Liberty Bell’s Meritt Fink takes down an opponent at the Tri-State Tourney in Idaho. Watching him work are his older brother Emmett Fink, left, a two-time state champion for Liberty Bell who graduated earlier this year, and Mountain Lions coach Gunnar Doggett.
Three Liberty Bell High School wrestlers traveled to Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, last weekend with coach Gunnar Doggett for the Tri-State Tourney on Friday and Saturday (Dec. 18-19).
The annual meet brings together wrestlers from around the region, many of them from larger schools. Mountain Lions Jacob McMillan (170 pounds), Meritt Fink (145 pounds) and Finlay Holston (152 pounds) all had byes in the first round. Fink and McMillan both won their second-round matches.
Fink lost his third-round match to a Lake Stevens wrestler who eventually placed second. Fink then won his first consolation match on Saturday, but lost a tough match 4-2 to the eventual third-place winner.
McMillan lost his second match by accidentally putting himself on his back. He then lost another match on Saturday and was out of the tournament.
Holston lost both of his matches on the first day “to very tough kids,” Doggett said.
The rest of the Liberty Bell team went to the multi-school North Okanogan Holiday Invite in Oroville on Saturday Dec. 19. Tanner White and Mason Johnson, both freshmen, made it to finals but lost tough matches, the coach said.
Doggett said this year’s team is a mixture of veteran wrestlers and less-experienced underclassmen. “It has been tough without consistent, experienced wrestlers to help,” Doggett said. “We have more to do before post season.”
Next up for the Mountain Lions is the Royal Invite on Tuesday (Dec. 29).
