WINNEMUCCA - With the Christmas break now over, the Lowry High School wrestling team is turning the page and looking to make another run at a state championship.
The Buckaroos continued its gauntlet of tough tournaments with the Rollie Lane Invitational last weekend in Nampa, Idaho. Among the 48 teams competing, were Idaho state champions Kuna (4A) Lewiston (5A) and Cascade, Ore., the reigning 4A state champion.
Hermiston, Ore., won the championship with 99 points. Hermiston came in ranked No. 40 in the nation in the latest InterMat.com's Fab 50 poll.
Pomona, Colo., was second with 80 points and Kuna, Idaho, and Santiago, Calif., tied for third with 63 points. Post Falls, Idaho, was fifth at 63 and Centennial and Columbia, both Idaho schools, tied for sixth at 55.
Lowry was eight with 42 points and Reno, the only other Nevada school in the tournament, was 13th with 32 points.
"It is a tough tournament," said LHS head coach John Brooks. "I liked the way we started off but not the way we finished. We took nine guys into the second day, which was nice to see. We come up here to get better and it is a physical brand of wrestling. We got beat up a little and the bottom line is we have to get better."
The Rollie Lane Invitational is run a bit different; wrestlers have to make through their respective pods to advance to the bracket portion of the tournament.
Michael Billingsley continued his return from knee surgery and placed second at 170 pounds.
"He went up there with the idea of winning it," Brooks said. "More often than not he would have. He had wrestled just three matches before coming up to Idaho. The biggest thing is we just want to keep him healthy."
Billingsley made quick work of his opening opponent, pinning Jeremy Naillon of Caldwell, Idaho, in 95 seconds. The three-time defending state champion moved into the quarterfinals, where he earned a 16-6 win over John Hensley of Meridian, Idaho.
The senior pulled out a 3-2 victory in the semifinals over Seth McLeod of Post Falls on his way to the finals. Billingsley lost in the championship to Troy Richardson of Melba, Idaho.
His younger brother, Beau Billingsley, finished third at 145 pounds. Billingsley pinned Beau Brock of Hermiston 18 seconds into the first period in the round of 16. The sophomore knocked off Ryan Klemp of Lewiston, the top seed in the weight class, in the quarterfinals by a 9-3 decision. Klemp won an Idaho state championship last year.
Billingsley's run at the title ended in the semifinals, when he was pinned by Kris McFarlane of Centennial. McFarlane went on to win the weight class. Billingsley came through the consolation bracket and beat Pomona's Ethan Wright 14-3, and for the second time in the tournament he beat Klemp, this time 7-5 to place third.
Daniel Pollock finished fourth at 113 pounds after reaching the championship semifinals. Pollock knocked off Andy Wagner of Hermiston 9-2 in the round of 16 and followed that with a 6-2 victory over DeVaughn Sapien of Boise, Idaho.
The senior fell short in the semifinals to Casey Cobb of Kuna 6-2. Cobb was the top seed in the weight class. Pollock defeated Cameron Dietrich of Preston, Idaho, in the consolation round but lost by pin in the third-place match to Caldwell's Tony Gonzalez.
"Daniel and Beau are wrestling well right now," added the coach. "Those two have stepped up all year. Beau got caught by a move and just got stuck. Beau soundly beat the Idaho state champion twice."
Luis Cardenas finished fifth at 285 pounds, reaching the championship semifinals as well, by pining his first two opponents. The sophomore beat Mitch Chism of Pomona and Armando Garcia of Hermiston.
Cardenas lost to Cole McGinnis of Gooding, Idaho, in the semifinals as McGinnis went on to win the weight class. Cardenas lost his first consolation match to David Addison of Boise but came back to squeak out a 1-0 decision over Meridian's Leo Barba.
Eric Brooks (120) won one match after losing his opening round bout, while Nate Nelson was knocked out in the first round at 126 pounds.
Aaron Nelson (132) defeated Ryan Middleton of La Grande, Ore., in the round of 32, but lost 7-0 to Columbia's Kam Reddish in the round of 16. Nelson won by injury default in the consolation bracket but lost his next match.
Brandon Okuma (145) lost in the round of 16 to Cody Bumgarner of Fruitland, Idaho, but came back to win two consolation matches. Tytin Johnson (195) made his way into the championship quarterfinals by pinning Landunn Koyle of Gooding, Idaho. Johnson lost his next two matches and was eliminated from the tournament.
"We are headed into the home stretch right now," Brooks said. "We got through the Christmas break, which is brutal on you. We always look at the Rollie Lane weekend as the start of our push to the state tournament. It is a good turning point for us."
It doesn't get any easier this weekend as Lowry travels to Spring Creek for the Kiwanis Invitational. A number of the top schools in Nevada and Idaho will be on hand.
"This will be a good weekend to see some of the teams we will see down the road," Brooks said. "We get a chance to see Spring Creek and Virgin Valley. There will be a couple of weight classes that will be loaded."
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