Braves 8th at Tri-State mat tourney

COEUR d'ALENE, IDAHO - Not too shabby.

The Flathead Braves finished in eighth place at the Tri-State wrestling tournament on Saturday.

Mead won the tournament with 162, followed by University High at 159.5. Lake Stevens was third at 152.5. Flathead scored 132. Libby finished 28th overall with 40.5 points and Polson tied for 46th with 14.

There were 57 teams.

Every Flathead wrestler but one got at least one win.

Flathead had five placers - Caleb Piasecki was seventh (119), Steel Hahn was sixth (152), Jeremiah Gaiser was fifth (145), Connor Thomas was fourth (285) and Larry Francis was second (160).

There was one local champion - Libby's Kyle Leir won the 140-pound weight class.

"This is an extremely tough tournament. For us to be in the top 10 ... it's a great accomplishment," said Flathead coach Matt Owen.

"That's a really good showing. At this tournament, there are no givens. There's not an easy match," he said.

Francis pinned every opponent he faced in the first round until he got to the finals.

"He was trucking right along."

But once in the finals, he "tried to force some things that weren't there, but he competed well," Owen said.

Piasecki, a Class AA state finalist last year, came into the tournament unseeded and faced the third seed right off the bat.

He lost that match, 6-1, then rebounded with five straight wins. He lost one match later in the day, then rounded out the tournament with two more wins.

"He definitely went around the hard way. He had a great showing, showed a lot of heart to get back into the tournament. With a 64-man bracket, it's a long road back," the coach said.

Added to Piasecki's misery was a weekend-long toothache.

"You never would have guessed he wasn't feeling well," Owen said.

The coach also complimented Jeremiah Gaiser at 145.

"Fifth place at the weight class he was at is really impressive. He's really starting to turn the corner on the season, starting to get his confidence," Owen said.

As for Thomas, he was fourth after losing to the eventual champion in the semis.

The Braves finished fifth at this tournament last year, were runners-up in 2008 and claimed the Tri-State title in 2007.

The top competition will continue for Flathead as it travels Jan. 7 to the Pacific Northwest tournament in Spokane and then returns for the Rocky Mountain Classic Jan. 14-15.

Two of the top three Tri-State teams will be at the Rocky and several teams from this weekend will be at the Pacific Northwest.

More immediately, Flathead will face Polson at home on Tuesday.

Team Totals

Mead 162, University 159.5, Lake Stevens 152.5, Post Falls 150, Lewiston 143.5, DeerPark 142, Hermiston 141.5, Flathead 132, Couer d'Alene 116, Orting 114.5, Central Valley 107, Moses Lake 107, Auburn 105, Kelso 90, Kuna 90, Richland 87, Chandler 83, NorthCentral 80, Mt. Spokane 71, Riverside 69, Lakeside 56, BonneyLake 55, Edmonds Woodway 53.5, Todd Beamer 53.5, Missoula Sentinel 52.5, GrahamKapowsin 47, Bonners Ferry 46, Libby 40.5, Tonasket 39, East Valley 38, SedroWoolly 37, Meridian 35, Sandpoint 33, Cheney 32.5, Arlington 30, Lake City 26, Camas 25.5, Reardan 25.5, Eastmont 24, Kellogg 23, LakeWashington 23, Medical Lake 22, Ferris 20, Lakeland 18, MaryWalker 16, Polson 14, Quincy 14, VashonIsland 14, Selkirk 13, TimberLake 13, Kamiakin 8, Moscow 5.5, Bothell 0, Gonzaga Prep 0

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

103 - Josh Newberg, Kelso, p. Brian Alonzo, Auburn, 3:12. 112 - Dalton Brady, Chandler, d. Tyler Clark, University, 14-5. 119 - Ryan Rodogro, Lake Stevens, d. Riley Miller, Kelso, 8-4. 125 - Tyler Berger, Hermiston, p. Ares Carpio, Todd Beamer, 1:43. 130 - Joey Delgado, Hermiston, d. Antonio Brown, Orting, 9-2. 135 - Jeremy Golding, Mead, d. Dustin Utecht, Richland, 6-4. 140 - Kyle Leir, Libby, d. Tyler McLean, Mead, 3-2. 145 - Casey George, Lewiston, p. Trevor Hampton, Bonners Ferry, 3:12. 152 - Andrew King, Lake Stevens, d. Sammy Metz, Lewiston, 3-2. 160 - Dylan Miller, Deer Park, d. Larry Francis, Flathead, 7-0. 171 - Jordan Rodgers, Mead, p. Keegan McCormick, Tonasket, 1:31. 189 - Dustin Johnson, University, d. Curtis Berger, Hermiston, 2-1. 215 - Tanner Hall, Meridian, d. Dylan Rutledge, Auburn, 7-0. 285 - Kabe Fluaitt, Moses Lake, d. Shawn Burton, Deer Park, 6-3.

THIRD-FOURTH PLACES

103 - Michael Cook, Kuna, p. Colton Tracy, Bonney Lake, 1:06. 112 - Eric Soler, Lake Stevens, p. Josh Andrews, Richland, 3:36. 119 - Josh Carlton, Lewiston, d. Michael Baumgarden, Lakeside, 4-3. 125 - Drew Templeman, Orting, d. Jarod Maynes, Central Valley, 6-2. 130 - Brenton Beard, Central Valley, d. Kit Major, Riverside, 7-3. 135 - James Ost, Post Falls, d. Shanon Meris, Orting, 6-4. 140 - Tyler Booth, Post Falls, d. Josh Lauderdale, Lakeside, 5-3. 145 - Chandler Rodgers, Mead, d. Nico Moreno, Moses Lake, 8-5. 152 - Nathan McLeod, Post Falls, d. Josh Seeberger, Sentinel, by default. 160 - Joey Dondero, Kuna, p. Tanner Davis, Central Valley, 3:42. 171 - Jacob Fry, University, d. Nick DesRoches, Riverside, 2-1. 189 - Russell Stinson, Ferris, d. Caleb Davis, Coeur d'Alene, 8-5. 215 - Jake Laden, University, d. Anthony Whitmarsh, North Central, 9-8. 285 - Nick Conlan, Auburn, d. Connor Thomas, Flathead, 10-5.

FIFTH-SIXTH PLACES

103 - Jesse Peterson, Lake Stevens, d. Matt Peterini, Mead, 9-7. 112 - Andrew Cunningham, Bonney Lake, d. Jake Konzal, Deer Park, 2-0. 119 - Garret Belgarde, Sandpoint, d. Max Mejia, Chandler, by default. 125 - Jared Berlinger, North Central, d. Brandon Byers, University, 1-0. 130 - Deshar House, Todd Beamer, d. Conan Kalugin, Mary Walker, 10-5. 135 - Manny Ybarra, Quincy, d. Joe Grable, Deer Park, 3-1. 140 - Kenny Staub, Coeur d'Alene, p. Herson Rodriguez, Moses Lake, 2:47. 145 - Jeremiah Gaiser, Flathead, d. Miguel Salamanca, Camas, by default. 152 - Nikko Veltri, Orting, d. Steel Hahn, Flathead, 8-1. 160 - Austin Pea, Mt. Spokane, d. Sam Voigtlander, Mead, 7-6. 171 - Cole Jesenouski, Post Falls, d. Taylor Whetzel, Mt. Spokane, 6-0. 189 - Ryan Rigney, Lewiston, d. Matt Howard, Coeur d'Alene, 9-4. 215 - Joe Janicki, Sedro Wooley, p. Tyler Aslup, Sentinel, 1:10. 285 - Brady Simpson, Richland, d. Joe Hartley, Post Falls, 7-4.