Wildcats capture eighth straight crown

Las Vegas High's Will Leslie had little to wrestle for on Saturday night.

As a 152-pound regional finalist, he took the mat already having secured a spot in next weekend's state tournament at Cimarron-Memorial. His team, meanwhile, already had compiled enough points to win its eighth consecutive championship.

But trailing 5-0 in the first round, Leslie made the decision that he didn't want to be second best. A late third-round rally gave Leslie his first individual title, and the Wildcats went on to score 2271/2 points en route to winning the Sunrise Regional championship at Liberty.

"Over the past two weeks, I've just wrestled with a lot of heart," said Leslie, who claimed the title with a 7-6 decision over Green Valley's Ben Ross. "I've come back a few times, and I really found I could believe in myself to win."

Leslie's victory was somewhat symbolic of his team's overall performance Saturday, as the Wildcats recovered from a sluggish first day to dominate the semifinal and championship rounds.

Green Valley scored 1801/2 points to finish a distant second. Basic (1661/2), Foothill (162) and Canyon Springs (1191/2) rounded out the top five.

De'Armon Hall (103), Hugo Carrillo (119) and Madison Hales (215) also won championships for Las Vegas, and three other Wildcats qualified for the state tourney.

"I think the key was our guys who wrestled back," said Las Vegas coach Aric Thomas, who had six wrestlers battle back from consolation matches. "They scored a lot of points. A lot of these guys are seniors, and that was their contribution to the team."

Carrillo, who won with an 11-3 decision over Foothill's Joel Olivas, said he and his teammates had many reasons to perform at their best Saturday.

"I just feel happy for the coaches," said Carrillo, who was beaten by Olivas earlier in the season. "They're the ones who have been working hard with us since the summer. I'm just so glad for them."

Thomas said his champion wrestlers were not the only Wildcats to put in gutsy performances.

"All these guys have a lot of pride," Thomas said. "It's almost like they just don't to let the program down."

Green Valley qualified six wrestlers for the state tourney, led by champions Mason Saldana (112), Landon Saldana (130), Denn Wantanabe (160) and Vince Pezutto (189).

Other champions were Basic's Brian Asay (125), Abraham Gonzales (135) and Javier Hernandez (275), Canyon Springs' Jonathan Arita-Valquez (140) and Max Quezada (145) and Foothill's Joshua Richert (171).

Basic qualified six wrestlers for next week's tournament, while Foothill and Canyon Springs each will send four.

Saldana was named Sunrise Region Wrestler of the Year, and Canyon Springs' Vernon Schultz was named coach of year.