Richards wins state wrestling title

NAMPA - Bonners Ferry junior Eli Richards won the 170-pound title, and six other Badgers earned medals at the 3A state wrestling meet on Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Ford Idaho Center.

Richards, who finished second at 160 pounds last season, rallied late in his championship match to pull off a 3-2 victory over River Eddins of South Fremont.

Other highlights for Bonners Ferry included a second-place finish by Andrew Sandelin-Macintosh at 220 pounds and senior Evan Barajas' third-place finish at 132.

Also earning medals were Kyle Smith (fifth, 160); Jackson Richter (fifth, 195); Jake Summerfield (sixth, 132) and Isaiah Shottanana (sixth, 285). The Badgers finished eighth as a team with 115.5 points.

According to BFHS head coach Kevin Campbell, the team was well prepared for the state tournament and went in with the mindset to take home a trophy.

“I felt the kids were really well prepared for this weekend,” Campbell said, “We had a great practice at Fruitland Friday afternoon.”

Campbell and the team of wrestlers went in, intending to bring home a trophy, but unfortunately, the team came in eighth place.

“The team was disappointed in that, but it's hard to be disappointed with seven state placers, two finalists and one champion, Campbell said, “As a coach and team you always look at places where we could've scored more points, and every team besides South Fremont is doing that right now, but we are pretty pleased with our results.”

Campbell was impressed with Jackson Richter and Isaiah Shottanana for getting a medal for the first time.

“Both of these young men really wrestled to their potential and brought home some hardware,” Campbell stated.

According to Campbell, Richards dominated the matchups and never panicked.

“Eli wrestled a great tournament; he dominated each match up to the finals; it truly was a dominant performance.” Campbell said, “Then in the Finals, he gave up the first takedown but never panicked; he knew he was the better wrestler and did what he needed to get the win.”

Due to COVID-19, this year's state wrestling meet was split by enrollment divisions, with 4A and 5A competition on Friday and 2A and 3A competition on Saturday. State competition for Bonners Ferry occurred on Saturday, Feb. 27

“The tournament was different, being packed into one day. It ran pretty smoothly, though. Not sure if the one-day format affected the way we wrestled or not.” Campbell said.

Campbell felt that this season was fun, and he was able to have a solid group of student-athletes who have been wrestling for a long time.

“This team is such a fun bunch of kids; they are coachable, competitive, and very good wrestlers,” Campbell stated proudly, “I would like to thank each and every one of them for dedicating part of their life to Bonners Ferry High School Wrestling.”

Enthusiastically, Campbell stated the work is not done for the underclassmen; now is the time for these students to start thinking about how they can improve.

“We had some great successes, and I would want them to dwell on those as we move forward,” Campbell stated.

Campbell wanted to thank Conrad Garner, the longtime Bonners Ferry coach who retired after 34 years.

“He has prepared these kids to be outstanding wrestlers and outstanding young men, Campbell said, “It's been a pleasure to work with him the last three years, and to take over for him is an absolute honor.”

3A STATE MEET

Feb. 27, Ford Idaho Center, Nampa

TEAM SCORES — 1, South Fremont 228. 2, Buhl 214. 3, Snake River 172. 4, Weiser 164. 5, American Falls 138. 6, Marsh Valley 134. 7, Gooding 117. 8, Bonners Ferry 115.5. 9, Sugar-Salem 115. 10, Teton 105.5. 11, Fruitland 93. 12, Homedale 73. 13, Kellogg 64. 14, McCall-Donnelly 49. 15, Payette 47. 16, Parma 30. 17, Timberlake 29. 18, Kimberly 28. 19, Filer 21. 20, Priest River 13.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

170 — Eli Richards, Bonners Ferry, d. River Eddins, South Fremont, 3-2.

220 — Elijah Carter, Weiser, p. Andrew Sandelin-Macintosh, Bonners Ferry, 4:56.

THIRD-FOURTH PLACE

132 — Evan Barajas, Bonners Ferry, d. Chance Bennett, Buhl, 9-6.

FIFTH-SIXTH

132 — Dillon Gneiting, South Fremont, p. Jake Summerfield, Bonners Ferry, :24.

160 — Kyle Smith, Bonners Ferry, d. Brad Benson, Marsh Valley, 9-2.

