Post Falls Wins 13th North Idaho Rumble Title at Coeur d'Alene High

Post Falls claimed the boys team championship at the 16th annual North Idaho Rumble by a four-point margin Saturday at Coeur d’Alene High, securing the Trojans’ 13th team title in 16 years and providing a late-season boost for the program and its home fans.

The two-day tournament ran Friday and Saturday, with final-day action on Jan. 31, 2026. Post Falls supplied three individual champions: Tristan Mendenhall at 106 pounds, Matthew Hamilton at 132 pounds and Colton Austin at 157 pounds. Hamilton’s 5-4 victory over Moscow’s Eian Schwecke in the 132 final proved decisive in tight team scoring. Moscow coach Zac Carscallen said of Schwecke’s runner-up finish, “Eian took second, tough finals match, real close battle,” and “A couple of different things go a different way and it’s a totally different result.”

Post Falls coach Jeremy Zender, in his second year as head coach, credited his wrestlers’ late-season form and the home crowd. “I think our guys are really wrestling well toward the end of the season. Our guys like competing in front of their home fans. It’s really a testament to how hard they’re working. At times, it doesn’t seem like we’re getting better, but they seem to rise to the competition when they can.”

The tournament’s day-one standings showed host Coeur d’Alene leading with 139.5 points to Post Falls’ 124.5 after the semifinal session, illustrating how Post Falls closed the gap during Saturday’s finals. Hagadone/Press semifinal listings highlighted Coeur d’Alene’s nine semifinalists and a deep bracket across weight classes, including matchups such as Tristan Mendenhall vs. Cruz Knopp and Matthew Hamilton vs. Tanner George.

Individual highlights beyond the Trojans included Parker Bagley of Lewiston winning the 285-pound crown after pinning his first four opponents and defeating Taylor Dodd of Bonners Ferry 11-6 in the final; Bagley had won the same division at the Clearwater Classic two weeks earlier. St. Maries’ Aiden Yearout took the 165 title with a 12-7 win over Selkirk’s Jameson Davis. Consolation and placement bouts also featured Post Falls’ Landon Moore, who major-decided Julian Moffitt of Lakeside 15-6 at 190 pounds, and Lake City’s Eli Gross, who beat Selkirk’s Jaxson Chantry 13-10 in sudden-victory overtime for 5th place at 150.

Meanwhile the girls North Idaho Rumble ran at Lake City High, where Sandpoint dominated with 248 points and a lone champion in Isabella Stark at 130 pounds. Post Falls girls finished second with 153 points and champions Emma Younger (120), Kahli Brown (135) and Kassie Voss (235). Sandpoint placed multiple runners-up, including Avery Inge at 125 and Teagan Newsom at 140.

Photographs by Jason Elliott captured key moments of the weekend, including Tristan Mendenhall attempting to take down Kellogg’s Lowden White in the 106-pound championship and Lakeland’s Carson Leonard locking up with Coeur d’Alene’s Justus Peregrina in the 120-pound title bout.

For Kootenai County readers, the result underscores Post Falls’ sustained wrestling depth and local investment in winter sports. With the Rumble behind them, Post Falls’ champions and depth scorers carry momentum into the remainder of the season and toward league and state meets that will define postseason pecking order for area programs.