The Winnemucca Junior High School wrestling team had numerous first place finishers last Saturday on their own mats, but there was success all the way across the team.
“It was a good weekend for the Warrior wrestling team,” WJHS wrestling coach John Brooks said. “We entered 33 wrestlers in our home tournament and came out of it with 15 champions!”
Brenton Baker, Chris Gildone, Braden Hammargren, Wade Mori, Coda Nichols, and Jeremiah Simmons all prevailed in their respective weight classes for the Eighth-graders. Ryan Adair, Ryan Arrien, Rodger Facey, Damon Fetty, and Felix Munoz all had second place finishes for the Eighth-graders, and Dylan Gilson took a third.
The Seventh-grade squad crowned five champions, Brayden Casalez, Luke Fentress, Anthony Guzman, Bryce Kuykendall, and Kaylub Prather. Second place finishes were achieved by Damien Barajas, Diego Contreras, and David Walker, while Alan Andrade, Braiden Dennis and Landon Esquivel grabbed thirds.
Brooks said, “This tournament served as a qualifying tournament for the championships being held in Lovelock this coming weekend. There was another qualifying tournament held in Carson City as well. The top four in each weight class from each qualifier competes at the Tah-Neva Championships.”
WJHS Sixth-graders Gage Kinder, Erick Valencia, and Donovan Walker all reigned supreme, and Jhett Harbor took a second. The Fifth-grade’s only champion was Maddex Hislop, and Pete Bengochia finished third in his weight class.
Brooks concluded, “The kids understood that they needed to be in the top four to move on and really responded well to it. We will be taking 29 wrestlers total to Lovelock, hopefully they can keep it rolling into the championships.”
