Three local high schools competed at the wrestling state championships on Feb. 24 and 25, showcasing student wrestlers from all grades and weight classes. West Jefferson High School had 3 students place in the state tournament, Rigby High School had one wrestler place and Ririe High School took second place for 2A schools with nine placing athletes.
According to Head Coach Ed Anderson, Rigby qualified four boys for State during the district championship tournament.
Rigby didn’t take any seniors to State this year, Anderson said. Due to the young ages of the qualifying wrestlers, no boys placed at State.
“We’re focusing on getting better every day,” Anderson stated. “We’re a young team and we’re working on getting the program back on track and get back to where Rigby used to be.”
Rigby’s state qualifiers were Tucker Clark, freshman; Hunter Anderson, sophomore; Brett Seimears, junior and Quintin Gifford, junior.
The Rigby girls, however, took home the title of District Champions and all seven girls qualified for State.
Girls wrestling, Anderson said, has only finished its second season as a sanctioned sport in Idaho, meaning the process is a little different. Girls, he said, wrestle teams from the 1A category all the way through 5A. This year, Rigby faced off against 58 teams.
State Qualifiers were Hallie Barney, who took 7th; Destiny Isaacson, who took 3rd; Kinlee Lynes, fourth; Hailey Anderson, first; Lilian Montufar, third; Paige Siddoway, fourth and Caroline Huml, second.
“The girls did amazingly,” Anderson stated about the girls wrestling season.
At state, Rigby girls ranked 17 our of 59, but can boast Liliana Montufar who placed fifth overall.
Anderson stated some of his wrestlers will be competing through the summer as well, to stay active and prepare for the upcoming season and their forthcoming opportunities.
Wrestlers from West Jefferson High School were predicted to be this year’s underdogs, according to head coach Triston Rogers.
“We were projected to not do well,” Rogers stated, “but they did very well; they wrestled their hearts out.”
West Jefferson boys wrestlers took third place at the district championship this year as nine athletes received medals and ten qualified for the state tournament.
State qualifiers for boys wrestling were Mac Hall, Stetson Stranger, James Ahnder, Jared Buxton, Bronson Kimbro , Darren Grover, Jason Buxton and Rawley Babcock, Josh Reyes and Jackson Van Epps.
“Most of the kids who qualified hadn’t ever seen a state competition before,” Rogers stated. “Most went out on the second day.”
Despite this, he continued, the three West Jefferson seniors continued through the tournament and placed highly. Josh Reyes took sixth place, Bronson Kimbro took fifth and Jason Buxton took first place at state.
Three West Jefferson Girls also advanced to the state tournament, after winning two medals at districts. The three girls, together, worked to win seventh place at state, out of 19 1A and 2A teams.
State qualifying girls were Brinlee Carpenter, Yasmin Hernandez and Izzy Reyes.
Rogers said he has encouraged all of his wrestlers to become involved in spring sports such as track and field, baseball or softball to continue athletically bettering themselves.
“I feel good about this year. They wrestled and were very tough,” he said. “It’s awesome to be able to see them overcome and I look forward to the next couple of years I get to spend with them.
Ririe High School Boys were district champions this year. According to Head Coach Chris Harris, the team felt the pressure and stepped up to it.
“Districts started off sluggish,” he said. “In the end we got the outcome we had planned for and won.”
In the end, 12 of Ririe’s boys placed at districts, and 14 qualified for the State Championship.
However, the team suffered a 12 point loss against New Plymouth High School and came out in second place at state.
“We could have won, but there were factors outside of our control,” Harris stated. “Like the other school, they stepped up and they beat us.”
Even in second place, however, individual athletes placed highly in their divisions, such as Austin Machen, who won first place and Hyrum Boone who also won first in their divisions.
Other boys who placed at the tournament were Breylon Moon, third; Tayven Kunz, fourth; Ches Lee Webb, second; Carter Huntsman, fifth; Declan Harris, third and Boston Barber who won sixth.
Ririe girls placed third at districts this year, Harris said, with four girls qualifying for state.
At state, however, only one girl placed at the state tournament. Alyse Stewart, sophomore, placed fifth.
According to Harris, this is very exciting for the girls at Ririe, as Stewart is the first girl to earn a medal at the state championship. Earning third at districts was another exciting moment, he said, as this is only the second year they’ve had a girls team.
The Ririe wrestling program is looking pretty promising, Harris said. Where their athletes are pretty young, he believes in the next few years they will have a “stacked team,” as they continue learning and improving.
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