Badger girls reclaim District 1-2 title, six off to state

SPIRIT LAKE — The Badgers reclaimed the District I-II girls wrestling title on Feb. 15, with five wrestlers competing in the championship round. Two, Neveah Therrien (107) and Savannah Rickter (152), claimed individual titles as well.

The team title is the Badgers’ first since winning the first District I-II team championship in 2022. The Badgers claimed second in 2023, finishing one point behind district champion Lewiston. 

Bonners Ferry head coach Travis Stolley said the advice he’s given to wrestlers is to “go down there and wrestle to your ability.”

“Don’t worry about the wins or losses, be aggressive, the results will come out of that,” he said. “We have a shot in many weight classes to make some noise at state.”

“The girls continued to do what they have all year,” Stolley said of winning the district title. “Some didn’t make it to state, but finished in third, which helped us win the district championship.”

Taking second and also advancing to state are Aubrey Wells (160), a 2023 district champion; Eva Willis (185) and Hallie Hartman (235). 

Stolley commended Sofia Brown (132) and Ireland Grady (120)  for their performances, with both fighting back from a loss to finish in third. 

Brown had a full bracket and after defeating Lake City’s Pasty Blake, she fell to a familiar Timberlake foe, Shelby Garten. The two wrestlers have gone back and forth all season, both defeating and losing to the other. Brown defeated Taylro Musser of Lewiston and then finished in third after defeating Raylee Reynolds by fall. 

Brown was named as a wild card and will advance to the state tournament. Only one wild card wrestler is chosen for each weight class across the state, with wrestlers placing third in districts eligible. The wrestler with the highest winning per is chosen.

“Sofia has an 80% winning percentage,” Stolley said. “Ireland Grady was also in the running for the wild card, but the other wrestler was chosen.”

When it comes to state seeding, Stolley said having Caldwell and other southern Idaho teams compete at the North Idaho Rumble made the process easier and allowed North Idaho teams to have southern opponents. 

Stolley said he plans for the program to visit more southern Idaho tournaments to give the wrestlers a chance to compete against potential state competitors and to assist with state seeding. However, the difficulty will be traveling for the program, he said. 

A total of six Badgers will advance to compete at state. Last season, a four-girl team finished fifth in the state, finishing a point out of fourth place. 

The top two wrestlers in each weight class, with a wild card available for the next highest seed statewide, advance to state on Feb. 23-24 at the ICCU Dome in Pocatello.

Bonners Ferry wrestling hit the road on Wednesday for a two-day bus ride to the state tournament. Stolley said due to the winter driving rules for bus drivers, Bonners Ferry is the only team in Idaho taking two days to travel to the state competition. 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Bonners Ferry 183. 2, Sandpoint 142. 3, Lewiston 114. 4, Lake City 81. 5, Post Falls 77. 6, Potlatch 58. 7, Lakeland 56. 8, Kellogg 50. 9, Coeur d’Alene 49. 10, Clearwater Valley 47. 11, Moscow 26. 12, Timberlake 22. 13, Kamiah 13. 14, Priest River 7. 

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

100 — Mackenzee Donenfeld, Sandpoint, p. Sophia McLain, Kellogg, 5:40. 107 — Neveah Therrien, Bonners Ferry, p. Hunter Edmondson, Sandpoint, 2:53. 114 — Joely Slyter, Lewiston, p. Teagan Patrick, Lakeland, :29. 120 — Alexxis Johnson, Lake City, d. Emma Garman, Sandpoint, 6-1. 126 — Keira Zimmerman, Moscow, d. Shelby Prather, Potlatch, 8-6. 132 — Madi Cook, Lake City, p. Shelby Garten, Timberlake, 4:21. 138 — Megan Myers, Clearwater Valley, p. Kamryn Lockart, Lewiston, 1:28. 145 — Izzy Davis, Kellogg, p. Cara Brown, Coeur d’Alene, 3:39. 152 — Savannah Rickter, Bonners Ferry, d. Hayley McNeal, Potlatch, 10-5. 160 — Annika Thompson, Lakeland, p. Aubrey Wells, Bonners Ferry, 1:35. 185 — Emma Rivera, Lewiston, p. Eva Willis, Bonners Ferry, :40. 235 — Lilli Marti, Sandpoint, d. Hallie Hartman, Bonners Ferry, 6-0.

THIRD-FOURTH PLACE

100 — Ezrah Vollendorff, Priest River, by default. Kellyn Mcmahon, Lake City, by default. 107 — Kellyn Mcmahon, Lake City, by default. 114 — Riley Parsons, Clearwater Valley, by default. 120 — Ireland Grady, Bonners Ferry, p.  Jayden Ocain, Kamiah, 2:00. 126 — Emma Younger, Post Falls, p. Izzy Stark, Sandpoint, 1:58. 132 — Sofia Brown, Bonners Ferry, p. Raylee Reynolds, Post Falls, 1:46. 138 — Bria Miller, Lewiston, p. Kaysha Kimura, Sandpoint, 3:01. 145 — Emmalyn Boller, Clearwater Valley, p. Emma Roberts, Bonners Ferry, 3:25. 152 — Brooklyn Anderson, Coeur d'Alene, p. Sophia Stewart, Post Falls, 3:14. 165 — Sylvia Becker, Sandpoint, p. Tamzyn Feierabend, Coeur d'Alene 0:48. 185 — Tierney Prather, Potlatch, d.  Zoey Braun, Post Falls, 6-4. 235 — Savannah Urrutia, Post Falls, p. Devlyn Hernandez, Post Falls, 1:07.

    Savannah Rickter scores points against Potlatch's Hayley McNeal.
  

    Aubrey Wells flips Sandpoint's Sylvia Becker at the Girls Districts I-II on Feb. 15.
  

    (left) Hallie Hartman and Eva Willis stared down their opponents at the championship face off.
  

    Neveah Therrien wins championship match, making her a two time district champion.