Six hours of jumping and screaming. On Friday, Jan. 21, Lakeland High School competed against Sandpoint High School in Battle for the Paddle, which consisted of many events. Aside from the basketball games and wrestling matches, the event held the following competitions: dance, cheer, rowboat race, decibel reading, lip-sync, fundraising, sportsmanship, artwork, and the paddle babble rap.

The Hawks won for the third straight year, and the return of Battle for the Paddle, after not having one last season, was electric. 

In the girl’s basketball game, the Lady Hawks(7-6) held off the Lady Bulldogs(8-7) in a 40-34 win to kick off the night. Lakeland went on a 17-0 run from the end of the first quarter to late in the third quarter, not allowing a shot for more than fifteen minutes of regulation. 

Kenna Simon led the team with nine points and ten rebounds. When talking about her game, Kenna said, “It was very exciting to be able to play in front of everyone and hear the student section go wild during every big play. I played in the Battle for the Paddle game as a freshman but only had like ten seconds of playtime, so this was pretty much my first experience playing. I was surprised that we were able to block out the noise, but aside from missing a double-double by one point, it was a fun game.” 

Lila Kiefer got to the free-throw multiple times in the game and made six out of eight. She also had four assists, while her sister Addie scored a team-high eleven points. 

Coach Steve Seymour said, “I was glad that we got the win and helped our school win the paddle again.” 

The Lady Hawks will play next on Jan. 25 in a road game against Kellogg. 

Shortly after the girls’ basketball games and a few events in between, the wrestling match was ready to kick off. The Hawks were not able to pull off a win and lost to the Bulldogs 48-33.

The night started off at 113 pounds with Matthew Williams getting the pin for the Hawks.

The next match was at 120 with freshman Austin Howell. Howell fought hard in a tough match but was pinned in the last 5 seconds.

At 126 pounds Reilly Saxe was able to get three near-fall points as soon as the match ended and won 7-6.

At 132 pounds was John Meridith who got pinned and let the Bulldogs take the lead. 

Senior Lucas Williams was able to beat his rival Shane Sherill in a tough match at 138 pounds 

At 145 pounds, senior Payden Wysong was able to get the tech win with a 16-1 win.

The Bulldogs then won the next two matches at 152 and 160, with Thayer Sabatke and Dylan Scott both getting pinned.

Senior Devon Suko was able to pull off a significant decision with a 16-7 win to bring the score to 24-24.

In the next two matches at 182 and 195, Hutton Hegbloom and Gage Oles could not pull off wins for the Hawks.

At 220 and 285, Devon Howell and Preston Jeffs got victories, but it wasn’t enough for Lakeland to come out on top. 

The Hawks will face the Timberlake Tigers on Wednesday, January 26th.

As the last event, the Lakeland Hawks took on the Sandpoint Bulldogs in boys basketball. The Hawks ended up winning 71-58 in a thrilling game. The game had intense energy the entire time, much like the event’s entirety. 

The Hawks played incredibly well, but the show was led by Bryce Henry. Henry ended up scoring 18 points while dealing with a cramp. “I think we played the best we could’ve played. It was so much fun, and honestly, I wasn’t really that nervous.” Henry said. 

Alden Waddington almost had a double-double, Grant Roth scored 13 points, Abe Munyer and Scotty Hocking both scored 11 points. “It was so loud and slightly hard to call plays. It was so much fun, but I was really nervous. I think our nerves and adrenaline helped us play better. I can’t wait till next year. It’s going to be fun my senior year.” Hocking said.

The energy in the student section was unmatched throughout the boys’ game, and the energy created by head coach Tony Hanna’s team aided the Hawks on their way to the third straight win of the paddle. 

The boy’s next game is against the Moscow Bears in Moscow on Friday, January 28th.