RENO - Around the wrestling community in Nevada, many considered the 2012 Lowry High School squad a dream team and one of the best ever.
With the loss of four individual state champions from that team, few thought the 2013 Buckaroo roster could equal what its predecessors did.
When the last whistle blew on Saturday afternoon at the NIAA State Wrestling Championships at the Reno Livestock Events Center, Lowry turned a number of heads and left its critics speechless.
The Buckaroos won their fifth consecutive state title and 15th overall. The 15 titles are the most in Nevada history, leading Yerington by one and Battle Mountain by two.
Lowry ran away with the team title in the semifinal round on Saturday morning and was never seriously challenged by its competitors, including the 10 new schools in the Division I-A South.
The Buckaroos finished with 221 points to beat out rival Spring Creek, who had 113. Virgin Valley, the Division I-A South runner-up, was third at 92, while Churchill County and Fernley rounded out the top five with 90 and 65 points, respectively. In addition, the Buckaroos were named the academic state champions for a third straight year.
"We just had an unbelievable semifinal round," said LHS head coach John Brooks. "I am not sure what to think or say right about now. I am speechless. I have run out of things to say about those kids. The question was, when we lost those good kids to graduation, if we would be able to fill those holes. We did. We were a great team at the end of the year and that is a tribute to the work the kids put in. Everyone said it was a once-in-a-lifetime team a year ago. We just did it twice in a row with great kids. Now we go out and try it again next year. I didn't see us winning by this much and the new schools down south had me spooked. We lose three quality seniors who are state champions."
The Buckaroos saw 14 wrestlers make it into the semifinals on Saturday morning and had nine grapplers reach the finals, with five winning individual titles in the runaway victory.
Daniel Pollock (113), Brandon Okuma (145), Beau Billingsley (160), Michael Billingsley (170) and Cody Andersen (220) all claimed individual titles. Michael Billingsley became the second Lowry wrestler to win four individual titles (see separate story). Beau Billingsley won his second straight championship, while Pollock, Okuma and Andersen all won their first.
"I thought Brandon wrestled well and it was nice to see him get a championship," Brooks said. "Beau picked up from where he left off last year. It was good to see the seniors win championships and I am happy for Daniel and Cody. They worked hard all year."
Pollock breezed to a 16-0 victory over Pahrump Valley's Levi Gundacker in the opening round, setting up a semifinal matchup with Virgin Valley's Brok Williams, who he pinned with five seconds left in the first period. In the final, the senior dominated the action against Churchill County's Sam Goings, winning by a 10-5 decision.
It is the third state championship in the Pollock family, with his father Kelly and older brother Mitch also winning state championships.
"I worked four hard years and finally got one," Pollock said. "It was good to spend it with the team and win four team titles with the guys. It feels good to share the championship with my dad and brother. I had a bad tournament at home but after that I kept working hard."
After finishing fourth at 138 pounds last year, Okuma earned his first title at 145 pounds. The junior knocked off Mojave's Ruben Corona by pin in the first round and he did the same to Churchill County's Trae Workman in the semifinals. Okuma defeated Sparks' Mario Guardon 11-4 in the finals.
Sophomore Beau Billingsley won his second state title in as many years to keep up with his older brother and cousin. The youngest Billingsley dominated at 152 pounds, starting off with a pin in 74 seconds over Moapa Valley's Jared Repp in the quarterfinals. He beat Pahrump Valley's Scott Maughan by technical fall (18-3) in the semifinals and Fernley's Andrew Nelson 14-11 in the finals.
After a heartbreaking one-point loss to Boulder City's Brandon Foster last year, Andersen notched his first state title at 220 pounds. Andersen needed just 58 seconds to pin Boulder City's William Dunagan. In Saturday's semifinal, he beat Fernley's Julian Franco by fall in the second period, and in the final Andersen settled down in the second period to pin Pahrump Valley's Jace Clayton.
