The Pershing County High School wrestlers closed out their season at the 2017 NIAA State Championships at Spanish Springs High School in Sparks, this past weekend
“We were very happy with our performance at state,” said PCHS coach Mike Brooks. “Obviously, we would have liked to win more matches. We weren’t able to pull off upsets that we needed to chase down Battle Mountain.”
Battle Mountain finished first with 194 points to win its fifth consecutive state title and 17th overall. The 17 titles are a new state record. Pershing (154.5) and Yerington (80) placed second and third, respectively. Tonopah (71) and White Pine (70) rounded out the top five.
Graduating senior Ty Arnett won the championship title for his weight class at 220 pounds. His first day on the mat started with a win by fall over Jorge Chamorro of White Pine in 44 seconds. Next, Arnett sparred with his teammate Axel Gonzalez in the semifinal round pinning him in the first period. Finally, Arnett won the first-place match against Freddy Lopez of Tonopah by pin in the second period on Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore Joaquin Wanner (160) walked away with the first state championship of his high school career. First, he won the quarterfinals against Gerardo Heredia of Pahranagat Valley by pin in 83 seconds. Next, he won the semifinal round against White Pine’s Sven Pickens by fall at 1:38. Wanner won a closely contested championship match against Fernando Carillo of Battle Mountain by a 9-7 decision.
“This is one of my biggest accomplishments that I’ve worked for,” said Wanner. “The people that believed in me and pushed me through it are a blessing, and I’m more than thankful for them.”
Jeffrey Martin (113), Kasey Brown (120), Jayce Leyva (138), and Logan Murphy (285) placed second.
Martin scored wins over Spring Mountain’s Marco Monroy and Tonopah’s Dillan Christianson-Lopez by pin to reach the final. He lost to Battle Mountain’s Cameron Thompson for the title.
Brown cruised to two victories on Friday, opening with a 17-1 decision over Lincoln County’s Trevin Perkins and a pin over Spring Mountain’s Christian Monroy in the semifinals. Brown lost to Jake Legarza of Battle Mountain in the championship.
Leyva picked up two wins by pin over Tonopah’s Vance Day and Lincoln County’s Derek Matthews to reach the finals. Leyva dropped his title bout to Cade Draper of Yerington.
Murphy notched wins over Pahranagat Valley’s Tyler Horrocks and Tonopah’s Jordon Birkowitze.
Cody Scholl (120), Ramon Figueroa (126), Eric Wagner (132), Axel Gonzalez (220) and Davis Murphy (285) placed third.
The other qualifiers included Ben Plimpton (195), Marcus Glanton (182), Dylan Hultenschmidt (170) and Lupin Gomez (126).
It was the last state championship for seniors Arnett and Logan Murphy (285).
“We only lose two seniors, so we are hoping to build off our great finish from this season,” said Brooks.
