The Lowry High School wrestling team split up its squad this past weekend, sending a group to Nampa, Idaho for the Rollie Lane Invitational and to Sparks for the Sparks Invitational.
The Rollie Lane Invitational featured over 70 teams and is considered one of the tougher tournaments in the West.
Marcas Ricci at 120 pounds reached the consolation fourth round for the Buckaroos.
He opened the tournament with a first-period pin in 16 seconds over Ashten Beverlin of Middleton. Ricci followed that with a 12-0 victory over Bryan Madigral of Sunnyside.
Ricci lost in the championship third round to Taken Eck of Thunder Ridge and then dropped his consolation bout to Cantril Nielsen of Boise.
Brenton Baker (126) and Luke Fentress (170) advanced to the consolation third round. Baker made his way into the second round after winning by forfeit to start the tournament.
In his first match on the mat, Baker suffered a 6-5 loss to David Scott of Columbia.
Baker bounced back to pin Henry Barnes of Burns in the consolation third round but his tournament ended with a loss to Treygen Morin of Ridgevue.
Fentress lost his opening match to Fabrizio Argana of Meridian, but came back in the consolation bracket to beat David Gutierrez of Sunnyside.
Jhett Harber at 160 pounds also picked up a win for the Buckaroos.
Meridian won the team title with 247.5 points and Post Falls (229.5) was second. Minico (184), Wasatch (152) and Bishop Kelly (149.5) rounded out the top five. McQueen was the highest finishing Nevada school in 25th with 73.5 points. Lowry was 58th.
Lowry places ninth at Sparks Invitational
Another group of wrestlers were at the Sparks Invitational this past weekend at the Brickhouse. The Buckaroos placed ninth with 98 points.
Fernley won the tournament with 235 points and Churchill County (220) placed second. Douglas (199), Yerington (192) and South Tahoe (161) completed the top five.
Maddux Hislop turned in the best finish for the Buckaroos, with a runner-up placing at 113 pounds. Hislop won his first three matches by pin to get into the championship.
He needed just 26 seconds in the first round to beat Jack Christensen of Eureka. Hislop also pinned Maximillion of Churchill County and Sheamus Greenwalt of Dayton. Hislop lost to Yerington’s Eric Pineda in the title bout.
David Teixeira finished third at 285 pounds after losing his opening match 7-2 to Brandon Beck of North Valleys.
Teixeira won his next three matches by pin over Sean Reeder of Churchill County, Beck of North Valleys in a rematch of his opening round match and Xavier Phillips of Fernley. In the third-place bout, Teixeira pinned Brandon Olivas in 53 seconds.
Josh Burgos placed sixth at 165 pounds for Lowry. After winning by forfeit in the first round, Burgos dropped his second-round match to Caine Klein of Douglas. Burgos won his next two matches by pin but lost his final two bouts to place sixth.
Logan Ricci made his way to the consolation fifth round at 126 pounds. Ricci had a first-round bye and then lost 14-12 in his first match on the mat to Brody Jones of Fernley.
Ricci made his way through three rounds of the consolation bracket, winning all three by pins. His tournament ended with a loss to Xavier Weatherman of Pershing County.
Bradyn Snyder reached the consolation fifth round as well at 132 pounds. Like Ricci, Snyder had a bye in the first round and he lost to Pershing County’s Jeffery Elerick in the second round.
Snyder rallied to pin Nathan Tudor of Eureka and win decisions over Joel Raygoza (13-2) of Reno and Angelo Gibson (13-3) of Pershing County. Snyder was eliminated with a loss to Douglas’ Victor Valdez.
Rodger Facey advanced to the consolation fifth round at 132 pounds. He collected two wins on the weekend.
Ryan Utterback reached the championship quarterfinals at 144 pounds and Brayden Dennis reached the consolation fourth round at 175 pounds.
Lowry travels to Spring Creek this weekend for the Kiwanis Invitational. The Buckaroos will celebrate senior night on Wednesday, Jan. 18, with a dual at the high school at 6 p.m.