"It's the best feeling in the world. I can't ask for anything better," Andersen said. "After falling short last year, I had to do it in my final year. For the three seniors to go out as champions is great. I have been brothers with them forever and they mean everything to me. I am proud of the other seniors. I am a loss for words on how the team did. Coach Brooks pushes us 24/7 to make us better. We have a great team to push each other."
Lowry had four wrestlers finish in the runner-up spot, including Kevin Blanco (106), Eric Brooks (120), Aaron Nelson (132) and Luis Cardenas (285).
"Kevin, Eric and Aaron picked up wins and they found themselves in the finals," added the coach. "We just wrestled well. I don't know how to explain it. This team came in with expectations and were ready to go. The kids are conditioned to show up for this time of the year."
Blanco came out in the first round and pinned Boulder City's Ronnie Mortensen in the third period. He moved into the semifinals on Saturday, where he beat Western's Erik Gonzalez by injury default. The heads of the two grapplers collided in the first round, and after trying to continue Gonzalez had to stop and was later taken to a hospital for concussion symptoms. The sophomore met Virgin Valley's Cash Crandall in the final, where he lost by pin.
Brooks made his way into the semifinals, with an 8-2 decision over Cheyenne's Jason Arnold. The junior earned some revenge in the semifinals, beating Boulder City's Clinton Garvin 5-4 with one second left in their match. Garvin was a two-time state champion and beat Brooks in each of the last two years at the state championships. Brooks met up with Spring Creek's Sheldon Davis in the final with Davis picking up the victory by pin.
Aaron Nelson made his third trip to the state finals in as many years and gave Spring Creek's Dustin Tripp all he could handle. The Spartan wrestler hung on for a 6-4 win. The same decision the two wrestled to a year ago.
Nelson went through Boulder City's Patrick Garvin and Trenton Dolby of Faith Lutheran to reach the finals.
Cardenas lost a heartbreaker in the 285-pound finals to Cheyenne's Victor Magana in triple overtime. Cardenas was trailing 4-3 and had a shot at a reversal to win but Magana caught him in the process and won by pin.
Cardenas shut out his first two opponents Joseph Tanefski of Boulder City 9-0 and Desert Pines' Michael Cisneros 3-0 to reach the finals.
Tytin Johnson (195) was the lone third-place finisher as he came back from a 7-5 semifinal loss to Boulder City's Brandon Foster. Foster went on to win the weight class. Johnson knocked off Clark's Michael Hervis 7-3 to claim third.
Gabe Molina (126), Lane Mentaberry (138), Kirk Berentsen (152) and Jed Johnson (182) all finished fourth for the Buckaroos.
Molina won his opening-round match over Desert Pines' Ramon Verduzco but lost to eventual champion Tyler Tate in the semifinals. The sophomore came back to beat Spring Creek's Zach Rockwell in his first consolation bout but lost by pin to Faith Lutheran's Grant Borsberry in the third-place match.
Mentaberry defeated Boulder City's Jeremiah Rodriguez by decision a 7-5 in the quarterfinals but was beaten by Churchill County's David Hughes in the semifinals. The junior pinned Pahrump Valley's Stephen McCormick in the consolations but was pinned by Spring Creek's Layton Perry in the third-place bout.
Berentsen pulled put a 9-7 win over Chaparral's Freddie Briones in the quarterfinals, only to lose 17-2 to Western's Jamal Hooker in the semifinals. Hooker went on to win the weight class. Berentsen came back to beat Andrew Anderson in the consolation semifinals but lost to Elko's Gage Castagnetti in the third-place bout.
Jed Johnson beat Mojave's Keeron White by pin in the opening round, but lost to eventual champions Erik Wilson in the semifinals. The junior pulled out a narrow 2-1 decision in the consolations, but lost to Desert Pines' Allan Isaguirre for third place.
Nate Nelson (132), Donovan Brumm (160) and Alec Mayo (170) wrestled as non-scorers for the Buckaroos. Brumm and Mayo each won a match for Lowry before being eliminated one match shy of placing.
"This is a special group," Brooks said. "Last year we had the stars and this year they had to grind it out and they turned themselves into stars. There is a certain degree of pride in that. We will enjoy this one for a bit and then get back to work."
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