Subplots spice up wrestling regionals

Aric Thomas and Jon Ferry: longtime best friends, former high school teammates, godfathers to each other's daughters.

And now, not-so-bitter wrestling rivals.

Thomas' Las Vegas High and Ferry's Green Valley will battle 14 other opponents in this weekend's Sunrise Region tournament, and Disney couldn't have scripted it better.

The Wildcats hunt for their eighth straight Sunrise championship, the big, bad wolves after winning the Northeast Division. The Gators are the underdogs, even after a Southeast Division championship.

"I'm excited," Thomas said Thursday about the tournament, which starts at 4 p.m. today at Liberty High School. "It is a unique situation. We're both competitive people, and I'm sure he wants to win as much as I do.

"It'll sure make the conversations better when we get together for dinner."

Before they bond over broken bread, each coach will have to lead his team past a crowded field.

Besides a 26-8 Green Valley squad, the Wildcats will have to handle Northeast No. 2 Canyon Springs (20-10 overall, 5-1 Northeast Division), Southeast No. 2 Basic (19-9, 4-1), Northeast No. 3 Rancho (19-10, 4-2) and Southeast No. 3 Foothill (26-13, 4-2).

"We tell our kids all the time, the difference with wrestling and other sports is everybody gets to come to the wrestling regional tournament," Thomas said of the 16-team field. "You just have to turn it on for three matches."

While the Sunset Region field isn't as full, it is top-heavy. Northwest Division champion Cimarron-Memorial is 25-1 and coming off a second-place finish to Mojave at last season's regional.

The Rattlers again are strong, finishing second in the Northwest Division and returning several seniors. Cimarron coach Mike Garcia said he also expects 33-3 Spring Valley to be in the mix, along with Centennial.

"First off, our region has been tough for a lot of years," Garcia said of the regional, which begins at 4 p.m. today at Sierra Vista High School. "But this year is tougher than it's ever been."

Garcia isn't resting on his teams' lofty laurels, after winning six medalist honors last season but not the team title. He knows a team effort -- in each weight class -- will be necessary to knock off the Rattlers.

"Mojave had all that depth last year," Garcia said. "So it's a matter of getting a lot of kids ready to perform.

"We're certainly not trying to take second again."

Contact reporter Jon Gold at jgold@ reviewjournal.com or (702) 380-4587.