Fallon's Ben Otuafi wrestles in the 285-pound division at Saturday's Earl Wilkens Memorial Tournament.
Two of Fallon’s state medalists shined in the season-opening tournament over the weekend.
The Greenwave wrestling team went 4-4 in the Earl Wilkens Memorial Tournament in Fallon with Mason Smith (132 pounds) and Ben Dooley (285) leading the way.
“We were missing some boys and had some young kids in the lineup but I think it was good for them,” third-year coach Trevor de Braga said. “They got their first taste at varsity wrestling and know how much more they need to work during practice to beat some of the best in our league.”
Fallon competes in the Mustang Stampede today and Saturday at Shadow Ridge High School before competing in the Reno Tournament of Champions next weekend. Fallon travels to Elko in two weeks and concludes the month with the two-day Sierra Nevada Classic in three weeks.
Smith, who took third in last year’s state tournament, finished 7-0 and of those seven wins, six came by pin. Dooley, who finished second at state, won all four of his contested bouts by pin. Marcel Poracky (182) finished 7-1 and Wyatt Hatch (120) was 6-4 as Fallon continues using its annual tournament as its first test, especially for the newcomers.
“We also are out of our weight classes for another week or so because of the weight management protocol,” de Braga said. “We are working hard and got some great competition coming up. I saw a lot of promising potential in my first-year wrestlers and I’m excited to see them continue to grow as a Greenwave wrestler.”
In the lower weights, Case Cornmesser (103) finished 1-5 and James Dixon (126) was 3-5. In the middle weights, Leo Aicher (152) finished 5-5, William Card (152) was 0-4, Blane Aicher (152/160) posted a 3-3 record and Cameron Chambers (160) lost his only bout. In the upper weights, Trent Thorn (195) finished 1-4 and Mark Moyle (220) was 1-4.
State champion Sean McCormick and state runner-up Tommy McCormick didn’t compete.