Parma, New Plymouth open eyes at state tournament
Panthers finish second, Pilgrims third

By: Scott Ford
Argus Observer
Tuesday, March 3, 2009 11:02 AM PST

SUBMITTED PHOTO Members of the New Plymouth wrestling team pose for a photo moments after winning a third-place team trophy at the 2A state wrestling tournament in Pocatello. The Pilgrims were led by the back-to-back state championship performance of heavyweight Sylas Gaskins.

Pocatello—Four and a half points separated the Parma Panther wrestling team from its third state team title in the 2008-2009 school year.

Parma finished in second place with 195 points behind Malad’s 199.5

New Plymouth was not far behind with a third-place ending to the tournament with 140 points.

Parma had three state champions in Evan Miller in the 103-pound weight, Jed Ferguson (160) and Randy Riley (189).

Miller began the tournament with a win over Trent Harris of Ririe with a pin in 3:06.

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Next, Miller picked on Valley’s Casey Ivey and defeated him with a pin in 2:53, which moved the 103-pounder into the semifinals.

With one match left to win to make the finals, Miller pinned Malad’s Dan Blaisdell in 2:37.

In the 103-pound championship match, Miller met North Fremont’s Kolten Glider, and the Parma wrestler stayed with what was working and pinned Glider in 2:53.

In the 160-pound competition, Ferguson opened against Potlatch’s Cody Brown and took care of business with a 15-0 win.

 In his second bout, Ferguson squared off against West Side’s Steve Hardy and picked up the 10-3 win to put him into the semifinals.

Next came Kamiah’s Les Wright, but Ferguson was three better with a 7-4 win.

In the finals, Ferguson and New Plymouth’s Kent Brown squared off, and Ferguson came away with the 3-0 win.

Randy Riley wrapped up the titles for Parma in the 189-pound weight.

Riley took a page from Miller's game plan and pinned all of his opponents.

His first victim was Soda Springs’ David Bowlee, who was done in 1:10.

Next, Challis’ Matt Montelius gave Riley a go but lasted only 51 seconds.

Riley then pinned Malad’s Derek Stanger in 2:34, and, in the finals, the Panther wrestler dispatched Challis’ Nathan Kiefman in 3:25.

Other Panther placers include Lance Johnson (171) and Kieran Riley (285), who both earned second-place honors.

Dustin Gentry (112) and David Hemmert (135) both finished in fifth place.

The Pilgrims came home with one state champ in Sylas Gaskins, who defended his title successfully in the 285- pound competition with a default injury over Parma’s Riley.

Gaskins knocked off Mitch Jungert, of Prairie, in the first bout with a pin in 4:08, then took care of Dallas Taylor, of Butte, with a pin in 3:04.

In the semifinals, Gaskins pinned Tallon Boyer, of Malad, in 5:57, before the win over Riley.

Gaskins’ win in the finals earned him his second state championship in two years, completing a storybook career as a Pilgrim.

In his sophomore year, Gaskins took home third place at state, and not only did Gaskins’ performance of three pins and his championship, help the Pilgrims secure the points needed to pass Challis, but it also denied Parma of taking home the state championship trophy.

If Gaskins would have been pinned by Riley in their championship match, Parma would have leapfrogged Malad and earned first-place.

Other New Plymouth medalists include Kent Brown (160) with a second-place medal.

Sophomore Luis Juarez (125), and juniors Kyle King (140) and Casey Pfeifer (189) all placed fourth, and teammate Jaime Garcia, a senior, (145) finished sixth.

Senior Kent Brown (160) was the other Pilgrim to reach the finals, earning huge points by pinning Challis’ former state champ Skyler Cutler in the semifinals.

Brown faced Parma’s Ferguson in the championship match.

Ferguson was a foe Brown had defeated the weekend before where he won the district championship.

This time, the tables were turned, and Brown lost a 3-0 decision, and he earned a runner-up second-place medal.

Brown placed third as a junior.  

Senior Jaime Garcia (145), the third and final senior to wrestle his last high school tournament as a Pilgrim, placed sixth after having a very tough draw in the first round of competition.  

Garcia, a two-time district champion, is the fourth Garcia to take home a state medal, preceded by brothers Javier, Miguel and Carlos.    

 At the 2A District III tournament last weekend, King earned his first district championship.

Pfiefer earned three pins for the Pilgrims in his first trip to state. Juarez, a two time state qualifier, earned one pin and showed his true potential by wrestling the best he has wrestled all season.  

Four other Pilgrims were just one match from placing (some by just one point) and earned valuable points along the way.

Juniors Eldon Mclnelly (135), a district champion this season, and Coben Hoch (152) each earned one pin and two wins for the tournament, while sophomores Seth Gaskins (215) and Armando Garcia (189) picked up a pin and two wins apiece.  

Other Pilgrims that earned points, but did not place at the state tournament, include juniors Dylan Harris (215) and teammate Mike Archey (140).  

New Plymouth’s head varsity wrestling coach Craig Fournier contributed information to this story.