WINNEMUCCA - Two of the winningest wrestling programs in state history got together Tuesday night in Winnemucca, as Lowry High School hosted Battle Mountain.
Both schools came into the dual as the reigning state champions in Division I-A and III, respectively and have combined to win 28 state titles. The Buckaroos, winners of five consecutive championships, served as the unfriendly host, beating the Longhorns 65-6. It was the 83rd consecutive dual victory for Lowry.
"That was a good win for us against a good team," said LHS head coach John Brooks. "They were missing a few guys tonight, which would have made it better. I just appreciate them coming down to wrestle. It is hard to get anybody to come down and wrestle us here."
Starting at 182 pounds, Lowry reeled off four consecutive victories by pin. Jed Johnson started off the night by beating the Longhorns' Joey Cross in the second period and Tytin Johnson (195) and Anthony Hummel (220) followed with first-round victories over Oscar Chavira and Cooper Burkhart, respectively.
Luis Cardenas continued the Buckaroos' run by pining Eduardo Alvarenga with two seconds left in the first period to give Lowry a 24-0 lead. Trase Bell won by forfeit at 106 pounds to increase the advantage to 30-0, but the sophomore wrestled an exhibition match again Dillon Thompson and won 4-2.
Iggy Medina added a 5-2 win over Parker Rochester at 113 pounds and Kevin Blanco won by a technical fall (15-0) at 120 pounds at the same time he pinned his opponent, but the technical fall came first.
Battle Mountain earned its only points of the night at 126 pounds as Andrew Cox pinned Michael Venzor in the second period. Lowry bounced back at 132 and 138 pounds as Gabe Molina and Eric Brooks won by decision over Luis Tovar and Jacob Rochester, respectively.
Aaron Nelson (145) defeated Jonas Norman by pin in the second period and Lane Mentaberry needed to go the distance to beat Alvaro Martinez at 152 pounds. Brandon Okuma pinned Talon Draper at 160 pounds and Beau Billingsley capped off the night with an 11-1 decision over Jeff Oakes at 170 pounds.
"Our kids looked good, though," Brooks said. "I liked how they wrestled from the top. We still need to get better on the bottom. I was glad to see the number of pins we got. That shows that we are finishing off matches."
Lowry will split it's teams this weekend, sending a group to the Reno Tournament of Champions and another to Lovelock for the Pershing County Invitational.[[In-content Ad]]
