BFHS wrestlers place at George Wild tournament

KELLOGG — The Bonners Ferry wrestling team performed well at this year’s George Wild Tournament, which took place in Kellogg on Saturday, Dec. 10, with a handful of Badgers placing in the top five of their respective weight classes.

Carver Copley did not place in the 98 lb. weight class but scored a total of four team points. Copley pinned Andrea Taylor from Lakeland (3:24) in the first round, then fell to Dom Jessos (1:32) in the quarterfinals and fell again to Brianna Davis from Timberlake (3:38) in the consolation round.

Ben Tadlock placed third in the 106 lb. weight class and scored a total of 14 team points. Tadlock received a bye in the quarterfinal but fell to Austin McKinnon from Wallace (1:19) in the semis. He then scored a sub-minute pin against Austin Warren from Eureka (0:24) in the consolation semifinals and took down Michael Senteney from Kellog (1:10) to win the third place match.

Tyler Beazer placed third in the 113 lb. weight class and scored a total of 16 team points. Beazer pinned Jonlun Oling (1:08) in the quarterfinals but fell to Alfredo Gonzalez from Clearwater Valley (0:31) in the semis. Beazer took down Daeggon Benner from Timberlake (1:04) and Brandon Downs from Priest River (13-11 decision) in the consolation rounds to finish third.

Kenny Branson did not place in the 120 lb. weight class but scored a total of four team points. Branson scored a sub-minute pin against Colton Royals from Pullman (0:27) in the first round but went on to fall to Seth Monroe from Kellogg (0:27) in the quarterfinals and Rhonin Edwards from Lakeland (3:18) in the consolation round.

Denton Eby placed fourth in the 126 lb. weight class and scored a total of 11 team points. After receiving a bye in round one, Eby fell to Hank Dunn from Eureka (3:40) in the quarterfinals. Eby made it to the third place match after pinning Brandon Evenson from Priest River (2:23) and winning by decision against Christian Fabbi from Clearwater Valley (8-6), but fell to Jessee Campbell from Kellogg (3:41) in that match and took fourth place.

Slater Copley placed third in the 132 lb. weight class and scored a total of 20 team points. After receiving a first-round bye, Copley pinned Austin Stepro from Kellogg (3:04) in the quarterfinals but fell to Dawson Harris from Orofino (1:19) in the semifinals. Copley went on to the consolation round, where he pinned Carson Heim from Lakeland (1:58) and Devin Fletcher from Orofino (5:25) to take third place.

Mason Eby placed second in the 138 lb. weight class and scored a total of 18 team points. After receiving a bye in the first round, Eby pinned Scott Hutchison from Pullman (2:32) in the semis but lost the first place match to Cole Dahman from Pullman (6-2 decision).

Nikolous Bertling did not place in the 145 lb. weight class but scored a total of six team points. Bertling fell to Colton Boettcher from Lakeland (3:23) in the first round to enter the consolation bracket. Bertling was able to pin Cedar Fisher from Clearwater Valley (2:00), along with Nick Reyes from Priest River (0:21), but fell to Shaun Bailes from Lakeland (1:11) in the consolation round.

Connor Underhill did not place in the 152 lb. weight class but scored a total of three team points. Underhill fell to Carson Morrow from Clearwater Valley (1:02) in round one. Underhill pinned Maclain Stultz from Sandpoint (3:45) in the first match of the consolation round but fell to Hunteer Wabs from Cour d’Alene (0:15) in the following match.

Jesse Sandelin placed fifth in the 160 lb. weight class and scored a total of 15 team points. Sandelin pinned Kyle Hueth from Clearwater Valley (2:58) in the first round and then pinned Connor Heim from Lakeland (5:57) in the quarterfinals. Sandelin then fell to Noah Jamison from Priest River (TF 15-0 4:33) in the semifinals. After losing to Anthony Noto from Kellog (5-1 decision) in the first match of the consolation round, Sandelin pinned Connor Heim from Lakeland (4:28) to finish in fifth place.

Matt Varelman placed fourth in the 220 lb. weight class and scored a total of 14 team points. Varelman scored a sub-minute pin against Gabe Zanetti from Cour d’Alene (0:43) in the quarterfinals, but fell to Brandon Stump from Orofino (4:43) in the semis. Varelman pinned Kelton Saad from Potlach (2:03) in the first match of the consolation round but fell in the third place match to Dietrik Mueller from Pullman (4:41).

Ronney Craig did not place in the 285 lb. weight class but scored a total of four team points. Craig pinned Lucas Gardner from Lakeland (2:23) in the first round, but then fell to Kaelan Yanak from Eureka (1;17) in the quarterfinals and fell again to Cody Gludt from Potlach (1:27) in the consolation round.