Badger Girls Wrestling Season Preview: Program growing

BONNERS FERRY — The Bonners Ferry girls wrestling program had a dominant 2021-22 season, winning the first District I-II championship and having a state placer in the first all-girls competition.

This year, the program has grown with additional girls coming out to wrestle.

Head coach Kevin Campbell said the growing team has a mix of experienced wrestlers and new faces. This year, the girls competition schedule will differ from the boy’s team. Campbell said this is due to the girl’s program traveling to different tournaments where there will be more female competition.

He added that Western Washington female wrestling is growing and the team will travel to Wenatchee, Wash., for a tournament. He hopes girls wrestling as a sport grows in Idaho as it is doing in Washington state and across the country.

Due to girls wrestling still growing as a sport, last year only the top female wrestler of each weight class in District I-II moved on to the state competition. State and district competition for girls wrestling is divided by weight class with no distinction between school classifications.

This resulted in only one female wrestler per weight class claiming a state title, rather than having a champion for 3A, 4A and so on.

In the District I-II tournament, Gena Kelsey (145) came back from a loss, fought through the consolation bracket and into the district finals. She was one point away from advancing to the state tournament, finishing second. Earlier in the tournament, Kelsey beat an undefeated wrestler from Coeur d’Alene. She finished the season 10-13.

Fellow Badger, Savannah Rickter (160) took first at districts and advanced to state. She placed third in the IHSAA state competition and finished the season 30-2.

Campbell added Rickter had wrestled two Intermountain League competitors nearly seven times last season at tournaments and hadn’t wrestled or even seen much of her competition until the state tournament.

He added that now Rickter knows how to beat her state competitors and that she defeated one of them this summer when she competed for Bonners Ferry Wrestling Club. Rickter also spent the summer wrestling for the state of Idaho and went on to Fargo Nationals.

This year at the state tournament, the girls bracket will be expanded to 12.

In the past, Campbell said the hope is to expand brackets and add classification of big school and little schools in the next few years as girls wrestling grows in Idaho.

At this time boys wrestling has 15 weight classes and girls has 12.

Badger wrestling is still hosting a firewood fundraiser. Anyone interested should contact the high school at 208-267-3149 and ask to contact Kevin Campbell.