FERNLEY - In its final tournament test before the postseason, the Lowry High School wrestling team blew away the field at the Vaquero Invitational this past weekend in Fernley.
The Buckaroos finished the weekend with 310 points, easily outdistancing Battle Mountain with 177. Churchill County was third at 159.50. Yerington (140) and Fernley (136) rounded out the top five.
The Buckaroo dominance continued, as eight wrestlers reached the finals, with four winning first-place honors. Lowry placed 13 wrestlers in the top four.
"The tournament was down a little from in the past," said LHS coach John Brooks. "But, we made some gains from the past week and that is all you can ask for right now. There is a not a whole lot that we can teach at this point in the year. We wrestle all these tournaments to get better."
Lowry's four champions were Nathen Blanco (113), Nate Nelson (138), Beau Billingsley (182) and Luis Cardenas (285).
Blanco edged out a 4-3 decision over Reno's Eric Perez in the round of 16 and he pinned Douglas' Sean Rigolon in the quarterfinals.
The freshman picked up a decision victory over Elko's Kevin Villegas in the final seconds and Blanco beat Churchill County's Mason Smith 8-5 in the finals.
"Those were two big wins for him," Brooks said. "He is going to see those guys again in the duals this weekend. Nathen has stepped up for us this year."
Nelson cruised into the semifinals with a win by pin and another by technical fall. The senior pinned Carson's Josh Rowe in the first period and beat Battle Mountain's Payton Ayers 17-1. Nelson knocked off teammate Cameron Okuma in the semifinals and pinned Churchill County's Jack Swisher for the title.
Billingsley, a three-time state champion, won all of his matches by pin. The senior opened his tournament beating Elko's James Terry in the second period. He needed just 45 seconds to pin Reno's Austin Lemons in the quarterfinals. Billingsley disposed of Yerington's Efren Campos in the semifinals and he pinned Reed's Erik Stockwell with five seconds left in the first period to win the title.
Cardenas continued his successful senior campaign as he defeated Fernley's Tyler Roemer in the 285-pound finals in 3:13. Cardenas spent less than two minutes on the mat in his first two matches against McQueen's David Hudson and Douglas' Ian Pieller. Cardenas' closes match came in the semifinals against Reno's Charles Tuavao, where he won by decision.
"The kid from Reno was quite a bit taller and had reach advantage," Brooks said. "Luis had a couple throws, but just slipped off. I like where he is wrestling right now."
Trase Bell (120), Gabe Molina (132), Shaun Mentaberry (160) and Anthony Hummel finished second for the Buckaroos.
Bell made his way into the semifinals with pins over Hug's Brenden Cunningham and McQueen's Jared Young. Bell earned a victory over Churchill County's Anthony Ramirez in the semifinals, before losing to Bishop Manogue's Bailey Bright in the title match.
Molina knocked off Connor Riley of McQueen in the first round by pin and reached the semifinals with a 12-0 win over teammate Quint Bell. Molina cruised by Yerington's Cade Draper to reach the final, but the senior lost to Bishop Manogue's Max McReynolds. Molina was leading the match, but got caught and pinned.
Mentaberry used three pins to reach the semifinals, where he edged out a win over Elko's Jake Pengelly. Mentaberry met up with Yerington's Reese Neville and lost by technical fall.
"It was good to see how Shaun is wrestling," Brooks said. "He is a kid we are going to need in the final few weeks. He is in a tough weight class and runs in to Reese every week. Reese is a tough kid to beat."
Hummel received a bye in to the quarterfinals, where he defeated Reed's Austin Rutt 13-3. The senior followed that with a win over CJ Kirkbride of Fernley, before losing to Pershing County's Ty Arnett in the final.
Bryan Day (106), Kevin Blanco (126) and Tristen Waller (170) finished third for Lowry.
Day cruised in the first three rounds at 106 pounds, but lost a decision to Terry White of Churchill County. The freshman bounced back to beat Douglas' Kindel Isham for third.
Blanco reached the semifinals with two wins by fall, but lost to eventual champion Andrew Cox of Battle Mountain. Molina battled back to beat Reno's Connor Pearson 5-1.
Waller won his first two matches by fall to reach the semifinals against South Tahoe's Andrew Herrera. Herrera won the match, but Waller came back to beat Reed's Tim Eubanks 9-0.
Blake Duncan (152) and Blake Hillyer (220) finished fourth.
Duncan reached the championship semifinals and Hillyer the quarterfinals, before suffering their first losses.
Lowry's Gold team placed 12th with 87 points and five wrestlers wrestlers finished in the top six. Cameron Okuma (138) was third, Quint Bell (132) was fourth, Cade Billingsley (152) and Micah Somers (285) were fifth and Chris Karchella (220) was sixth.
"We are getting to where we want to be and we are in a good spot," Brooks said. "The only thing that matters now is what happens in the next three weeks. No one is going to remember who won the Kiwanis or Vaquero Invitational. Everybody is at a clean slate."
Lowry will be at home this weekend to host the Division I-A North Duals. Action begins at 1 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday. The Buckaroos will be looking to break the dual streak of 107, which was held from 1971-79.
"It all starts with the duals this weekend," Brooks said. "This where you set yourself up for good things. As far as the record, the kids don't need to worry about that. I'll worry about that. I want them to concentrate and get better in the next few weeks."
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