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Freshman Porter Craig, who wrestled as a senior at Coeur d'Alene High in 2021, puts the shoulders of Clackamas freshman Josh Hannan on the mat during their match at 157 pounds on Wednesday at Christianson Gymnasium.
Freshman Porter Craig, who wrestled as a senior at Coeur d'Alene High in 2021, puts the shoulders of Clackamas freshman Josh Hannan on the mat during their match at 157 pounds on Wednesday at Christianson Gymnasium.
Posted: Jan 31, 2024

No. 4 Clackamas smacks back, downs No. 5 Cardinals

Preview

COEUR d'ALENE — In wrestling, one move can totally change the outcome.

On Wednesday, that happened for North Idaho College in a home dual against fourth-ranked Clackamas of Oregon City, Ore.

Hunter Bidelman, a freshman from Caldwell, was taken down early in the third period and was unable to continue after holding a narrow deficit, and the visiting Cougars carried the momentum into a 27-10 win over the fifth-ranked Cardinals at Christianson Gymnasium.

"Momentum is a big thing in these matches, especially these close ones," NIC coach Derrick Booth said. "Something happens one way, and you feed off it. I think our guys took it the wrong way, and it kind of took the wind out of our sails there. From there, it was a battle. It should have never happened, and we hope he's OK, and we're going to go from there."

Bidelman, who was moving his arms and legs, was transported to Kootenai Health.

Porter Craig, a freshman who competed at Coeur d'Alene High as a senior in 2021, notched NIC's first win at 157 pounds with a 15-4 major decision.

"Porter has wrestled well all year long," Booth said. "He's got a gas tank, and he pushes it. If something happens, he's going to push it to get it back. And we're all striving to be like that. But Porter leads this team by example and competes. If we can compete like that and follow in his footsteps, we'll be in a good place."

Freshman Noah Poe-Hatten (184 pounds) of Flathead High in Kalispell, Mont., and sophomore TJ Takafua (285) of Sunnyvale, Calif., also had wins for NIC.

NIC competes at the West District Championships on Sunday, Feb. 11 at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore.

"We're going to take this one and get back to the drawing board tomorrow," Booth said. "There could be some changes. Every job is up for grabs each day. This will be close to what we go with, but our guys need to battle."

NIC beat Clackamas 21-20 on Dec. 8 in Oregon City in the first dual of the season.

"We've been in their position before," Booth said. "They brought the fight to us tonight. We got smacked in the face and we didn't smack back. I think the fresher team won tonight. To come out and wrestle as flat as we did, I don't think that's who we can be."

125 — Ane'e Vigil, Clack, d. Elijah Cater, 4-2. 133 — Tim Lopez, Clack, d. Ethan Boulton, 13-7. 141 — Cesar Avelar, Clack, d. Hunter Bidelman, by injury default. 149 — Reggie Raiz, Clack, d. Jermiah Zuniga, 5-2. 157 — Porter Craig, NIC, md. Josh Hannan, 15-4. 165 — Austin Raby, Clack, p. Kenzie Lindsay, 1:04. 174 — Paul Ortiz, Clack, d. Conan Northwind, 9-8. 184 — Noah Poe-Hatten, NIC, d. Braden Pease, 7-2. 197 — Asaiah Kamplain, Clack, d. Bradley Whitwright, 7-3. 285 — TJ Takafua, NIC, d. Maddox Griggs, 10-3.

To view the full article, please visit the CDA Press at this link.