Kavemen
Returning individual champions (last year’s weight class):
Pierce Mederios, Mountain Home (98 pounds)
Brandon Gonzalez, Caldwell (106)
Cutler Gneiting, Rigby (152)
Levi Perry, Kuna (160)
Notable departures:
Columbia (moved to 5A), Bonneville (moved to 5A), Nampa (moved to 5A), Emmett (moved to 3A), Tristian Jarboe, Columbia (four-time state champion), Michael Cook, Kuna (four-time state champion), Casey Cobb, Kuna (three-time state champion).
Departures create opportunities for new champions to rise.
Idaho wrestlers and teams looking to make a name for themselves may never have a better chance than the opportunity facing 4A grapplers this winter.
With two historic, four-time state champions and three top-tier teams no longer competing at the 4A level, the time is ripe for new programs and individuals to seize the moment.
Defending champion Kuna remains the team favorite despite losing five state champions to graduation, including four-time winner Michael Cook and three-time champ Casey Cobb. Coach Pat Owens’ Kavemen, who scored a 4A state-record 318 points in capturing last year’s title, return five state placers this season led by junior Levi Perry, last year’s 160-pound champ.
Columbia, last year’s runner up and a four-time state champion since 2009, is moving up to compete at the 5A level. So are Bonneville and Nampa, two perennially-contending teams that have finished in the top-six at each of the last two state tournaments.
Caldwell is one team that looks primed to fill the void. The Cougars have five returning state placers, including four sophomores. The young group is led by Brandon Gonzalez, who won the 106-pound title as a freshman last season while leading Caldwell to a fourth-place finish. Mountain Home, led by sophomore and defending state champ Pierce Mederios, is another squad that could push Kuna both in the District 3 race and at the state tournament.
Up north, Lakeland senior Killian Estes and Sandpoint sophomore Casey Randles should compete for state titles after finishing second and third a year ago, respectively. District 1-2 teams haven’t captured a state championship since Sandpoint completed in 2003.
In eastern Idaho, Rigby has four returning state placers led by senior and defending 152-pound champ Cutler Gneiting. The Trojans should challenge for District 5-6 supremacy along with Pocatello, Blackfoot and Preston, all of which have multiple state placers back in uniform.
In central Idaho, no 4A team has won a state title since Minico in 2006. District 4 was shut out of the top-10 at state last year, but with three perennial 4A contenders out of the way, Magic Valley teams such as Minico, Jerome and Canyon Ridge could once again compete for a team trophy.
All in all, it has the makings of a wild year at the 4A level. Only four state winners return, leaving 11 of the 15 weight class titles vacant—and ready for new champions to seize their opportunity. It also adds extra importance to the regular season as grapplers battle for valuable state tournament seeding.
Will Kuna repeat, or will a dark horse champion rise? In the shifting 4A landscape, things have never been more uncertain.
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