Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Cimarron-Memorial edges Shadow Ridge for Sunset title
Cimarron-Memorial and Shadow Ridge entered the day neck-andneck in the battle for the Class 4A Sunset Region wrestling championship. And the one time they met in the final round, Cimarron took the match and the main prize.
With Cimarron holding a slight lead, Nathaniel Rodriguez scored a reversal with two seconds remaining in the third period to break a 2-2 tie and win the 132-pound region title over Matt VanRiel. In the process, he secured enough team points to help the Spartans bring home the ninth region title in program history Saturday at Centennial.
“If he would have won that match, Shadow would be winning and probably would have run away with it,” Rodriguez said. “Coming in next year, we have a motivation to retain that championship, to do even better, to get that state championship. It feels great winning for the team to push us even further.”
The Spartans finished with 186 points, and Shadow Ridge scored 182½.
Cimarron had a small lead entering the championship round. Rodriguez’s win gave Cimarron 180 points, then freshman Amado Castellon (145 pounds) picked up a pin to give the Spartans their final margin.
Shadow Ridge was set to pick up six points by forfeit at 160 pounds, so the 152-pound match gave the Mustangs a shot. But when Durango’s Kaden Renshaw won 10-5, the Spartans celebrated.
“It’s what we’ve been talking about ever since I was little,” Castellon said. “My eighth-grade year they said, ‘You’re going to win a region title.’ So much pressure, under pressure, and it feels really good.”
Class 4A Sunrise Region
Green Valley won its eighth consecutive Class 4A Sunrise Region title by outdistancing Foothill 198183.
The Gators entered championship day in third place, but five of their wrestlers won titles. Host Las Vegas finished third with 176½ points, followed by Liberty (144) and Basic (111½).
“We’ve been here before, we’ve had some really, really good teams, and we haven’t been leading after day one,” Green Valley coach Jon Ferry said. “We’ve got that as experience, so we know we’ve got to handle business in the semifinal matches.”
The Gators, who have won the past six large-school state championships, will send nine qualifiers to the state tournament at The Orleans.
“We are not the team we were last year, and they haven’t battled, and at some tournaments it shows,” Ferry said. “Walking into this was never a gimme. We had to wrestle perfect to win this. I would have liked to have some more kids qualify. But I’m extremely proud of the guys who came here and did their job.”
Class 3A Southern Region
Boulder City won five individual titles at Western High to claim its second consecutive Class 3A Southern Region title.
Zane Dennington (126), D.J. Reese (132), Ladd Cox (145), Ryan Vanario (195) and Wyatt Harling (220) claimed titles for the Eagles, who finished with 273 points. Virgin Valley was second with 217 and Pahrump Valley third with 207.