Off to State

The State Qualifiers for Men and Women’s Wrestling are Heading Off to State

Ellie Craemer, Announcements Editor

February 25, 2026

Sandpoint’s wrestling program is sending 20 athletes to the state tournament this year, including three wrestlers sitting at the #1 seed in their respective weight classes—Jeremiah Palmer, Jackson Holman, and Lilli Marti. The bracket-style tournament will take place on February 27th and 28th at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. The state meet will bring together only the best of the best wrestlers from all over Idaho and will easily be the most competitive event of the season. For Sandpoint, this year’s qualifiers reflect the program’s prestige and the hard work put in by everyone involved.

Val Johansen, the girl’s head coach, says that this team has demonstrated exceptional perseverance this season in particular. That is the biggest area of growth this year overall. The team comes together as young men and women every single week to support each other, and they lift each other up constantly. This culture really helps both teams, pushing each other together as one cohesive unit.

Josh Ratigan, the boy’s head coach who also has a son on the state team, said the most important takeaway from this season is that the team is quite literally one unit. The boys and girls, despite technically being separate teams, do everything together. He says they try to have as much fun as they can and do everything for each other to encourage everyone to work to the best of their ability.

As for the wrestlers, Teagan Newsom is excited to go to state. She says the group headed to Nampa this year is going to be a fun one and she’s looking forward to the memories that will be made. State is very unique, it is the event you spend your whole season preparing for, so you have to appreciate every moment. Tyler Wood has a similar view on making the state team, he is really excited about the trip itself, not only the matches.

The athletes’ favorite memories from the season really emphasize how well-connected the teammates are with one another. Zxyloh Johnson said her favorite moment was being able to wrestle with her best friend, Lilli, on senior night. Avery Inge said her favorite part was being able to spend time with her practice partner wherever they went.

Wrestling does have its challenges, though. Jackson Holman said he has been dealing with a minor disc bulge that has caused him a lot of pain this season. There has been a lot of uncertainty and he has had to push through the injury to wrestle at many of the tournaments. However, he has a very optimistic view, saying “I’ve been able to make it this far,” and he will continue to push through at state.

This sport takes so much hard work day in and day out. Izzy Stark says her biggest key to success with wrestling is being consistent. Showing up was one of the most important parts, practice after practice. Making it a habit to always be at practice and not make excuses was one of the greatest helps to her this season, and it definitely paid off.

Aside from the physical challenges, mentality is a huge part of the sport. Athletes typically have a pre-game ritual they do before every match. William Bomba said he tries to clear his head before a match. He focuses on what could be the worst outcome, best outcome, and what is most likely. He tries to be in the moment while on the mat and have as much fun as he can. Telling himself to have fun with it is the biggest thing he tries to remember, win or lose.

Since wrestling is such an individual sport— similar to track and field, cross country, and swimming— practices are unique from matches. It is impactful, but still not exactly the same. Jeremiah Palmer’s favorite thing about practice is being able to hang out with teammates before it starts, and his least favorite is “pretty much everything we do after that.” Lilli Marti said she really likes plank relays, but definitely not the stair laps. Zak Wood has a similar opinion, also disliking the stair laps. However, his favorite part is the hard drilling and live drills they do.

Wrestling is such a unique sport. It is so challenging, both mentally and physically. The coaches and athletes have all put so much into the program, it is no wonder so many are going to wrestle at state this weekend. Good luck to all our wrestlers!

Women’s Wrestling State Qualifiers:

100 – Mackenzee Donenfeld

110 – Rhaelynn Scheldbauer

120 – Summer Birch

125 – Avery Inge

130 – Izzy Stark

135 – Vanessa Hood

145 – Teagan Newsom

155 – Zxyloh Johnson

235 – Lilli Marti

Men’s Wrestling State Qualifiers:

106 – Tyler Wood