WINNEMUCCA - If the results of last weekend's Northern 3A regional are any indication, it will likely be a two-team race at the state wrestling tournament this weekend in Las Vegas.
The Lowry High School wrestling team captured its 17th regional title last Saturday at Spring Creek High School, scoring 301.50 points with eight champions and 11 wrestlers in the finals.
Spring Creek was second with 246.50 points, Fernley a distant third with 158 and Elko and Churchill County rounded out the top five with 132 and 131 points, respectively.
The Buckaroos qualified 17 of their 18 wrestlers (all 14 scorers) for the state tournament.
"We looked pretty good and went out and got the job done," said LHS head coach John Brooks. "There were not too many surprises and there were maybe one or two matches that we let get away. Our studs performed well, but we had other kids step us as well.
"This group reminds me of the one we had two years ago. They just go out and the get the job done when they have to. The deck of cards will be shuffled again this week and we will see what we can do. We put ourselves in a good spot for this weekend."
Eric Brooks (113), Gus Duncan (145), Beau Billingsley (152), Jace Billingsley (160), Michael Billingsley (170), Ryan Nelson (182), Cody Andersen (220) and Fernando Herrera (285) all won individual titles. The Buckaroos won every weight class from 145 pounds to 285, except for the 195-pound class.
Brooks picked up a bye in the first round and needed just two wins to claim the 113-pound championship. He defeated Spring Creek's Zach Rockwell 5-0 in the semifinals and Fernley's Ernesto Garcia 3-0 in the title bout.
Duncan had to go a round further, with more wrestlers in his weight class to earn his title at 145. The senior got a bye in the first round and then beat Spring Creek's David Collins by fall at 2:21 in the quarterfinals. Duncan followed that up with a pin of Churchill County's Hunter Mori in the semifinals and a 14-6 win over Sparks' Mario Gudron in the finals.
Beau Billingsley cruised to the 152-pound championship in three matches, as he beat Truckee's Javier Virrey by pin in the second round. The freshman stopped Spring Creek's Ryan Hoyos by a 5-3 decision in the semifinals and beat Fernley's Erik Wilson in the final by a 6-2 decision.
"Beau continues to amaze me in a tough weight class," Brooks said. "Elko brought up a kid that finished third at state last year at 145 and he showed up in Beau's weight. He has had a pretty good freshman year."
Jace Billingsley began his quest to be the first four-time state champion at Lowry, needing only two wins to win the regional championship for a fourth time. The senior needed just 65 seconds to pin Elko's Todd Sharp in the semifinals, while going on to pin Spring Creek's Kolby Mays in the second period for the title.
"Everyone has pretty much vacated his weight class," added the coach. "It would be nice to see him get his fourth in a row."
Michael Billingsley easily won all three of his matches, starting in the quarterfinals with a pin over Elko's Koltin Howe. The junior then beat South Tahoe's Tyler Nesbitt by pin in the third period in the semifinals and Spring Creek's Austen Zaugg by fall with one second left in the first round in the finals.
Ryan Nelson fought through a tough test in the opening round to beat Fernley's Edward Gaitan 2-0, and followed that with a victory by pin in the second period over Churchill County's Michael Abe in the semifinals. The senior found himself in another close match in the final and was able to beat Nick CdeBaca 5-3.
Andersen had little trouble in winning at 220 pounds, taking just 62 seconds to beat Spring Creek's Thomas Moore in the quarterfinals. The junior took on teammate Tytin Johnson in the semifinals and won 15-2. He finished the weekend by pinning Fernley's Julian Franco in the third period.
Herrera knocked off Dayton's Josh Joyner in the first period in the semifinals and continued his year-long battle with Fernley's Pablo Gomez, winning the championship match by a 3-0 decision.
Daniel Pollock (106), Aaron Nelson (126) and Daniel Raynor (132) all finished second, losing to Spring Creek opponents in the finals.
Pollock returned to the mat after suffering a knee injury at the Kiwanis Invitational in Spring Creek in mid January and looked sharp in his first match back with an 11-3 win over Churchill County's Anthony Sabatino, who was the No. 2 seed. The junior went on to beat South Tahoe's Kalen Ippolito 5-4 in the semifinals, before losing to Sheldon Davis in the final.
"Daniel did it pretty much with one leg," Brooks said. "I tried to get him seeded under the common sense rule but the coaches voted against it. He pinned the No. 2 seed twice this year but they didn't see it that way. I was really happy with him and he is not 100 percent."
Aaron Nelson had little trouble in his quarterfinal match, pinning Elko's Jared Pawlek in 75 seconds. The sophomore needed just 97 seconds to get into the finals after pinning Churchill County's Nathan Heck but came up short while losing 9-2 to Dustin Tripp in the championship.
Raynor received a bye into the quarterfinals, where he pinned Spring Creek's Anthony Barrington in the second period. The senior followed that with an 11-8 win over Churchill County's David Hughes to reach the finals, where he was defeated by Layton Perry.
Lane Mentaberry (120), Johnson (220) and Luis Cardenas (285) all finished third for Lowry. Johnson and Cardenas were entered as extra wrestlers and were non scorers. Brandon Okuma (138) and Juan Ochoa (195) were fourth and Blake Duncan (145), a third non-scorer, was fifth.
Mentaberry dropped his opening match but fought his way through the consolation bracket to win four matches. The sophomore came back to beat Spring Creek's Kanyon Filmore 8-1 after losing to the Spartan wrestler to begin the tournament. Mentaberry went on to pin Elko's Tommy Headly in the third round to place third.
After falling to his teammate in the semifinals, Johnson came back through the consolation bracket to pin Churchill County's Richard Rogers and Spring Creek's Moore to place third.
Cardenas dropped his opening round match to Fernley's Gomez, only to come back through the consolation bracket to pin Sparks' David Valentine in the second period for third place.
Lowry travels to the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas today and Saturday for the NIAA State Wrestling Tournament presented by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Farmers Insurance. Wrestling gets underway today at 9 a.m. for the 4A schools and 4:30 p.m. for the 3A. Action resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday.
"We just need to keep the eye on the ball and sharpen up a little bit," Brooks said. "We are not going to kill each other in practice and want to be fresh. There is not much new you can teach now. We have to wait all day to get on the mat Friday and I don't like that at all. We will keep them occupied and I want them to watch some other wrestling, but that is a long time to be sitting in the stands. I don't mind going late into the night, I just don't want to sit around all day. Everyone else has to do the same thing."
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