Garvin leads Boulder City to region title

When Clinton Garvin stepped onto the mat at Mojave High School on Saturday, the Boulder City senior exuded the confidence of a champion.

In the third period, Garvin showed why he typically finds the podium.

The two-time state champion defeated Virgin Valley's Juan Dominguez 7-4 in the 120-pound title bout of the Division I-A Southern Region tournament to grab his fourth straight region championship.

"I knew I was the better wrestler, and I just had to go out there and prove it," Garvin said. "I faced him a couple years ago, and I knew he was going to be strong from the get-go. I knew I had to do the same thing."

With a team score of 264.5 points, the Eagles used a dominant performance in the consolation and championship brackets to overcome Virgin Valley (215.5 points) for the region title. Pahrump Valley was third (178), followed by Desert Pines (163). All four teams advance to the Division I-A state tournament, which begins Friday in Reno.

"The kids in the final did great, but the kids in wrestle-back - that's where we won the tournament," Boulder City coach Kevin Ruth said. "This is the first tournament we've had where everybody has stepped up, and it was a big one."

In a back-and-forth struggle, Garvin never lost his composure. Rallying from one point down early in the third period, he maneuvered his upper body to take Dominguez to the mat and grab the lead for good.

Garvin will head to Reno looking to become the first Eagle to win three consecutive state titles since 1988.

Boulder City also benefited from Brandon Foster's lopsided victory at 195 and Jeremiah Rodriguez's win at 138.

Despite having seven wrestlers in the finals, Virgin Valley managed only two wins. Hunter Woods secured the 126-pound title, and Broc Smith won at 145.

■ DIVISION III SOUTHERN LEAGUE - At Ely, heavyweight JuQuan Lakes and 152-pounder Jake Hodges each won to help Laughlin finish second in the Division III Southern League meet.

White Pine won the team title with 179 points, and Laughlin had 125.

Contact reporter John W. Scafetta at jscafetta@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430.