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earn state medals
Shane Poxleitner and Nick Uhlenkott each earned medals at the State Wrestling Meet held Feb. 24-26 at the Idaho Center in Nampa. Poxleitner finished third at 135 lbs. and Uhlenkott was fourth at 145 lbs. Poxleitner’s only loss of the tournament was to the eventual state champion while both of Uhlenkott’s losses were to the same person. In his opening round match Poxleitner faced Drew Christensen of Firth and wasted little time in winning by pin as the match took just 55 seconds. He had a tougher match in the second round facing Steven Terry of Oakley. Poxleitner had faced Terry twice previously, splitting his matches during the season. Shane dominated the action this time around as he built a 7-1 lead by the end of the first period on 2 takedowns and a near fall against an escape point for Terry. Poxleitner spent the entire second period on his stomach as he started in the down position but managed to keep Terry from turning him for any points. Poxleitner started the third period also in the down position as Terry chose to be up. Poxleitner scored a reversal and then pinned Terry with just 35 seconds left in the match. In the semifinals Poxleitner faced defending state champion Jared Leuzinger of Challis. Leuzinger built a 1-4 lead by the end of the first period as Poxleitner’s only point was an escape after a takedown and 2-point near fall. Poxleitner started the second period in the down position and scored a reverse and then a 2-point near fall to take a 5-4 lead. Leuzinger then scored an escape to tie the match at 5-5 after 2 periods. Poxleitner was up in the third period and fought to stay in control but Leuzinger scored a reversal to take the lead. Leuzinger, in trying to ride out Poxleitner for the win was assessed a point for stalling that made the final score 6-7. On Saturday morning Poxleitner faced A.J. Armstrong of North Fremont. It was a match between two evenly matched wrestlers. The score was 0-0 after 2 periods as neither wrestler could score a takedown in the first and Poxleitner was unable to turn Armstrong in the second period after starting in the up position. Poxleitner started the final period in the down position and was quickly able to score a reversal for a 2-0 lead and was able to ride out Armstrong for the win although he was assessed a penalty for stalling that made the final score 2-1. In the consolation finals Poxleitner again faced Terry from Oakley. This time it was a much tougher match as it was 0-0 at the end of the first period. Poxleitner started the second period in the up position and was able to turn Terry long enough to get a 2-point near fall. Poxleitner started the final period in the down position and was able to score an escape for the final 3-0 margin of victory and third place in the tournament. Uhlenkott started out just like Poxleitner did with a very short opening round match. He faced Jake Millward of Grace and took just 46 seconds to score a pin as he got the takedown, wrapped Millward up in a cradle and that was it. In the second round Uhlenkott faced Jack Arnold of North Fremont. The first period was a feeling out time and it ended with the score at 0-0. Nick was up in the second period and Arnold scored a reversal but Nick escaped. A takedown and near fall put Arnold up 1-6 but Uhlenkott was able to score a reverse to end the second period trailing 3-6. Nick started down in the third period and scored an escape and then Arnold got penalized for stalling to make it 5-6. Arnold then dominated the rest of the way as he scored a takedown and near fall for a 5-11 lead. He added another 2-point near fall before Uhlenkott scored an escape that made the final score 6-13. In the consolation bracket Uhlenkott faced Carlos Gonzales of Firth. Nick scored a takedown and near fall in the first period for a 5-0 lead. He started in the up position in the second period and turned Gonzales for a 3-point near fall. After Gonzales got out of that Uhlenkott turned him again and this time got the pin with 25 seconds left in the period. In the consolation quarterfinals he faced Brock Muhlestein of Oakley. The script was basically the same as against Gonzales except Nick started the second period in the down position, scored a quick reversal and then pinned Muhlestein just 13 seconds into the second period. In the consolation semifinals Uhlenkott faced Kamiah’s Tyler Jackson, who had defeated him for the district championship a week earlier. Nick took the early lead with a takedown but Jackson escaped to make it 2-1 after 1 period. Jackson took the lead in the second period after scoring a reversal from the down position and then a near fall to make it 2-6. Nick scored a reversal but Jackson escaped. Nick then scored a takedown to make it 6-7 after 2 periods. In the third period all the scoring was on reversals. Nick started down and scored a reversal. Jackson then got a generous call from the referee for a reversal as it appeared he never had control. Nick quickly scored another reversal and then rode out the match for the 10-9 win. In the consolation finals Uhlenkott face Arnold again. The only points in the first period were a takedown by Arnold. Nick started the second period down and scored an escape but Arnold got another takedown. Another escape by Uhlenkott made it 2-4 after 2 periods. In the third Arnold scored a reversal and then a 2-point near fall for a 2-8 lead. An escape by Nick and then 2 calls for stalling against Arnold made the final score 5-8 with Uhlenkott taking the fourth place medal. Also competing at state were Richard Sonnen at 145 lbs. and Logan Lustig at 215 lbs. Both were eliminated after 2 rounds. Sonnen lost by pin in 21 seconds to second seeded Drew Latimer of Challis who wound up taking second. He was then eliminated by Josh Pulliam of Aberdeen who pinned Sonnen in 45 seconds. Lustig lost by pin in 1:35 in his opening match against Ben Pratt of Melba, who went on to place third. In his second round match he faced Trenton Foster of Aberdeen. Foster scored a takedown but Lustig was able to score a reversal. Foster then reversed Lustig and scored a near fall for a 2-7 lead after one period. Foster quickly scored the pin 23 seconds into the second period. As a team Prairie finished 19th overall with 36 points. They were fourth best among 1-A schools behind Raft River, Oakley and Wallace. Raft River had 52½ points while Oakley had 43 and Wallace 38.
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