Hungry for the Hunt
Idaho's Hall bagged moose and Tri-State title
Adam Hall was one of the pleasant surprises of the Junior National freestyle championships last summer in Fargo. His second-place finish at 140 pounds was one of the most talked-about performances of the week at the FargoDome.
And that second-place finish drives Hall as he continues his quest for a third Idaho Class 3A state title at either 145 or 152 pounds. Ever since a championship-match loss in the state finals as a freshman, coming up just one rung short has driven Hall throughout his career.
From Bonners Ferry, a town of about 3,000 residents 15 miles south of the Canadian border and just northeast of Spokane, Wash., Hall is the latest in a line of standout wrestlers from Idaho. He’s chosen to further his career downstate, committing to Boise State University in November.
Also an avid hunter, Hall and his father, Roland, bagged a 1,300-pound moose on a hunting trip this year; a lifetime dream for many of his area’s hunters.
Recently, W.I.N. Magazine caught up with Hall for this candid interview.
WIN: You won your third Tri-State Tournament title. It’s a very prestigious tournament, and you became only the third three-time champion in the tournament’s 34-year history. Talk about what an honor that was.
Hall: W
inning it took a little more than it did last year. I had to beat a returning champion, a kid who hadn’t been beaten in high school yet. It was pretty amazing. It’s a tournament that gets overlooked quite a bit, but we draw a lot of attention to some of the best wrestlers in the Northwest. (Former University of Minnesota star) Jared Lawrence is actually the only four-time Tri-State champion. I looked up to that and even though I didn’t win four, it’s really an honor to be known in a group of three-timers like that.WIN: Were you surprised when you found out you’d been voted the Outstanding Wrestler?
Hall: I actually was, because that was one of the best Tri-States I’ve seen as far as match-ups. We had a returning champion (Joey Fio of Sandpoint High) at 125 go down, to (double Cadet National champion) Michael Mangrum. It was an amazing match. There were three or four returning champions that went down, like Brian Owen of Spokane (Wash.) University High, at 119. He was on track to win four, but he got derailed. He wasn’t 100 percent though. He had back spasms all through the tournament. He probably shouldn’t have gone in the final, but he knew he had a chance to win four, so he went for it.
WIN: You look at Idaho and how they’ve done nationally and based on the population they have, Idaho does very well.
Hall: Yes, you look at our teams and we’re in the top ten just about every year in terms of points scored. And that was one of the reasons I chose Boise State because of our national team coach, Chris Owens.
WIN: Chris Owens is a name that over the years has meant so much to Idaho wrestling. What have you learned the most from him?
Hall: Dedication, definitely. The guy is tremendously dedicated to not just Idaho wrestling, but wrestling in particular. He is the national team coach, but he’s also the assistant head coach at a major university, Boise State, does a lot of the recruiting and then setting up everything for the national team, it’s quite a job. He’s the kind of guy who will want to win it for you just as much as you do.
That’s one reason why I didn’t get caught up in a big national university. I want a coach who cares about the individual.
WIN: And Boise State has proven over the last five or six years that they are competitive.
Hall: This is what Tommy Owen told me: Over the last five or ten years, I’m one of the top three recruits out of Idaho, along with Jared Lawrence and (Oklahoma State’s) Jake Rosholt. The last few top recruits, none of them have stayed in Idaho. So I think what I did was to open a lot of eyes for all the top kids coming out of Idaho.
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