Future is bright for Sandpoint wrestling

Sandpoint’s wrestling team has slowly been building a successful program under head coach Jake Stark, and in 2022 it started to reap the rewards.

The Bulldogs won the 4A District I-II championship for the first time since 2008 on Feb. 19, in dominant fashion, winning by 80 points.

“My expectations for the season were really high,” Stark said. “Everybody got on board and bought in.”

Sandpoint brought 11 wrestlers to the 4A Idaho state wrestling tournament on Feb. 25, at the Holt Arena in Pocatello.

Darrian Resso placed sixth and 152-pounds and the Bulldogs placed 17 as a team.

“We had a great week of practice leading up to state,” Stark said. “Our mental state was right where we wanted to be, physically, we were banged up, but we had a good outlook going down to state.”

For Resso, it's been a long time coming according to Stark.

“I felt like he was overdue for a trip to the podium,” Stark said. “Last year he ran into the state champion during the tournament so it was nice to see him get a medal.”

Resso fell to Burley’s Jaxyn Smith in the fifth and sixth place match.

Smith pinned Resso four seconds into the second round. Resso was ahead 10-0 before Smith was able to catch him on his back.

“Any given moment those kids are knocking and waiting to take an opportunity,” Stark said. “Despite the loss, he performed at a high level all weekend. I could see him finishing in the top 3 next year.”

Andrew Duke, Calvin Hinds, and Blake Sherill also made it to the second day of the state tournament, but did not place.

Sandpoint had a rough start to its season dealing with injuries and sickness, but it was able to turn the corner at the mid way point with its lineup at full strength.

“We had some unfortunate circumstances at the beginning of the season,” Stark said. “Then we started winning tournaments as a team and having kids place at these tournaments. Not just one or two kids, but about 10 each tournament.”.

The momentum from the end of the year will carry over into 2023, with 10 out of its 11 state qualifiers slated to return for next season.

“We have a lot of depth and we’re hungry to keep our title,” Stark said. “We all want to continue to push the limits and get better.”

Having the young grapplers gain experience at the state tournament was a huge benefit, according to Stark.

“They’re going to come back knowing exactly what to expect,” he said. “They’ll know how to prepare and what to do in order to place at the tournament.”

The wrestlers are all committed to the process as well, with wrestling being most of the grapplers’ main sport.

Some of the returnees are football players, but Stark said that football and wrestling go hand-in-hand with each other.

With the kids returning along with a deep middle school class, the future of Sandpoint wrestling seems poised for another breakout year in 2023.