|
Bonners Ferry wrestlers shine in big
competitions |
|
September 1, 2017 |
 |
| Kyle Smith,
Eli Richards, Jake Summerfield, Andrew
Sandelin and Evan Barajas qualified for
the Idaho Schoolboy Dual National Team.
Barajas was unable to compete due to
graduation. |
|
By Corey Richards
The Bonners Ferry Wrestling Club took flight
this past season as Eli Richards, Kyle Smith,
Evan Barajas, Jake Summerfield, Jackson Rickter,
Austin Madden, Dalton Regehr, Jessie Sandelin,
Maddox Mertwieller, Chance madden, Marcus
Regerhr and Andrew Sandelin brought home over 27
medals from the Idaho Kids State folkstyle,
freestyle and Greco wrestling tournament.
Kyle Smith took first in all three styles,
becoming a Triple Crown winner in the schoolboy
128 pound division, and Andrew Sandelin received
his award from being a triple crown winner the
year before.
Bonners Ferry Wrestling Club members Kyle Smith,
Eli Richards, Andrew Sandelin and Jake
Summerfield all made Idaho USA Schoolboy
National Dual Team by placing in the top three
of their weight classes.
The boys practice the month of May, which
included a group of the other top Idaho
wrestlers and Team Idaho coaches coming up to
Bonners Ferry to train with the boys for a
weekend.
The boys also traveled to southern Idaho
Memorial Day weekend for training. The boys
joined up with the rest of Team Idaho in Boise
and flew out to Indianapolis, Indiana, June 6
through 12 for the USA Schoolboy National duals.
The team as a whole went 5-3, beating team North
Carolina, Team Tennessee, Team Indiana blue,
Team Georgia Red and Team Alabama, to take
second in the blue/red pool during Greco
wrestling competition. During the freestyle
competition, Team Idaho went 4-3, beating Team
Delaware, Team Colorado blue, Team Kansas silver
and Team Iowa Blue to take third in the
green/yellow pool.
The boys worked hard during practices and
represented Bonners Ferry Wrestling Club well,
both on and off the mat, as they were very
respectful and polite at all times.
Kyle finished 16-4 and Eli finished 15-7 in both
freestyle and Greco wrestling during the duals.
After getting back from the schoolboy duals,
Eli, Kyle, Andrew and Jake went directly to
Wendell, Idaho, and met up with Bonners Ferry
Wrestling Club members Evan, Chance, Jessie,
Austin and Marcus at Delchev Wrestling Training
Center to prepare for Western Regionals in
Pocatello, where the boys wrestled from June 21
through June 24 in the biggest tournament of the
year, where some of the boys had 64-man
brackets.
Placing in the top four was extremely tough,
however, the team won many matches and Jake
Summerfield took third in both styles, Jackson
Rickter took fourth in both styles and the rest
of the boys wrestled tough but missed reaching
the top four by a match or two.
Getting home during the early hours on June 24,
they took the day off and wanted to meet back up
the evening of June 25 to throw the wrestling
dummies around and prepare for USA Wrestling
Kids Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia.
Eli, Kyle, Jake, Evan, Andrew, Coach Conrad
Garner and I left early on Monday, June 27, and
landed in Atlanta that afternoon.
The boys again faced large brackets of 32 to 64
fighters, with tough competition from around the
country.
Jake Summerfield placed foutth in Greco to earn
All-American honors, and Kyle, Eli, Andrew and
Evan wrestled extremely well and beat some tough
kids, but came up short of placing in the top
eight and earning All-American Honors.
Success is not always about winning and placing,
but about just being there, learning, making new
friends and competing at the higher levels.
Thanks to these boys’ hard work and dedication
over the years, Bonners Ferry Wrestling Club is
nationally known and are currently ranked 139th
in the nation, according to USA Wrestling.
A big thank you goes out to the community of
Bonners Ferry, Woody’s Gun n' Pawn and the
Bonners Ferry Vet Clinic (Linda and Dr. Roland
Hall) for allowing these boys to come and work
to earn money and buying raffle tickets for
their wrestling and traveling.
It is much appreciated. |
 |
| The Bonners
Ferry Wrestling Club had a busy and fun
summer. Thanks to their hard work and
dedication, the team is currently ranked
139th in the nation, according to USA
Wrestling. |
|
|
Questions or comments about this
article?
Click here to e-mail! |
|
|
|
|
