WINNEMUCCA - If you have followed Nevada Division I-A wrestling for the past decade or so, you probably won't be surprised at the results of the Cody Louk Invitational held this past weekend at the Winnemucca Event Center.
Lowry, the host of the tournament and the four-time defending Division I-A state champion, claimed the team championship with 243.50 points.
Meanwhile, Spring Creek, the winner of four consecutive state championships from 2004 to 2007, was second with 204.50 points. The two rivals figure to be neck and neck once again when it comes to the postseason.
Spanish Springs was third with 202.50 points and Yerington (163.50) and Battle Mountain (151) were fourth and fifth, respectively.
"It was good to be back at home and wrestle in front of the home crowd," said LHS head coach John Brooks. "Last year we had our top guys at the Tournament of Champions in Reno and missed out being at home. Overall, I thought we looked OK. We had some kids step up and others that had a down weekend. But you will get that sometimes when you are at home."
Lowry had a tournament-high three champions, with nine wrestlers placing in the top six. Kevin Blanco at 106 pounds, Beau Billingsley (160) and Luis Cardenas (285) all earned first-place honors for the Buckaroos.
"It was a good weekend for Kevin," Brooks said. "He wrestled well. I was pleased with Beau and Luis; they are wrestling well right now. Boy, I would like to think this tournament is a preview of what is coming up this year. There is a long way to go and it will only get tougher. We still have a lot of work to do. We didn't have some kids score that we needed to."
Blanco breezed through the first two rounds of the tournament, beating Elko's Dalton Thomas and Churchill County's Bryan Lynn by pin.
In the quarterfinals, Blanco went the distance with Spring Creek's Eric Fostrom and won by a 10-2 decision. The sophomore then knocked off Reno's Garrett Parker by pin with four seconds to go in the first period to reach the finals. In the title matchup, Blanco met up with freshman teammate Trase Bell. Blanco claimed an 8-0 decision over Bell.
Billingsley, the defending state champion at 152 pounds, had little trouble in winning the 160 pound weight class. After receiving a first-round bye, the sophomore pinned Daniel French of Middleton (Idaho). It took just 51 seconds for Billingsley to pin Spring Creek's David Collins in the quarterfinals.
Billingsley continued his run to the championship by beating Battle Mountain's Jeff Oakes 20-5. In the finals, Billingsley easily handled Yerington's Krindle Armstrong 10-0.
Cardenas became the third sophomore to win an individual title, beating Pershing County's Sitini Kauvaka by a 5-2 decision in the finals. Cardenas received a bye in the opening round, and disposed of Spring Creek's Tobias Wheeler in the round of 16. He met up with teammate Mikea Somers in the quarterfinals and won by fall in 78 seconds. Cardenas went on to defeat Spanish Springs' Chase Hauder in the semifinals by pin.
Brandon Okuma (152) was one of two Buckaroos to finish second. After an opening-round bye, Okuma beat Fernley's Connor Timerson by fall. The junior continued his run through the tournament, beating Battle Mountain's George Mayberry by pin 37 seconds into the second period. Okuma made his way into the finals with a 6-2 win over Middleton's Brady Portenier.
Awaiting Okuma in the finals was Reno's Joey Lavallee, considered one of the top wrestlers in Nevada. Lavallee recently signed a letter of intent to attend Missouri. The Reno wrestler picked up a win by fall over Okuma in the second period.
Cody Andersen, who finished second at last weeks Reno Tournament of Champions, placed second at 220 pounds to Battle Mountain's Tugi Cordova.
The title match did not last long as Andersen hurt a rib in the early seconds and could not continue. Andersen was taken to Humboldt General Hospital but later released. He will likely miss a couple weeks of action but is expected to be back in the lineup later in the season, according to Brooks.
Andersen won his first three matches all by pin beating Sparks' Cody Breig, Dayton's David Gutierez and Spring Creek's Jake Roumanos. In the semifinals, the senior beat Middleton's Jacob Harvey 10-2.
"Brandon wrestled well all weekend but ran in to one of the best wrestlers in Nevada in the finals," Brooks said. "We will just have to play it close with Cody and see what happens. I don't think he is wrestling anytime soon but he will probably be back in a few weeks. He is a guy we need. He is a big point scorer for us."
Eric Brooks (120) was fourth for Lowry, coming back in the consolation round to earn that finish. He beat Battle Mountain's Andrew Cox 12-1 in the round of 16 but lost 3-0 to Churchill County's Sam Goings in the quarterfinals.
In his first consolation bout, the junior pinned Spanish Springs' Jake Griffin. The next two matches were much different. Brooks needed overtime to beat Spanish Springs' Tyler Poalillo 5-3 and he had to hold off Pershing County's Brice Gorsline in the final seconds to win 2-1. In the third-place match, Brooks lost to Goings for second time, falling 5-0.
Jed Johnson earned Lowry's other fourth-place finish. The junior reached the championship semifinals with wins over Elko's James Terry and Battle Mountain's Joey Cross. Johnson suffered his first loss in the semifinals - a 19-4 decision to Spanish Springs' Tyler Beaulac.
Johnson reached the third-place match by beating Wells' Carlos Aguilar but lost by pin to Yerington's Wyatt Duncan.
Alec Mayo (170) and Anthony Hummel (195) finished sixth for the Buckaroos.
"I was happy that we won our tournament," Brooks said. "I just want us to get better every time we wrestle. The schedule doesn't get any easier for us from here on out."
It is a short Christmas break for Lowry, who travels to Reno on Thursday and Friday for the Sierra Nevada Classic at the Reno Livestock Event Center. More than 80 teams are entered for the two-day tournament.
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