2022 in community sports

BONNERS FERRY — 2022 was a big year in community sports as activities and competitions returned after being postponed due to COVID-19.

Badger alumni in sports.

In Badger alumni news, Nik Bertling, a pole vaulter for Lewis and Clark State College, took sixth in the pole vault, broke the school record for the third time and earned the title All-American at the NAIA Nationals on May 27.

Bertling became the first LC State Men's Track and Field athlete to earn All-American honors in the pole vault. In his third attempt, the senior hit a school-record mark of 4.85m, or 15 feet and 11 inches, to place sixth and earned individual All-American honors.

He entered nationals as the No. 12 seed at 4.80m, or approximately 15 feet 7 inches.

At the past two meets before the nationals, Bertling also made new personal records and broke the school-record mark.

When at Bonners Ferry High School, Bertling hit a mark of 13 feet 6 inches in the pole vault as a senior and was awarded most outstanding event for pole vault.

Adam Hall, BFHS and BFWC club alumni, is the associate head wrestling coach for North Carolina State University and helped coach his team to its fourth Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championships in a row.

Hall was the number two nationally ranked wrestler for Boise State University and won the 2011 PAC-12 championship. He took third at the 2010 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Omaha, Neb., and competed twice at the Olympic trials in 2012 and 2016.

Team Spirit of America finished the Yukon 1,000 paddle race.

Julie Kirk, 61, and Josh Friedman, 60, the Bonners Ferry kayaking duo Team Spirit of America, proved it’s never too late to achieve your goals.

Several years in the making, Kirk and Friedman finished the world’s toughest paddle race, the Yukon 1000, in seven days, three hours and 27 minutes on July 10.

The Yukon 1000 is a 1,000-mile paddle race, following the Yukon River through Canada into the Arctic Circle and finishes in Alaska.

The Special Olympics returned.

Special Olympics returned in September 2022 with big wins at the Idaho State Regional Bocce Ball Tournament. The Bonners Ferry team, which had five participants, saw Laurie Vaughn and Julie Weible win first place overall. Mike Bjoraker took third place and Gavin Lee and Charlie Meeker took fifth place.

Two Bonners Ferry Wrestling Club members wrestled at Nationals.

Bonners Ferry wrestlers Eli Richards and Savannah Rickter competed July 16-22 in the Fargo USA Nationals at North Dakota State University for Team Idaho.

Rickter was named one of the wrestlers to watch by Idaho Sports and took third at the first Idaho state girls wrestling tournament in February. She was also the District I and II champion for her weight class.

In June, Bonners Ferry High School wrestler Rickter competed for Team Idaho at the 2022 Junior Nationals Duals in Tulsa, Okla. Rickter finished with a 5-3 record in Tulsa. Team Idaho includes 13 girls with one in each weight class. Team Idaho finished 6-2, taking seventh.

Richards is a recent 2022 graduate from BFHS. His high school wrestling record was 145-39 overall. His senior year he went 42-4.

Richards is a two-time Idaho state high school wrestling state champion, three-time state finalist, four-time state medalist and 2021 USA High School Wrestling Triple Crown champion.

At the 2022 High School Senior Nationals, Richards was a top 12 finisher, with the top placer being named All American. He was recently named the 2022 North Idaho Wrestler of the Year and was inducted into the North Idaho Hall of Fame.