Grapplers compete in Panhandle Championships; Bigfoot Battle is up next

Wrestlers from the Blue Hawk Wrestling Club competed in the Idaho Panhandle Championships in Sandpoint last weekend and several local grapplers came away with placing medals for their efforts.

Competing in the Pre-Bantam, 40 pound division, Hartleigh Block won second place while Weston Haun placed sixth in the Pre-Bantam, 49-pound class. Mason Bartlett won fifth place in the Bantam-53 division.

Going at it in the Intermediate-56 class, Weston Block placed fifth and Lane Thilmony did not place, Owen Franck took fifth at Intermediate-77 and Andrew Sundstrom placed fifth at Intermediate-93.

Paul Sundstrom won fourth place in the Novice-63 class, Elijah Ratliff won second in the Middle School-119 division and Max Hannum claimed second place in the Middle School-125 class.

Club coach Mike Thilmony said that although the Panhandle Championships are the season-ending event for the North Idaho wrestling league, that the tournament is open to all comers at tourney time.

“A lot of kids from Washington and other areas around the northwest generally wrestle in this event and last week was no exception,” he said. “Our kids wrestled really well in Sandpoint and it was great that we placed so many.”

Local club grapplers will wrap up the season competing in the Bigfoot Battle in Spokane this weekend at the Spokane Convention Center.

The 8th annual Northwest Bigfoot Battle event is part of USA Wrestling’s annual tournament circuit tour and is open to wrestlers currently in eighth grade or younger. Weigh-ins for the latest Bigfoot Battle will begin Friday evening at the Convention Center.

A press release for the event says that the competition will be limited to 1,200 wrestlers this year.