Quartet win individual titles at state wrestling

POCATELLO — The Lewiston High School wrestling team knew it had a good chance to win at least one Class 5A individual title Saturday at the state meet at Holt Arena. Two championships and a third place almost were too much to ask.

But that’s what the Bengals are coming home with.

Not only did top-seeded Tristan Bremer return to the top of the podium after settling for second place last year, third-seeded Hoyt Hvass also captured a crown, his first.

Another No. 3 seed for the Bengals, heavyweight Robert Storm, placed third.

In the girls tournament, Moscow’s Skyla Zimmerman and Orofino’s Lindi Kessinger each pinned their way to titles.

Bremer won by technical fall, 15-0, in the 132-pound title match against Coeur d’Alene’s Dax Larsen, who had upset No. 2 seed Luke Jensen of Rocky Mountain in the semifinal round. Bremer also beat Larsen for the district championship.

“He just handled it like business as usual,” Lewiston coach Stuart Johnson said. “He went out there, took control of the match and then started scoring points.”

The Lewiston senior pinned two opponents Friday before winning by major decision 12-0 in the semifinal round on this day.

“Our goal with all our kids is to get out there and start scoring points,” Johnson said. “Don’t worry about the ending of it until you get there.”

Bremer won the 106-pound title as a sophomore before taking second last year at 126.

Hvass, a sophomore, knocked off No. 1 seed Joshua Mendoza of Boise Timberline 7-4 in his final. A transfer from Clarkston, Hvass had seen limited action a year ago because of Washington’s truncated season in the face the pandemic.

“I don’t (want) to say it was a surprise, but we knew this was going to be a critical matchup,” Johnson said. “Hoyt and the Mendoza kid have similar wrestling styles. We just didn’t have the resume he had. The coaches knew this was a winnable match but we knew things had to go our way.”

Mendoza slipped behind Hvass for a tricky opening takedown, a maneuver that lit a fire under the Bengal, according to Johnson.

Storm, a junior, lost in the semifinal round but prevailed twice in the consolation bracket, including 7-5 in the third-place match.

Joely Slyter, a freshman girl who wrestles at 106 pounds (but actually weighs closer to 94), placed sixth.

Zimmerman (girls 113) pinned district rival and fellow junior Kadence Beck of Highland in 3:10 in the final to cap a 30-1 season. Zimmerman pinned her semifinal opponent in 10 seconds.

“She had a fantastic tournament,” Moscow coach Pat Amos said. “The neat thing about Skyla is watching her development the past three or four years. How much she has grown and she’s wrestled in some tough competition. It’s been really exciting to watch. It’s pretty cool to be part of that.”

For the Moscow boys, Isaiah Murphy (195) and Diego Deaton (145) placed sixth in Class 4A.

“Anytime you can get on the medal stand at the state tournament is an accomplishment,” Amos said.

Kessinger, a sophomore, pinned No. 1 seed Kayla Vail of Bonneville in 4:49 of their girls 120-pound title match. So Kessinger added a wrestling state title to the championships she won in track and field in May in the discus and 300-meter hurdles. Like Zimmerman, who won all three of her matches by fall.

Daring Cross, a No. 2 seed at 138 pounds from Clearwater Valley of Kooskia in Class 2A, settled for second place when he was pinned in 51 seconds by top-seeded Kyle Rice of New Plymouth.

Third-place finishes in Class 2A went to Potlatch’s Eli Prather (152) and Izack McNeal (170) as well as Clearwater Valley 126-pounder Keyan Boller.

Potlatch’s Tyson Tucker (160) took fourth, while fifths went to CV’s Jake Fabbi (132), Anthony Fabbi (145) and Kamiah’s Porter Whipple (220). Bass Myers (182) and Isaac Goodwin (195) each took sixth for CV.

The Loggers’ Hayley McNeal (145) placed sixth in the girls competition.

In the team standings, Lewiston finished ninth of 21 Class 5A teams with 79.5 points and Moscow was 20th of 26 Class 4A teams with 20 points.

In Class 2A, Clearwater Valley placed ninth of 42 teams with 88 points. Potlatch came in 16th with 59 points, Kamiah was 22nd with 21 points, Orofino took 29th with eight points and Grangeville was 30th with seven points.

In the girls team standings, Moscow was seventh of 45 teams with 39.5 points. Orofino was tied for 14th with 26 points, Highland followed in 16th with 20 points, Lewiston tied for 32nd with six points and Potlatch was 38th with four points.

Former Clarkston youth wrestler Rylan Rogers, now a senior at Coeur d’Alene, handily won the Class 5A 195-pound championship, pinning his opponent in the final in 30 seconds.

CLASS 5A

Lewiston

113 — Jase Hendren 2-2.

120 — Hoyt Hvass 4-0 (first).

132 — Tristan Bremer 4-0 (first).

285 — Robert Storm 4-1 (third).

Girls 106 — Joely Slyter 1-3 (sixth).

Girls 182 — Cassidy Rehder 0-2.

CLASS 4A

Moscow

145 — Diego Deaton 2-3 (sixth).

195 — Isaiah Murphy 2-3 (sixth).

Girls 106 — Keira Zimmerman 3-1 (third).

Girls 113 — Skyla Zimmerman 3-0 (first).

CLASS 2A

Clearwater Valley

126 — Keyan Boller 4-1 (third).

132 — Jake Fabbi 4-2 (fifth).

138 — Daring Cross 3-1 (second).

145 — Anthony Fabbi 4-2 (fifth).

182 — Bass Myers 2-3 (sixth).

195 — Isaac Goodwin 3-3 (sixth).

Highland

Girls 113 — Skyler Beck 2-1 (second).

Kamiah

195 — Connor Weddle 2-2.

220 — Porter Whipple 3-2 (fifth).

Orofino

Girls 120 — Lindi Kessinger 3-0 (first).

Potlatch

152 — Eli Prather 4-1 (third).

160 — Tyson Tucker 4-2 (fourth).

170 — Izack McNeal 4-1 (third).

Girls 145 — Hayley McNeal 1-3 (sixth).