195 — Jackson Richter, Bonners Ferry, p. Drake Anderton, Snake River, 3:36.

285 — Brody Holaday, Fruitland, p. Isaiah Shottanana, Bonners Ferry, 2:34.

Championship round

Semifinals

132 — Hudson Rogers, Gooding, d. Evan Barajas, Bonners Ferry, 8-3.

170 — Eli Richards, Bonners Ferry, p. Kayden Zimmerman, Kellogg, :54.

220 — Andrew Sandelin-Macintosh, Bonners Ferry, p. Rylee Willet, Weiser, 2:22.

Quarterfinals

132 — Evan Barajas, Bonners Ferry, p. Jake Summerfield, Bonners Ferry, :47.

160 — Kyle Smith, Bonners Ferry, p. Davis Rudkin, Parma, 3:07.

170 — Eli Richards, Bonners Ferry, p. Kaleb Homan, Buhl, 1:20.

195 — Willy Haun, Homedale, d. Jackson Richter, Bonners Ferry, 5-4.

220 — Andrew Sandelin-Macintosh, Bonners Ferry, p. Andrew Alvarez, McCall-Donnelly, :47.

285 — Dawson Kaufman, Teton, p. Isaiah Shattonana, Bonners Ferry, 4:56.

First round

113 —Ryker Simmons, South Fremont, p. Ravi Neumeyer, Bonners Ferry, 3:07.

132 — Evan Barajas, Bonners Ferry, p. Andrew Marston, Homedale, 3:02; Jake Summerfield, Bonners Ferry, d. Tucker Hill, Teton 4-2.

138 — Kawika Lee-Bartolome, Payette, p. Spencer Eby, Bonners Ferry, 1:31.

145 — Kolby Clark, South Fremont, p. Bryan Durette, Bonners Ferry, 4:31.

152 — Woody Pyle, McCall-Donnelly, p. Daniel Zech, Bonners Ferry, 3:01.

160 — Kyle Smith, Bonners Ferry, d. Maximus Kingsbury, Weiser, 11-6.

170 — Eli Richards, Bonners Ferry, tf. Levi Belnap, Snake River, 16-0.

182 — Kash Purser, South Fremont, md. Nathaniel Varelman, Bonners Ferry, 15-5.

195 — Jackson Richter, Bonners Ferry, p. Adrian Vega, American Falls, 1:04.

220 — Andrew Sandelin-Macintosh, Bonners Ferry, p. Caden Dalling, Sugar-Salem, 1:29.

285 — Isaiah Shottanana, Bonners Ferry, d. Owen Houser, Homedale, by injury default; Joshua Curzon, Snake River, p. Donald Riess, Bonners Ferry, :28.

Consolation

First round

113 — Wiley Jackson, Gooding, p. Ravi Neumeyer, Bonners Ferry, 4:57.

138 — Colt Murdock, Parma, p. Spencer Eby, Bonners Ferry, :52.

145 — Trace Nielsen, Buhl, d. Bryan Durette, Bonners Ferry, 6-5.

152 — Lane Carter, Snake River, p. Daniel Zech, Bonners Ferry, 2:45.

182 — Jair Adame, Teton, p. Nathaniel Varelman, Bonners Ferry, 1:00.

285 — Alexzander Aslanzadeh, Parma, d. Donald Riess, Bonners Ferry, 11-5.

Second round

195 — Jackson Richter, Bonners Ferry, d. Oscar Cruz, Weiser, 3-1.

285 — Isaiah Shottanana, Bonners Ferry, p. Alexzander Aslanzadeh, Parma, 2:15.

Third round

132 — Jake Summerfield, Bonners Ferry, p. Kole Dahlke, Marsh Valley, 3:40.

195 — Jackson Richter, Bonners Ferry, md. David Overson, South Fremont, 13-0.

285 — Isaiah Shottanana, Bonners Ferry, p. Tristan McMahill, Weiser, 5:00.

Semifinals

132 — Evan Barajas, Bonners Ferry, d. Dillon Gneiting, South Fremont, 7-1.

160 — William White, Homedale, p. Kyle Smith, Bonners Ferry, :54.

195 — Gabriel Ramos, Payette, d. Jackson Richter, Bonners Ferry, 3-0.

285 — Joshua Curzon, Snake River, p. Isaiah Shottanana, Bonners Ferry, :18.