First girls wrestling state championship, Rickter takes third
Savannah Rickter (fourth on the right) placed third at the girl wrestling state competition.
Photo courtesy of BFWC
POCATELLO — In the first Idaho state girls wrestling tournament, Savannah Rickter (160) took third Feb. 26 in the Holt Arena at Idaho State University.
Rickter struggled with match up when he wrestled against a tall girl from Boise, head coach Kevin Campbell said. Rickter struggled with her height when she tried to throw her opponent, but couldn’t get the pin.
“Savannah went 30-2 and took third in state. We can build on that. I am super proud and happy for her,” he said.
Rickter is only a sophomore and will hopefully come back out to wrestle, Campbell said.
The state girls wrestling tournament only had nine brackets, which is equivalent to the size of the boys state wrestling tournament at the quarterfinals level. Once the girls tournament started, they were put in the middle of floor mats rather than in a corner somewhere, Campbell said.
“Hopefully, the state expands the brackets next year and brings in more girls,” Campbell said.
He looks forward to girls wrestling growing in the next few years and sending more girl Badgers to state competitions.
For boys wrestling districts only included the innermountain league teams and the top three wrestlers of each weight division qualified for state. For girls wrestling, districts was a combination of District I and District II schools with no separation of classification or school size. Due to girls wrestling still being in its infancy in the state of Idaho, only one girl per weight class from either district could advance on to state. Bonners Ferry’s own Gena Kelsey (145) made it to the finals, but didn’t score enough points to come in first and finished in second.
“Gena could have wrecked the [145] bracket at state,” Campbell said.
The girl badgers wrestling team won districts with only four girls. Five were on the roster, but one was out sick and Shaylynn Richards had to medically fortified due to a head injury. They finished 10 points ahead of second place Moscow and had one of the largest teams at the districts competition.
Bonners Ferry Wrestling Club Greco and Freestyle practice are Mondays and Wednesdays at the high school in the wrestling room from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Boys and girls of all ages are welcome. BFWC is scheduled to host a tournament March 12. Contact Kevin Campbell for more information at 208-739-0820.