As December began, so did the season for the Battle Mountain High School wrestling team.
Using the early season to get as much mat time as possible, the team split up and headed out in opposite directions. Coach David Dominguez took a young crew to the annual Ely Lions Invitational.
The tournament saw 12 teams in action, and the Longhorns entered a group of six grapplers into the event. That group made the other teams sit up and take notice.
Freshmen Damien Diaz and Tristin Cordingley posted 5-0 records over the two days, as they won first place in their respective weight classes.
Christian Nevarez went 3-3 en route to a fourth-place finish. Brandon Stallard and Kyle Wilson went 2-2 over the two days and finished in fifth place. Daegan McClary claimed a big win, but came up just short of placing.
“These kids wrestled hard all weekend,” said Dominguez. “This tournament is a great learning experience. I liked what I saw, but I know they’re just getting started and will improve greatly over the season.”
The other contingent of Battle Mountain wrestlers made the trek to Boise, Idaho, for the annual Bucks Bags Duals Tournament.
The boys from Nevada posted a 4-2 record over two days with wins over Weiser (41-15), Boise (49-22), Vallivue (37-18) and Borah (43-36).
“This tournament is a great way to start the season,” said BMHS head coach Mitch Domagala. “We see some of the best teams in the large school divisions in Idaho, and get a lot of matches. Right now it’s just about competing and experience,” he said.
Cameron Thompson started off the season in perfect fashion, winning all six of his matches. Jeff Oakes and Zach Heese each went 5-1 and Jake Legarza, Andrew Cox and Copper Burkhart won four matches apiece. DeAndre Powell, Bobby Kester, Matt Rochester, Fernando Carillo and Mason Chopp were 3-3 and Jose Figueroa was 1-2 in his three matches.
“We had a good first weekend, the kids did a lot of things well,” Domagala said. “They wrestled hard, had positive attitudtes and gave everything they had each time out. We have a number of things to work on, but not a bad start to the season.”
The Longhorns hosted Elko on Tuesday and results were not available at press time. Battle Mountain travels to Winnemucca this weekend for the annual Cody Louk Invitational Tournament at the Winnemucca Events Center.
