WINNEMUCCA - Inch by inch, the Lowry High School wrestling team is closing in on the dual wrestling win streak of Yerington, which stands at 107.
The Buckaroos celebrated their senior night in front of a packed gym last Wednesday, defeating Fernley 61-18 and Pershing County 65-12 to extend their own streak to 85 consecutive duals, the second-longest in state history.
"It was nice to have them down here," said LHS John Brooks. "It is just so hard to schedule someone to come here.
"It wasn't our biggest test, but I liked the way we wrestled. It is going to get tougher and it's coming. I have to remind the kids of that. Nothing is going to come easy for us."
Against Fernley, Nate Nelson at 126 pounds, Aaron Nelson (138) and Anthony Hummel (220) won by forfeit. The dual started at 138 pounds and after wins by Lane Mentaberry at 145 pounds and Brandon Okuma at 152, the Buckaroos led 18-0.
The Vaqueros picked up their first points at 160 pounds, as Anfernee Sloan came back to defeat Shaun Mentaberry. Mentaberry was leading 5-3 in the third period before Sloan caught him and pinned him.
Beau Billingsley got Lowry back on track at 170 pounds with a pin then Fernley's Erik Wilson closed the gap to 24-12 with a win over Jed Johnson at 182 pounds. That turned out to be the final win on the mat for the Vaqueros.
Tytin Johnson (195), Hummel (220), Luis Cardenas (285) and Trase Bell (106) collected wins to put Lowry in front 46-12. The Vaqueros won by forfeit at 113 pounds, only to see the Buckaroos' Kevin Blanco (120), Nate Nelson (126) and Eric Brooks end with wins.
Lowry raced out to a 35-0 lead over Pershing County, as the Buckaroos won the first seven matches of the dual. Okuma, Shaun Mentaberry and Tytin Johnson won by pin; Lane Mentaberry, Okuma and Jed Johnson earned wins by decision and Aaron Nelson won by forfeit.
Cristian Diarte gave the Mustangs their first points at 285 points and Lowry forfeited at 113 pounds for the only other points on the night for Pershing County. Bell, Blanco, Nate Nelson and Brooks closed out the dual with wins for the Buckaroos.
Lowry finished second at the Sutter Invitational this past weekend in Yuba City, Calif. Sutter won the tournament by eight points and Chico, Calif., was third. The Buckaroos travel to Spring Creek this weekend for the Kiwanis Invitational.
"You don't want to have any let downs at this time of the season," Brooks said. "We are into that part of the season, where we have lost in the last five years. Spring Creek will be a tough tournament. It will be be better this year. The weather kept a lot of teams away last year and Reno is coming this year."[[In-content Ad]]
