The Lakeland Hawks wrestling team has taken their third district title, even with the addition of the Lewiston Bengals in their district.
The Hawks scored 422 points, while the closest team, The Bengals, was only at 357.5.
Not only are they the district champions, but 8 of their wrestlers took their bracket. They will also be taking 3 wrestlers off of second-place matches and 4 off wild cards.
Putting points on the board and wrestling smart, the Lakeland wrestlers’ hard work this season paid off.
The coaches had a challenging and stressful day, with some matches not going as planned and some tough, close matches.
At 98 pounds, Zach Teal took the bracket against Ty Wood. Josiah Koonce, at 98, took third for the Hawks but has made state as a wild card.
“Feels pretty good to get a wild card,” Koonce said, “I should be able to place at state. I am going to gain weight and work hard at practice. I will be going into state prepared.”
At 106 pounds, Caleb Adams took his third district champ title and will be going to state.
“It feels good to take districts for the third time,” Adams said, “I am going to perform well but to do so I need to maintain my weight well unlike at districts, watch what I eat and how much.”
113-pounder Kade Knopp took his second district champ title and will also be going to state.
120-pound Carson Leonard will go to state after taking districts and looking for his second state title.
“I have improved a lot, so it sets me up for success at state,” Leonard said, “I’m not overly confident, but confident if I wrestle like I know I can, I will take care of business.”
After taking second place in districts last year and going to state as a wild card, Jaron Knopp looked for redemption and took first place in districts at 126 pounds. Kutter O’Brien got a wild card and will also be wrestling in the state after taking third place in the district.
At 132, Justin Baxter took fourth for the Hawks.
138 pounds was a tough loss for the Hawks. Griffin Tamagni was seated number one but fell short in his second match. He met his teammate Cash Lund on the consolation side. Cash beat Tamagni and was able to beat Gage Martin, the Sandpoint wrestler who put Tamagni on the backside, for true second.
Cole Cooper took his bracket at 144 pounds but was disappointed in receiving a forfeit from Gunnar Whitlock from Lewiston in the finals. Ekahi Hamilton will also be going to state at 144 pounds as a wild card after taking third at districts.
Austin Howell, at 150 pounds, was a significant upset. He made it to the finals but lost, then had to wrestle true second and also fell short, taking third overall. He received a wild card and is looking for redemption at state.
“Districts did not go as planned,” Howell said, “I will wrestle better and be more situationally aware. I will work on not getting caught in places I should not be in.”
At 157 pounds, Kalab Hammer met his teammate Gage McWatters in the finals. Hammer won with a tech fall in the second period, but both boys will go to state.
“I felt good at districts,” Mcwatters said, “I will keep my weight in check and work hard.”
Thayer Sabatke took his bracket at 165 but had a tough finals match with Daniel Holman, a Sandpoint wrestler in the finals; he was able to win the battle with a major decision, taking a good lead in the third period, 24-15 in the final outcome.
Peyton Sardinha took fifth for the Hawks at 165.
At 175, Ty Tincup went two and out, but his brother Jesse Tincup took sixth, putting some team points on the board for the Hawks.
At 190, Wyatt Berger went two and out.
Ernie Steele and Daemon Huddleston were both 215 pounds and met in the semi-finals. Steele beat Huddleston with a tech fall and went on to the finals, losing to Jackson Holman, a Sandpoint wrestler, but winning his true second match.
“Placing at districts and earning my spot at state is a different feeling than getting a wild card,” Steele said, “I feel like I will perform better than previous years.”
Huddleston went on to take fourth.
At 285 pounds, Zane Gray took fourth for the Hawks, and Jackson Patterson went two and out.
The Hawks will wrestle in Pocatello, ID, from Feb 28 to Mar 1. Last year, they placed third in the state and will be looking to claim a state championship.
