POCATELLO — Once the final whistle blew, Treyton Nilsson knew he’d done it. He turned toward the Snake River supporters and held up four fingers on each hand. The 113-pounder became the ninth four-time 3A state wrestling champion in Idaho history.

Nilsson defeated Shelley freshman Braxton Balmforth (43-8) by a 5-1 decision to cap a 45-1 senior season.

“All my hard work finally paid off,” Nilsson said, “just knowing that my skills came in to play when I needed them.”

Nilsson had a 3-0 lead after two periods and tacked on two more points with 23 seconds to go. Balmforth picked up a point in the final seconds, but Nilsson was already well on his way to becoming the third wrestler in Snake River history to win four state titles.

“It’s really special,” Nilsson said. “So far there’s only been three of them at my high school. I’m excited.”

Trent Nilsson watched as his son was mobbed by reporters. A proud father was choked up and lost for words.

“That’s my baby,” he said. “Four-time state champion. ... I’m almost speechless. Got more guts than any kid I’ve ever seen.”

Trent remembered when Treyton, as a youth, was 10 pounds underweight and stopped wrestling competitively for two years. He still went to practice twice a week, and now, several years later, he’s in a select class of the Idaho wrestling history books.

“I’m his dad,” said Trent with tears in his eyes. “Proud to say it.”

Boone Giulio, American Falls

Boone Giulio breezed through his first three matches en route to the championship mat. The American Falls 120-pound freshman pinned his first three opponents in a combined 2 minutes, 28 seconds. He looked to be a shoo-in for the 3A state title, but Sugar-Salem senior Braxton Stocking (50-8) had other plans.

The score was tied 2-2 after two periods. Giulio took a 4-2 lead with 35 seconds remaining, but Stocking picked up the tying points with less than five seconds on the clock to send the match to overtime.

Jim Giulio was livid. Boone’s father and coach knew they were five seconds away from glory.

He only had to wait a minute longer.

Just as the buzzer sounded at the end of the 60-second overtime period, Boone scored the winning points. He finished the season 44-3.

“It feels great,” Boone Giulio said. “I was wrestling pretty sluggish, but that kid had good strength and he kept coming after me. I knew that I had get (myself) together.”

Jim Giulio is a three-time state champion coach. VJ Giulio, Boone’s older brother, was a four-time 3A state champion.

“A lot of people don’t understand that the pressure that Boone’s under with having an older brother that was a four-timer,” Jim Giulio said. “But he handles the pressure so well. He is an amazingly hard worker. ... Everything has really paid off and I know that his heart is fully in it.”

The coach and player shared a hug after the match, but Jim’s message to his son was that of a father: “Just that I was proud of him. And I think sometimes that’s all a dad really needs to say to his son; just to know that all of his hard work is appreciated and how much I love him.”

Josh Calderwood, Shelley

Josh Calderwood had been through a lot. After a torn ACL, a torn biceps labrum and countless hours of work, the 152-pound senior finally won the state title he so greatly coveted.

The Shelley No. 1 seed (43-12) defeated Timberlake senior Tyler Badertscher (31-7) via a 3-0 decision to win his first state championship.

“I’ve worked so hard for so long,” Calderwood said. “So many hours. Injuries. I haven’t wanted anything more than this. I finally got it.”

Calderwood jumped into his coach’s’ arms and immediately broke down following the match. He lost to Badertscher in the second round of state two years ago.

“Just to come back to win that match, oh my gosh,” Calderwood said. “I haven’t wanted anything more than this my entire life and I got it.”

Clay Elkington, Firth

Firth junior Clay Elkington (41-2) is the 2A 145-pound champion after defeating North Fremont senior Carlos Romero (47-6) 8-4.

“I just want to thank my family, my coaches, everyone that’s been helping me,” Elkington said. “We did it.”

Wyatt Vogler, Snake River

Snake River junior Wyatt Vogler won the second state championship of the day for the Panthers by beating Timberlake senior Brock Herbert (18-10) 10-4 in the 160-pound bracket.

Vogler finished 2015 with a 39-5 record after finishing third at state last year.

“Feels great to finally win one,” Vogler said. “Not just for me but for the team. Get the team a state championship too. Really means a lot to everybody.”

Cutler Howell, Snake River

Cutler Howell kept the winning rolling for Snake River.

The 170-pound senior (38-6) took down Payette senior Alex Dovalina (12-6) via pin in 3:18 to win his first state title.

He’d been waiting 13 years for that moment.

“I’ve worked for it all year,” Howell said. “My record shows it. Without losing to a 3A kid all year, I was bound and determined not to lose one here.”

Payson Anderton, Snake River

Payson Anderton was a No. 5 seed. The sophomore took out fourth-seeded Braden Hansen, No. 1 seed Tate Grover and third-seeded Ty Johnson to win Snake River’s fourth individual state title of the day.

Anderton (38-10) beat Johnson (41-5), of Weiser, via pin in 1:34.

“Feels awesome just to know that we’ve got a streak going,” Anderton said. “We’ve got state in the bag and we’ve wanted this for a long time.”

Lane Hunt, Blackfoot

When it was all over, Lane Hunt didn’t show any emotion. He might have just won or lost.

The Blackfoot junior wanted to act like he’d been there before. So when the final whistle blew and Hunt was declared the 4A 126-pound state champion, Hunt took it all in stride.

“I did it. I want to thank all my brothers, my family,” Hunt said. “It’s something I’ve been working for since my freshman year.”

Hunt (46-7) defeated Middleton sophomore Larimie Asher (28-6) 12-0 and became Blackfoot’s first individual state champion since 2009.

“The whole Blackfoot wrestling team, they’ve pushed my every day,” Hunt said. “Without them, I wouldn’t be here. They’re my practice brothers. They push me. They want me to do my best. And I did my best today.”

Kieton Keller, Preston

Preston’s Kieton Keller stuck to what he does best, and the Indians senior defeated Pocatello senior Kolby Smith (42-13) 8-1 for the 120-pound state championship.

“They wanted me to take him on my feet,” Keller said. “That’s what I’m best at. On bottom I’m not the best, but on my feet I can hang with anyone.”

Keller (46-4) began the season as one of the favorites to win state. But a loss to Wood River’s Ryan Anderson at the Tiger-Grizz Invitational flipped the narrative. Kuna’s Brady Barroso began the state tournament as the No. 1 seed.

Keller was determined to bounce back and prove he was 4A’s top 120-pound grappler.

“It feels pretty dang great,” Keller said. “Just putting in all that effort, it finally paid off. It feels really good.”