Palmer pair place at Idaho tourney

PALMER — A pair of Palmer Moose grapplers placed during the Rollie Lane Invitational in Nampa, Idaho, last weekend.

Senior Caleb Deemer finished fourth at 195 pounds and junior Ben Button was fifth at 220 pounds.

Deemer was the lone Palmer wrestler to advance to the semifinals of the tournament, which featured more than 50 teams. After receiving a first-round bye, Deemer pinned Jonathon Gomez of Nampa, Idaho, and beat Colton Kesling of Kuna, Idaho, 3-2 in the quarterfinals.

After a 5-0 loss in the semifinals, Deemer pinned Gomez again on the consolation side of the bracket. Sage Delong of Vale, Ore., edged Deemer 1-0 in the third-place match.

Button won four matches en route to a fifth-place finish. Button also received a first-round bye, and pinned Eli Bennett of Post Falls, Idaho, in the second round of the championship round. After a loss in the quarterfinals, Button was 2-1 in the consolation bracket to advance to the fifth-place match.

Button beat Noah Grossman of Marsing, Idaho, 13-7 to finish fifth.

Deemer and Button helped Palmer finish 20th in the team standings.

Nathan Pempek (138 pounds), Graydon Powell (170) and Brian Thompson (285) also won multiple matches for the Moose.

Palmer returns to the mat to host Colony in a dual Thursday at 6 p.m. at Palmer High.