Tri-Valley Boys Wrestling 2025 1A/2A Top Scoring Team
The Tri-Valley Titans boys wrestling team had a great showing at state, in Pocatello. There are 39 teams in the state 3A wrestling division. The Tri-Valley boys finished sixth out of those 39 teams and placed first as the highest scoring 2A team, effectively making them state champions. The boys who qualified for state were Jack Papineau, Bill Avery, Kaden Nokes, Jace Waggoner, Eli Noah, Elias Devries, Wyatt Moura, Bridger Miller, Blake Barton, and Mishka Rapp. Of those who wrestled at state, Eli Noah, a junior, who wrestles at 175, placed first and is a state champion. Bill Avery, a freshman, who wrestles at 120, placed fourth. Jace Waggoner, a junior, who wrestles at 150, placed fourth. Elias DeVries, a junior, who wrestles at 190, placed fourth. Wyatt Moura, a junior who wrestles at 175, placed sixth.
Many of the wrestlers that are on the state champion wrestling team started wrestling at a young age. Every year on the weekends, beginning in October and ending in April, Jake Waggoner, Nathan Noah, and Mark Moura would take their young kids and travel all over the Northwest to tournaments. Several of the juniors that are on the boys wrestling team were a part of those early traveling teams. Eli Noah, Jace Waggoner, Elias DeVries, and Wyatt Moura are all juniors who are referred to as the “Four Horsemen.” This name has also followed them over to the football field. Since they were young, these four have been traveling for wrestling and playing on the football team together. Over the summer they work hard lifting weights and attending camps. The leadership provided by these four is super valuable to the team.
The sophomores have some giant guys. The sophomores who qualified for state this year were Bridger Miller, Blake Barton, and Mishka Rapp who all wrestle at 215. Kaden Nokes, is another sophomore state qualifier who wrestles at 126. Bridger, Blake and Mishka barely missed qualifying for state last year. Freshmen Jack Papineau, who wrestles at 106 and Bill Avery who wrestles at 120 also qualified for state. Bill placed fourth. To place fourth as a freshman was a great accomplishment and something to be really proud of. All of the wrestlers who qualify for state and win matches, help with the total score of the team whether they place or not. The contribution that those wrestlers make to winning a state championship is vital.
This year the team struggled with sickness and more injuries than they have ever had, even kids needing knee surgeries during the middle of the season. During these tough times, they just had to keep believing there were good things coming. Wrestling is a tough sport; it’s a win or lose sport that requires mental and physical toughness.
Nathan Noah said the team has a ton of gratitude for the community and their support. The wrestlers did fundraisers to make it possible to purchase new mats for their Tri-Valley home duals. The mats were very expensive and the purchase would not have been possible without the support of the community. It takes everyone including the parents, coaches, and the coaching staff families working together to make everything happen. Additional fundraising is done to help pay for participation in tournaments and other needs. The team’s goal is for each wrestler to get 50-60 matches in over a season. For this goal to be met, the team will put over 3,000 miles on the travel bus. The team traveled as far north as Lewiston and south to Pocatello. To help with travel costs, the team takes their sleeping bags and stay on the mats overnight. The tournaments are two days, Friday and Saturday, so they sleep on the mats as a team on Friday night, then after wrestling again on Saturday, they return home. To further help with costs, they also pack their food with them and heat it up in the hosting school’s kitchen.
Abby Ochoa, the team bus driver also sleeps on the mats at night with the team. At the end of the day, the kids pack her stuff off of the bus and get her a spot set up for the night. Abby sleeping on the mats helps with the travel and costs. Plus, she takes tons of pictures of the wrestlers. She has been doing this for a lot of years and her commitment is greatly appreciated.
The last state wrestling championship won by Cambridge was in 1993. Head coach, Nathan Noah and Chuck Kindall were both on that championship team, as juniors. Thirty-two years later, they are both members of the coaching staff for this year’s state championship. The members of the Tri-Valley coaching staff are: Head Coach, Nathan Noah; Assistant Coach, Trevor Smith; and Team Manager, Morgan Tabert. The rest of the coaching staff includes Mark Moura, Jake Waggoner, Brittany Waggoner, and Chuck Kindall. All of the coaches have a history in wrestling and their love and knowledge of the sport have been instrumental in the Titans 2025 3A state championship team.
