MIKE BROOKS • Provided to Great Basin Sun
First-place champs Israel Knight and Jeff Elerick stand with their coaches, Mike and Buzz Brooks.
It was a banner year for the Pershing County Mustang wrestlers.
To cap it all off, four of them placed at the state competition in Arizona last Friday.
The Nevada state championship was in Bullhead City, an eight-hour drive from Pershing County.
The Anderson Auto Group Fieldhouse is a huge (126,500 square foot) multi-sport facility.
Its size enabled Nevada to reach a milestone in its high school wrestling history.
For the first time all the wrestling classes had their state tournament in the same place on the same day, including the girls tournament
More than 650 wrestlers qualified for the event, including 11 Pershing County Mustangs.
MIKE BROOKS • Provided to Great Basin Sun
The Pershing County wrestling team at the NIAA State Championships.
Pershing's team included four regional champions and a runner-up.
After years of low numbers, the team had blossomed into a force on the 2A. They walked into the arena with confidence.
Pershing County finished sixth in the team standings with 80 points. Lake Mead Academy won the state title with 173 points and White Pine and Battle Mountain tied for second with 114 points apiece.
"We had a good day overall but there was definitely some heartache, as there always is at a state tournament," said coach Mike Brooks.
Sophomore Jeffrey Elerick finished as a two-time state champion.
Israel Knight, a freshman, won his first state championship.
Freshman Jake Trowbridge placed second. Angelo Gibson came in fourth.
Elerick won the quarterfinals, semifinals and the 138 first-place match by fall.
He had three pins in eight minutes and thirty seconds. Knight (144) won his three matches, by fall, sudden victory and major decision.
Trowbridge (190) pinned a Pahranagat Valley wrestler in the quarterfinals and a Yerington wrestler in the semifinals. He lost the first-place match to Gage Calton of Lake Mead Academy (Fall 3:08).
Gibson (150) started his day by pinning an Indian Springs wrestler (Fall 4:18).
A semifinal loss sent the Mustang junior to the consolation rounds where he pinned a Lake Mead wrestler (Fall 4:02).
His day ended with a loss in the third-place match to Carter Hales from Lincoln 5-4.
"This was, without a doubt, the best season of Mustang wrestling in at least four years. The kids were great and we are thankful for all of them," said Brooks. "Thanks to all the fans and families that supported us throughout the year."