The Lowry High School wrestling team hit the road last weekend for one of its longest road trips of the season to compete at the Green Valley Duals in Las Vegas.
The Buckaroos got a look at teams and wrestlers they don;’t see during the year and picked up two wins in five duals.
“I knew what it would be when I signed up for it,” said LHS coach John Brooks. “I knew there would be some good teams. It would have been nice to get a couple more duals in, making that long of a trip. It was a good chance for our guys to see some different teams and wrestlers instead of going up against guys we will see each week.”
Lowry picked up a 42-36 win over Basic from Las Vegas on the strength of a pin by Kole Mattson over David Trukeen in the first period of their 285-pound match.
“Kole had a good weekend all around,” Brooks said. “His match was the difference in the Basic dual. I saw some good things from him.”
Coda Nichols (106 pounds), Angel Huerta (113), Taylor Corak (138), Cade Bell (152) and Jesse Hawkins (160) also picked up wins for the Buckaroos against Basic.
Lowry found itself in another close dual, but came up short 46-33 to Cimarron-Memorial. Issac Mori collected a 13-5 win over Chuck Creswell, while Wade Mori notched fall over Otto Cate-Cribari at 120 pounds.
Nichols picked up a 19-3 victory over Dextra Sylvers, while Hawkins, Huerta and Mattson won by pin. Brenton Baker and Corak won by forfeit.
Lowry took on Green Valley on Saturday and beat the Gators 60-24. Issac Mori, Wade Mori, Nichols, Baker, Bell, Corak, Hawkins, Huerta and Mattson earned victories.
Lowry took on Cibola (Arizona) and lost 69-12. Wade Mori and Nichols were the only Buckaroo wrestlers to win their matches. Both grapplers pinned their opponent.
“Cibola was the real deal,” Brooks said. “They are a pretty solid team.
Lowry closed out the tournament with a 43-30 loss to Brighton (Utah). Isaac Mori, Wade Mori, Bell, Huerta and Mattson earned wins for the Buckaroos.
“I was really happy with Coda and Wade and the way they stepped us as freshmen,” Brooks said. “Like I tell my guys, you are not freshmen anymore, you are varsity wrestlers. Taylor and Cade ran into a couple tough guys. It just showed how tough it was down there. We were missing a couple guys but are looking to get them in the lineup this weekend.”
Lowry travels to Lovelock on Saturday for the Mustang Invitational. Lowry hosts the Cody Louk Invitational on Dec, 20-21 at the Winnemucca Event Center.
“The one good thing about the long trip, it gave myself and coach (Brant) Corak some time to look back and what we need to fix,” Brooks said. “We have put a bunch of stuff in, but we found out we need to work a little harder during practice.”
