On Friday and Saturday, 16 Lovelock wrestlers competed at Sparks High School. They brought home the first-place trophy from the Sparks Invitational Tournament.
Jeffery Martin (113 pounds), Kasey Brown (132), Sean Gottschalk (145), Eric Wagner (152) and Ben Plimpton (195) represented the Class of 2018.
Cody Scholl (126), Jayce Leyva (138), Dylan Hultenschmidt (160), Joaquin Wanner (170), Axel Gonzalez (285) and Davis Murphy (285) are juniors.
Sophomore Ricky Reitz (132) represented the Class of 2020. The freshman wrestlers included Haydon Burrows (126), Colton Wanner (126), Nikita Pavlov (138) and Jessy Gonzalez (152).
Pershing competed against 17 other Nevada teams. The Mustangs outwrestled them all with 195 points. Fernley seized the runner-up trophy (187 points). Douglas (142), Sparks (142) and Yerington (141) rounded out the top five.
Mike Brooks coaches the squad with support from Buzz Brooks, Tom Brooks, Bobby Gibson and Jared Jensen.
“We put together our best tournament since Cody Louk,” said Mike Brooks.
Pershing scores
three first-place finishes
Jeff Martin (4-0), Dylan Hultenscmidt (3-0) and Jayce Leyva (4-0) each placed first in their weight ranges. Martin and Hultenschmidt earned their first tournament championships, noted Mike Brooks.
“That’s a testament to the work they’ve put in,” he said.
In the first round, Martin pinned Logan Galvin of Yerington. He won the quarterfinals against Gavin Breen of South Tahoe by Major Decision (MD 17-6). The semifinals ended with another pin by Martin — this time against Jorge Diaz of Wooster.
The first place match pitted Martin against Thorne Milligan of Yerington. Martin pinned his opponent and walked off with the championship. Mulligan took second place.
Dylan Hultenschmidt got a bye in the first round. He pinned Jackson Hunter from Spanish Springs in the quarterfinals and Josiah Bracket from South Tahoe in the semifinals. Hultenschmidt’s third pin of the day toppled Shawn Gleason of Fernley in the struggle for the championship.
“It was a long two days of wrestling, but it was all worth it,” said Fred Hultenschmidt, wrestling dad.
In the first round, Jayce Leyva pinned Alexander James from South Tahoe. Spanish Spring’s Shayne Her Twig fell to Leyva in the quarterfinals. Leyva pinned Hug’s Dale Chapman in the semifinals.
Leyva and Dante Reviglio from Yerington dueled for control of the championship match. Leyva won with his fourth pin of the meet.
Kasey Brown (3-1), Joaquin Wanner (2-1) and Eric Wagner (3-1) each placed second in their weight ranges. Cody Scholl and Jessy Gonzalez finished in the top six. Ricky Reitz placed fifth. Ben Plimpton and Axel Gonzalez placed fourth. Davis Murphy placed third.
“I’m hoping to build on our success and get some kids back from winter break,” said Mike Brooks. “We’re proud of what the team has accomplished so far. They’re great kids and show up to work hard each day. We have two challenging tournaments upcoming and are excited to see where we fit in.”
Upcoming meets
On Jan. 12 — 13 the Mustang wrestlers head to Spring Creek for the Kiwanis Invitational. They’re back on the road to Fernley for the Vaquero Invitational on Jan 19 — 20. On Jan. 26 — 27 they travel to the Northern 2A Duals in Battle Mountain.
On Feb. 3 the Mustang wrestlers host the Northern 2A Regional Championships at Pershing County High School.
Wrestling season culminates with the NIAA 2A State Championships in Las Vegas. They’ll take place in the Orleans Arena on Feb. 9, 2018.
