By Katie Banning
Taylor Dodd, Ethan Matthews, Rocky Monroe, Colt Barras, Gaige Johnson, Eivind Falck, Robert Kelsey and Aiden Dodd along with the coaching staff of the Bonners Ferry High School wrestling team, traveled to Nampa, Idaho to take part in the 2026 Idaho State High School Wrestling Championship Tournament.
“I feel that all the kids have competed very well scoring points, winning matches and learning for how young they are.” Assistant Coach Corey Richards said, “I am very proud of them all.”
After a long and exhilarating two days, junior Taylor Dodd wrestled all the way and found himself with the gold metal and upon the top of the podium as the 4A Idaho State Champion for the 285-weight class.
Taylor Dodd is no stranger to the podium, however. As a freshman, Taylor placed 4th at state, as a sophomore, placed 2nd and now as a junior he took that last step and stood proud and humble at the top of that state platform.
“Taylor made quick work of the competition this year at state.” His mom Alanna said, “He pinned all three of his opponents on the way to the finals. His finals match couldn’t have gone better. He got out to a 3-0 after the first period after scoring a takedown. He started down in the 2nd round and scored a two-point reversal. Leading 5-0 going into the third round, his opponent chose to start on top and Taylor fought off everything he tried to do to him. We were ready for what his opponent was going to try, and Taylor executed the plan to perfection.”
“Taylor has been wresting every year since he was just five years old.” Alanna goes on, “He has worked so hard and sacrificed a lot to get here. He has had a lot of great coaches along the way as well, but none as important or as skill and confidence building as his dad, Scott. A very real problem that Taylor has is that he has no one to properly train against. He’s so big that there are no other wrestlers who can compete with him and he needs to take it easy on his coaches to some extent. His dad put himself out there for Taylor to practice his moves on to some of his own personal detriment. We are really proud of Taylor and especially of his sportsmanship and look forward to even more improvement next year as he continues to build his strength and agility. Does anyone want to become his wrestling partner?”
Taylor wants to invite and encourage students to come out to wrestle and he will help them learn the ropes. If you want to check out Bonners Ferry Wrestling, you can check them out on Facebook or email at bonnersferrywrestlingclub@gmail.com.
