THOMAS RANSON • Nevada News Group
Lowry High School coaches John Brooks and Joe Brooks watch from the corner during the state championships.
Lowry High School’s Jhett Harber captured the 175-pound title at the NIAA 3A State Wrestling Championships this past Friday in Bullhead City.
For Harber, it is second state title after winning the 157-pound crown in 2023 in Winnemucca. The junior will have a chance at a third title next year
Harber pinned his way to the title bout with wins over Caelb Porter of Boulder City and Andres Flores of Elko.
Provided to Great Basin Sun
Lowry High School's Pete Bengochea finished second at the NIAA State Championships at 106 pounds.
In the championship match against Jared Evans of Moapa Valley, Harber trailed 2-1 after two minutes of wrestling.
Harber took over in the third period with a reversal, takedown and 3-point near fall.
“He wrestled well all season,” said LHS coach John Brooks. “He had a good weekend and to win two state titles is pretty good.
Elko won the team championship for a third year in a row, with 187 points and Moapa Valley (125) was second.
THOMAS RANSON • Nevada News Group
Lowry's Jhett Harber finishes off a pin of Elko's Andres Flores in a semifinal match at the NIAA State Championships in Bullhead City, Ariz. Harber won the state title at 175 pounds to become a two-time state champion.
Fernley made a run at the end to finish third with 79.5 pounds and Lowry was fourth at 75.
“Elko is just so tough and have the numbers,” Brooks said. “I felt we did pretty well for taking eight guys. We let a few matches get away but that will happen at a state tournament. Having Fernley pass us at the end hurt a little bit.”
Sophomore Pete Bengochea at 106 pounds, Kruz Gomez (113) and Luke Fentress (190) earned runner-up finishes for the Buckaroos.
Bengochea pinned Clark’s Alexander Mayorga early in the third period in the quarterfinals and beat Pahrump Valley’s Ethen Rouse 10-0 in the semifinals.
THOMAS RANSON • Nevada News Group
Lowry's Luke Fentress controls his 190-pound match with Boulder City's Sammy Bonar during the state championships.
It was a familiar foe for Bengochea in the finals, as he took on Fernley’s Camron Mcmackin. Mcmackin earned the title with a first-period pin.
Sophomore Kruz Gomez reached the finals with pins over Eldorado’s Jonathan Garcia and Spring Creek’s Bradley Bauman.
Gomez dropped his title bout to Moapa Valley’s Morris Wolfley.
Fentress picked up a first-period pin of Virgin Valley’s Gary Woods in the quarterfinals and beat Boulder City’s Sammy Noar 10-5 in the semifinals. Fentress lost to Elko’s Eli Finlayson.
“Luke had a great couple last years,” Brooks said. “He just ran into a buzzsaw in Finlayson. “I was very pleased on how Pete and Kruz wrestled this year. They had a good weekend.”
Provided to Great Basin Sun
Lowry's Kruz Gomez finished second at the NIAA State Championships at 113 pounds.
Bradyn Synder picked up a 14-9 win over Virgin Valley to collect two points at 138 pounds for the Buckaroos.
Chris Gildone (144), Kasin Gonzalez (215) and Logan Jonas (285) also wrestled for the Buckaroos.
“I felt bad for Chris,” added the coach. “He has done every thing right for this program since he has been there. He just had one tough day. We just need our guys to stick with the program all four years and build something. For what we took down there, I was pretty proud of them.”