Green Valley finishes second in Class 4A state wrestling

WINNEMUCCA — Spanish Springs held off Green Valley on Saturday to win its second consecutive Class 4A state wrestling championship.

The Cougars defeated the Gators 139½-129. Shadow Ridge was third at 121½, and Cimarron-Memorial (108) and Spring Valley (76) rounded out the top five.

Spanish Springs had three champions in Devin Griffin (113 pounds), Anthony Sissom (138) and Colby Preston (195). Sissom beat Spring Valley’s Andres Garcia in triple overtime.

“We are not getting used to this second-place deal,” said Green Valley coach Jon Ferry, whose team had won six consecutive state titles until Spanish Springs dethroned the Gators. “Hopefully, it can continue to fuel us. We get most of our guys back, and we want to get back to work soon.”

Green Valley had four champions in Steele Dias (120), Will Zernich (126), Justus Scott (160) and Desmond Bowers (170).

“We had a bunch of good performances in the finals,” Ferry said. “We had four kids that went back-to-back, I just think that is unprecedented. I am proud of those guys. Spanish Springs is tough. I respect those guys, and they beat us fair and square.”

Dias became a three-time state champion with a 9-4 win over Spanish Springs’ Nickolas Foster.

“It feels great to be a champion, but a three-time champion is awesome,” Dias said. “The hard work paid off. I had a lot of doubts but pushed through them and came out on top.”

Zernich cruised in his final, defeating Shadow Ridge’s Triston Curtis 13-2 for his second consecutive title.

“It feels good to be a two-time champion, and I have another to get to three to match my partner (Dias),” Zernich said. “We both worked hard all season for this.”

Scott had little trouble in his 160-pound title bout, beating Matthew Rodgers of Cimarron-Memorial 13-1. Bowers claimed his 170-pound championship by pinning Shadow Ridge’s Kody Presser in the third period. It was the second straight state championship for Scott and Bowers.

Matthew VanRiel from Shadow Ridge won at 132 pounds, defeating Cory Sego of Spanish Springs 7-2. Spring Valley’s Ryan Mitchell captured the 106-pound title, beating Bishop Manogue’s Carter Tate by pin in 58 seconds.

“It was an amazing weekend, what a rush,” Mitchell said. “At first, there were some doubts, but as I got through the rounds, I had it locked up.”

Cimarron-Memorial’s Daniel Rodriguez defeated Durango’s Kaden Renshaw 4-3 to win at 152 pounds. Faith Lutheran’s Connor Bourne became a three-time champion with an 8-4 victory over Carson’s David Remer at 182 pounds.

“I have some mixed emotions right now,” Bourne said. “I am happy with the win, but sad that it’s all over. I just want to thank everyone that got me here.”

Liberty’s Nate Hendricks (220) and Basics Julio Duron (285) also won state championships.

Spring Creek runs away with 3A title

Spring Creek cruised to the Class 3A state championship with 236 points and five individual champions. Virgin Valley was second with 83 points, and Boulder City was third with 77.

Rudy Cannon (113) and Vicente Pinto (120) won state championships for Virgin Valley. Boulder City had two champions in Jimmy Dunagan at 195 pounds and Ryan Vanario at 220.

Churchill County had only three wrestlers in the tournament, but all three won state championships.

Pershing County wins first wrestling title

In the Class 2A tournament, Pershing County won its first state wrestling championship and stopped Battle Mountain’s run of six straight state titles.

The Mustangs beat the Longhorns 209-173½. Yerington was third with 154½ points, followed by Pahranagat Valley (68) and Tonopah (64½).

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