Winnemucca might as well be a coronation site this weekend. The Class 5A state wrestling championships begin Friday at the Winnemucca Events Center, and the only real question is which team will finish second.
SLAM! Nevada, winner of four consecutive state titles, enters as an overwhelming favorite after a dominant performance at the Southern Region tournament. The Bulls won 10 of 14 weight classes and amassed 323 points, 166 more than runner-up Liberty.
“I tell my guys all the time that I’d put them up against anyone in the country,” said SLAM! coach Jake Rollans. “With the schedule we’ve had, regionals and state might be our easiest events of the year.”
McQueen won the Northern Region title last week but coach Jeromy Mumm is realistic about his team’s chances. “We’d have to have a lot of things go right, and they’d have to have a lot of things go wrong,” Mumm said.
SLAM! features two wrestlers chasing their fourth straight individual championships: Purdue-bound Drake Hooiman (150 pounds) and North Dakota State commit Brenden Agcaoili (138). “These guys are outstanding,” Rollans said. “Their goal since day one has been to be a four-timer.”
Other regional champions for the Bulls include Vander Tran (106), Kash Moore (113), Dustin Maestas (120), Frank Soliz (132), Anthony Delgado (144), Isaac Balden (157), Santiago Cabrera (175) and Satoshi Davis (215).
Southern Region champions from other schools were Sierra Vista’s Aidan Hernandez (126), Green Valley’s Matthew Stosek (165) and Daniel Leal (190), and Sierra Vista’s Edward Gonzalez (285).
Rollans has set a high bar for his squad. “We set the record last year with eight champions,” he said. “I want to beat that with nine this year.”
Action begins at noon Friday, with championship matches scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
In Class 4A, Las Vegas and Desert Oasis won regional titles and will be among the favorites at Saturday’s state meet at Desert Pines. Competition starts at 8 a.m., with finals at 6:25 p.m.
