Win No. 100, district title No. 3
Feb. 18—MOSCOW — After a month away from the mats because of an injury, Moscow's Skyla Zimmerman pinned her semifinal-round opponent, Prairie's Holli Schumacher, in the second period for her 100th high school wrestling victory.
A couple hours later, the senior earned her third career district title, this time by pin in the third period against Lake City's Alexxis Johnson in front of a roaring home crowd Friday at Bear Den.
"I felt like all my hard work I've put into it has really paid off," Zimmerman said. "I know that State is the next step and I'm going to work towards it even harder."
Lewiston won the girls district title with 99.5 points, one more than second-place Bonners Ferry, in a girls tournament that featured athletes from Class 1A to 5A.
On the other mat, the boys Class 4A district tournament between Moscow, Lakeland and Sandpoint took place. The Bears finished third, but secured three individual champions. Lakeland took the team title.
The top-two finishers at the district in each tournament will advance to next week's state tournament in Nampa, with third-place finishers getting a chance at earning an at-large bid.
Here are three takeaways from the big day on the mats:
A pioneer of her sport
As soon as the referee lifted Zimmerman's hand after her semifinals' wins, a pair of Bears came onto the mat with a banner celebrating her 100 victories.
Zimmerman competes with the girls these days, but many of her 100 wins came against the boys, when that was her only option if she wanted to participate in the sport.
"I really wanted to get it on my senior night, but I've been injured most of the season, so coming back and getting it today really just meant a lot," Zimmerman said of the milestone.
At 20-0 this season, Zimmerman has played in about half as many matches as many of her competitors as she dealt with a back injury during the past month.
But she showed no signs of rust on this day.
"She's a competitor, and she works and she does the things you gotta do to be successful," Moscow coach Zac Carscallen said. "She goes to the tough tournaments, she doesn't back away from challenges. ... she seeks out the best competition she can and it shows."
Big hats, big win
Six of the seven Bengal girls competing placed in the top three or better, including Lewiston's lone champion, Joely Slyter at 100 pounds.
Every point mattered for the Lewiston girls, who eked past Bonners Ferry for the team title.
"Girls showed up today," Lewiston coach Colton Maddy said. "We talked all week, said, 'It's go time, your dream or there's,' and I think six out of our seven girls took third or better, which was awesome."
Maddy and his assistant sported oversized purple baseball caps for the tournament and the lucky hats paid off for the Bengals.
Several of the Bengal girls posed with the big hats when they accepted their medals.
Among the medalists were Kadynce Scott (second at 114), Kamryn Lockart (second at 138), Emma Rivera (third at 152), Cassidy Rehder (second at 165) and Lyrica Peterson-Wagenborg (third at 235).
"We saw the photo of the Washington Commanders player (Brian Robinson) with it on and we thought it was hilarious, so we thought why not," Maddy said of the funny hats. "Figured big stakes in postseason so big hats for big stakes."
Maddy pointed to Rivera's pin in her third-medal match as pivotal points towards getting the team title.
Moscow v. Moscow final
While the Bears couldn't challenge the deeper Lakeland and Sandpoint squads for the team title, Moscow did pick up seven podium finishes in the boys competition.
Two of those medalists came in a riveting all-Moscow final at 152 pounds.
Wrestling matches often go into double-digit scoring or end with a pin, so when Moscow's Diego Deaton led teammate James Greene 1-0 late (by virtue of an escape in the second period), everyone watching knew anything could still happen.
Then, Greene stole the victory with a takedown in the final five seconds for a 2-1 win in arguably the closest and most evenly matched showdown of the night.
"What a match that was," Carscallen said. "As much as sometimes you hate to have those friendly matches, one thing that is awesome is it makes you wish your room was that tough in every weight.
"But I'm a big fan of iron sharpens iron and those two really push each other, and it shows just how tight it is right there."
Alex Palmer (113) and Erik Gulbrandsen (160) also picked up Moscow victories.
Boys
Team scores — 1. Lakeland 408; 2. Sandpoint 243.5; 3. Moscow 196.
Moscow medalists (top 3)
113 — Alex Palmer (first).
126 — Jason Swam (second).
132 — Sam Young (third).
145 — Cameron Vogl (second).
152 — James Greene (first); Diego Deaton (second).
160 — Erik Gulbrandsen (first).
195 — Paul Dixon (third).
Girls
Team scores — 1. Lewiston 99.5; 2. Bonners Ferry 98.5; 3. Kellogg 68; 4. Coeur d'Alene 65; T5. Clearwater Valley 60; T5. Sandpoint 60; 7. Lake City 55; 8. Post Falls 43; 9. Potlatch 37; 10. Priest River 36; 11. Timberlake 34; 12. Lakeland 30; T13. Highland-Craigmont 26; T13. Moscow 26; 15. St. Maries 15.
Area medalists (top 3)
100 — Joely Slyter, Lewiston (first).
114 — Kadynce Scott, Lewiston (second).
120 — Skyla Zimmerman, Moscow(first); Shelby Prather, Potlatch (third).
138 — Kamryn Lockart, Lewiston (second).
145 — Hayley McNeal, Potlatch (second).
152 — Emma Rivera, Lewiston (third).
165 — Cassidy Rehder, Lewiston (second).
235 — Lyrica Peterson-Wagenborg, Lewiston (third).
Wiebe may be contacted at (208) 848-2260, swiebe@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @StephanSports.
