Fallon wrestlers second at Vaquero Classic

The Greenwave wrestling team ended its tournament schedule with a second-place finish in Fernley on Saturday.

Fallon, which ended the two-day Vaquero Classic behind only host Fernley, 276.5-233.5, travels to Spring Creek this weekend for the Northern 3A duals. The two-day event will determine seeding for the regional tournament, which is Feb. 9-10 at Wooster in Reno. The top four regional finalists advance to the state tournament in three weeks at the Winnemucca Events Center.

Carson Melendy (120 pounds) won his division and was named Outstanding Wrestler for the two-day tournament as Fallon sent 14 wrestlers to the podium, including four tournament runners-up.

Melendy pinned all but one of his opponents en route to the championship over Fernley’s Nathan Pritchard, whom he pinned with 14 seconds left in the first period. Melendy pinned his first two in the second period before scoring a 16-0 technical fall in the quarterfinals against Galena’s Tristan Diaz.

Andre Green (113), Jaiden McFadden (126), Jeramiah Prinz (138) and Thayne Hatch (157) each finished second, and Quentin Hornbeak (150) was third.

Green pinned his first three to set up a first-place duel with Battle Mountain’s Sean Scherer, who pinned the Fallon grappler at the 1:19 mark. McFadden, competing in a loaded weight class, pinned his first four opponents in the opening period, including two in the first 40 seconds. However, he fell to Battle Mountain’s James Spealman with 53 seconds left in the bout.

After winning his first three by fall, Prinz lost to cross-valley rival Braeden Garrett after the Fernley grappler recorded the fall 38 seconds into the second period. Hatch pinned his first three in the opening period before falling to Fernley’s Marciano Montano with 11 seconds left in the first round.

Hornbeak won the majority of his matches in consolation after falling in the championship second round. He scored a major decision and back-to-back falls to earn a battle for third with Dayton’s Jay Parsons, who pinned Hornbeak with three seconds left in the match.

Lonnie Adams (132), Isiah Diaz (144) and Troy Shelton (157) each took fourth; Nathaniel Zackery (126), Caden McKnight (144), Colton Blankenship (165) and Sean Reeder (285) each finished fifth; and Manuel Barros (106) finished sixth.

Adams won five straight in the consolation bracket, including three by fall, but fell to Pershing County’s Jeffrey Elerick to finish fourth. Diaz dropped into the consolation bracket after a quarterfinal fall, but he scored consecutive decisions to advance to the third-place bout, where he fell in the third period. Shelton was one win away from wrestling for the title before he fell to Montano, but he pinned Fernley’s Teague Kenison to advance to his medal match.

Zackery scored four consecutive wins in the consolation before falling in the consolation semifinal, but the Fallon grappler pinned Lowry’s Logan Ricci to finish fifth. McKnight was one win away from the title bout when he fell to Wells’ Tanner Hall in the semifinals. McKnight, though, pinned Bishop Union’s John Henry Drew in his final bout.

Blankenship pinned a pair in the consolations before scoring an injury-default victory to take fifth, while Reeder picked up three wins — all by fall — to reach the podium for the first time this season.

Barros won his first two matches before falling into consolations when he lost to Fernley’s Shaylee Gavin in the fifth-place bout.

Maximillion Dahl (113) finished 2-2, and Dustin Stritenberger (132), Kolby McFadden (144) and Misael Vera (150) each finished 1-2. Chase Ackerman (120), Manuel Karaway (144), Kacin Rogne (157), Carlos Valenzuela (165), Lucas Costagliola (165), Tyson Wilson (190) and Michele Grossi (215) each finished 0-2.