Unlikely heros as Weiser wrestlers win District title 2012

  The Weiser wrestling team is strong and competent. Saturday, February 18, Weiser dominated all teams at the District tournament in Payette. Weiser took twenty-one wrestlers and after the dust had cleared, 19 of them are headed to the state tournament this next weekend in Pocatello. Weiser would handily win the team title. The story of the meet was the big man, Thomas Sharp at heavyweight. Read on to find out about this unlikely hero.
  106: Chris Beltran had only two matches on his way to the top of the podium. He would pin Andrew Randall of Homedale in 1:29. The championship round, no pin was going to happen. Beltran relied on takedowns and back points to win 17-8. Tristan Hinkley would lose his first match 8-6 to the second place finisher. Tristan dominated that same Randall wrestler in the consolation finals winning 11-1 to claim third place.
  113: Christian Oyervides lost his first match against the eventual winner by fall at 1:33. He then finished off Mannery of Fruitland by fall at 4:33. Christian would lose the consolation final 8-0 for fourth place.
  120: Lionel Perez is on a mission. He is not undefeated on the season but is undefeated in the SRV and that claim held at this tournament. Lionel would pin his first opponent in 1:49. His final's match was against Chase Neill of Payette. This really wasn't a contest as Perez racked up back points to win by technical fall 16-0 in the second period. Lionel would be crowned District Champion. Casey White won his first round match over the three seed. He would lose to Neill of Payette 13-8. White would pin Renz of Homedale in 33 seconds and then finish of Meyers of Fruitland at 2:56 for third place.
  126: Tyler Alder would defeat Jeppe of Fruitland by fall. Alder would lose in the third period to the first place finisher by fall at 5:27. Alex Gomez would lose by fall at 2:56 in the first round. Alex would pin Jeppe of Fruitland at 1:28 to stay alive. Gomez and Alder met in the consolation finals with Gomez taking the win 6-2 for third. Alder would finish fourth.
  132: Brady DeYoung won his first match handily by fall at 1:09. Brady would face King of Fruitland for all the marbles. Leading 7-1 after the first period, Brady made a mistake in the second period, nearly being pinned. He would still lead 9-7 with one period to go. Brady would win 13-7 for first place. Ubaldo Arana lost his first round match but won his second match by fall at 4:38. He would lose in the consolation finals 7-4 to earn fourth place.
  138: Noah Hall would lose his first round match as did Eric Sanchez. Hall would defeat Cody Bumgarner of Fruitland 10-8. Sanchez would defeat Dawson of Parma 7-5. Hall and Sanchez battled, and I do mean battled, for third place. The match went into triple overtime with Sanchez securing the win 8-5 for third place. Noah would take fourth.
  145: Cody Gable's first year of wrestling ended here. He is a senior and gave it everything he had but came up a bit short in a bid for a state berth. Gable would lose to Childress of Parma. In a tough, tough match against Stone of Fruitland, a match that went into overtime, Gable would be pinned at 6:45.
  152: Mitch Svedin should have been district champion. He would win his first match by pin at 4:29 putting him in the finals against Hemmert of Parma. Hemmert had the take down in the first period to lead 2-0. Not much happened in the second period so the score remained the same. Svedin picked the down position in the third period, escaped and had the takedown. Hemmert was able to reverse that and held on just long enough to win the title 4-3. Dustin Kistenmacher would lose his first match and then pin Ferguson of Parma in 1:37. Dustin would be pinned at 1:43 in the consolation finals and had to settle for fourth place.
  160: Matt Petero did not want to win the championship title in the manner that he did. Petero would pin his first opponent in 4:45. He would face Daulton Blackwell of Fruitland in the finals. Daulton has been battling a viral infection and unfortunately, after wrestling into the third period, had to bow out in a forfeit. Not the way he wanted to end his senior year for sure. Tyler Goodenough lost his first match to Blackwell. He would win his second match by fall at 1:51. He would win again by decision 9-4. His consolation finals was a win as well in 1:47 for third place.
  170: Matt Loughran has been called the comeback kid, the heart attack kid, and various other names. He is thrilling to watch to say the least. His first match was complete and total domination at 15-0. That put him in the finals against the number one seed from Homedale. Loughran would lead 6-5 at the end of the first. He would continue to add points in the second period to lead 10-5. The finishing touch came at 5:40 with the fall and first place.
  182: Anthony Baker was paired against the number one seed in the first round which did not turn out well for Anthony. His hopes of making it to the state tournament ended this past Saturday after two more losses.
  195: Nick Stephenson is a monstor. Pure and simple, a strong, strong young man. His first match went his way with a decision 9-3. Nick was up against first seeded Brad McCain  of Homedale. Homedale made some boo-hooing noise but it was all for naught. Nick would have a takedown in the first period but give up a penalty point. He would lead 2-1. In the second period, a few more penalty points were awarded but this time, Stephenson was the receipient. The fall came at 3:27 as Nick muscled McCain to the mat, flush on his back. First place in District belonged to Nick.
  220: JD Johnson would battle his nemisis from Payette, Rusty Penson, once again. Johnson won his first round match. Then is was the ever ongoing battle which Penson would win 5-4. Johnson went on to pin his next opponent in 49 seconds. He would lose to Hyer of Homedale in the consolation finals 9-3 for fourth place.
  285: I am biased when it comes to Weiser's heavyweight man, Thomas Sharp. Sharp is my nephew. He weighs 220 pounds. Everytime he steps on the mat as heavy weight, he is at a disadvantage weight wise. However, he is in incredible physical shape having played center for our awesome football team. He has stamina to spare. His theory is that if he can outlast his opponents, he will win. Most big men can't make it into the second period, much less the third period and this proved right more times than not on this Saturday. Thomas first match was against Sheppard of Fruitland. Sharp would earn the pin in the second period at 3:22. That pitted Thomas against Calderon of Homedale. This time, the pin happened at the end of the first period at 1:55.
  The finals had Thomas facing Anthony Freeman of Fruitland, the number two seeded wrestler in the state. It looked rather violent in the first period with a lot of slapping and manhandling going on, sort of like a boxing match. Neither man scored and it appeared that Freeman was already winded as he took an injury timeout for blood. Freeman picked the down position in the second period. Freeman would reverse Sharp but could not turn him for back points. It is very difficult to lift 285 pounds off your back when you only weigh 220. However, Sharp did escape and managed a takedown at the end of the period to lead 3-2.
  In the third period, Sharp started in the down position. He escaped and was dinged for a stall point. That still left Thomas ahead 4-3. Feeling it, Sharp went for the takedown, toppling the big man and finished the match with the win 6-3. Sharp still had enough energy to leap into the air with the win just as his coach, Drew Dickerson leaped with the win.
  That's how a tradition is carried on, with unlikely heros and heartwarming stories. Fantastic tournament and good luck at state!