A two-man team from Lewiston walked away with the championship at the sixth annual Border Days Cornhole Tournament held July 3 at Green Acres in Grangeville, Idaho, defeating the returning champions in a hard-fought double-elimination final and adding another chapter to the event’s growing reputation as one of the region’s most competitive summer competitions.
Cody Konen and Steve Samuels represented Lewiston in a 32-team field that filled the bracket to capacity, forcing organizers to turn away at least one additional team that wanted to enter. The duo outlasted the field and ultimately toppled the defending champions from Pendleton, Oregon, to claim the title.
Tournament coordinator Jerime Zimmerman noted the strong community response to this year’s event. “We did have to turn away one team this year,” he said. “We had a great turnout.”
A Familiar Name on the Trophy
For Konen, the victory was a return to the top of the podium. He had previously won the tournament during his first year of competition and will now have his name etched on the championship trophy for the second time. This marked his third appearance in the tournament overall, a record that reflects both his commitment to the event and his consistent level of play.
Samuels, by contrast, was making his debut in the Border Days tournament. The first-time competitor proved more than capable on the big stage, helping Konen navigate the double-elimination bracket and ultimately secure the win against the Pendleton team that had claimed the title the year before.
Winners received a cash prize along with individual trophies in addition to the honor of being commemorated on the championship trophy — a tradition that has helped build the event’s identity over its six-year run.
More Than a Game
Beyond the competition itself, the Border Days Cornhole Tournament serves a meaningful community purpose. Proceeds from the event benefit the Grangeville High School baseball and softball programs, giving student athletes in the Idaho County community a boost in funding that would otherwise be difficult to secure through school budgets alone.
That charitable mission, combined with the festive July 3 timing ahead of Border Days celebrations, has helped the tournament grow into a full-capacity event in just six years. The fact that organizers had to turn away a team this year suggests demand may soon outpace the current bracket format — a challenge that could prompt future adjustments to accommodate more participants.
The region’s strong cornhole culture has fueled steady growth in the tournament field, drawing competitors not just from Nez Perce County and Idaho County, but from as far away as Pendleton — a city on the Oregon side of the border that has now fielded championship-caliber teams in the event.
What Comes Next
Whether Lewiston’s winning duo will return to Grangeville to defend their title in 2027 remains an open question. Samuels said he would like to come back if his schedule allows. “It all depends on what’s going on,” he said. “If I’m free and can come up here, I would definitely come back.”
Konen has not yet committed publicly to another appearance, though his track record — winning the championship in two of his three trips to Grangeville — makes him a name that future competitors will likely be watching for when registration opens next summer.
For the Grangeville High School programs that benefit from the fundraiser, the continued success of the tournament is welcome news regardless of who shows up to compete. As long as 32 teams are willing to square off on the bags boards each July 3, the baseball and softball programs can count on a meaningful annual contribution from one of the Lewis-Clark Valley region’s most popular summer recreational events.
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