It’s hard to believe but the wrestling season is at its midway point. Last weekend the Lovelock team competed in the Sparks Railroader Invitational Tournament, a varsity level event.
Xavier Weatherman, Angelo Gibson, Jeffrey Elerick, Jake Henderson, Wyatt Hughes and Logan Hunt represented Pershing County High School.
“The coaching staff was proud of how the kids performed and competed,” said coach Mike Brooks.
Elerick and Hughes place second
The coach says Jeff Elerick at 132 pounds had his best tournament yet. The 132-pound weight class was one of the tougher weight classes at the tournament and Elerick, a freshman, went 4-1 for the weekend.
He won his first two matches against Fallon’s Lonnie Adams (12-0) and Lowry’s Bradyn Snyder (Fall 1:41). The wins catapulted Elerick to a quarterfinal victory against South Tahoe’s Chris Mossorte (15-3).
Next, Elerick pinned Fernley’s Riley McCullar in the semifinals by pin at 3:34. His only loss of the day was the first-place match against Galena’s Logan Obert in a 4-2 decision.
Sophomore Wyatt Hughes (157) also advanced to the championship match. He got there by pinning Adriano Reza of North Valley (Fall 1:26) and True Laboissonniere of Truckee (Fall 1:26).
Hughes lost the first-place match to Thayne Hatch of Churchill County (Fall 0:37). It was Hughes’ only loss of the weekend. He achieved a 3-1 record for the tournament.
“Both Jeff and Wyatt earned pins in the semifinals while trailing their matches,” said Brooks.
Weatherman pins six; places third
Junior wrestler Xavier Weatherman (126) went 6-1 for the weekend. He started the day by pinning Brahndyn Vice of Sparks (Fall 0:42) and Nadera Muhammad of Fernley (0:55).
Weatherman’s only loss was to Jaiden McFadden from Churchill County (Fall 0:42) in the quarterfinals.
This sent him Weatherman to the consolation round where he pinned Lowry’s Adan Morfin (Fall 0:24). He pinned another Lowry wrestler in the semifinal match - Logan Ricci (Fall 3:14).
Weatherman won the sixth wrestle back by fall over Fernley’s Brody Jones (Fall 2:27). He won the third-place match by fall over Nathaniel Zackery of Churchill County (Fall 1:29).
“Angelo Gibson (132), Jake Henderson (157) and Logan Hunt (215) wrestled tough and continue to improve their skills,” said the coach.
Henderson and Hunt are freshmen. Gibson represented the sophomore class.
This weekend the team travels to Spring Creek High School for the Kiwanis Invitational. Be sure to mark your calendars for the regional championships. Lovelock hosts them on Saturday, Feb. 4. The NIAA state championships are at the Winnemucca Events Center Feb. 10 - 11.