By Gregg Chappell
Moapa Valley Progress
The wrestling season started last week and already the Pirates are racking up numerous matches in what promises to be an exciting year.
The 14 weight classifications have been changed for high school wrestling. This change spread lower weights out more and decreased the gaps in the upper weights. The new weights are as follows: 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195, 220, and 285 pounds.
The first team duals began in Indian Springs for the Pirates on November 29. The wrestlers faced the Aggies of Arbor View High School. Arbor View jumped to an early 18 point lead in the lower weights with three pins in a row.
Brayden Evans put the first points on the board for the Pirates with a 7-1 decision over his 126 lb. opponent. Also scoring for the Pirates were Nathan Sprague, Jared Repp, Trevor Durham and Parker Chappell. The final score was Pirates 24 and the Aggies 43.
The second dual of the night was against Indian Springs where Moapa outscored the Broncos 54-24. Indian Springs had a few holes in their lineup which gave the Pirates several forfeiture points.
The final dual of the evening matched Moapa Valley and Sunrise Mountain in a head to head battle. The pirates fought hard and ended up defeating the Miners with a score of 45-25. Scoring for the Pirates were Brayden Evans, Nathan Sprague, Schyler Postma, Jared Repp, Trevor Durham, Parker Chappell, Kadyn Griffiths and Zach Baldwin.
The wrestlers then traveled to a snowy Ely, Nevada to compete in the annual Ely Lions Club Wrestling Tournament on December 2-3. This year 11 teams competed in the tournament which was held at White Pine High School.
The first day wrestlers weighed in and were placed into pods. Athletes wrestled everyone in their pod and were then seeded into an eight man bracket based on their win/loss record from the first day; some participants were eliminated after the first day. Saturday morning started with a few pigtails in some weights to see who would be placed into the bracket as the eighth seed.
The Pirates had 20 wrestlers competing in the Saturday event and by the end of the third round had an impressive 12 athletes wrestling in the medal bouts; six Pirates wrestling for consolation and six wrestling for the championship.
Once the consolation rounds were completed, the gym floor was cleared except for one mat. The championship matches took place under a spotlight in the center ring. Moapa had the lead going into the finals and was hoping for a victory. At the end of the tournament, the Pirates edged out Battle Mountain for the Championship.
The top five teams in the tournament were: Spring Creek 82.5; West Wendover 93; White Pine 104.5; Battle Mountain 167.5; and Moapa Valley 184.5.
Wrestlers who medaled in the tournament for Moapa were as follows: first Place, Jared Repp 152 pounds, Ricky Glaubitz 170 pounds and Parker Chappell 182 pounds (all three wrestlers went undefeated throughout the tournament and pinned all of their opponents); second Place Kaleb Bodily 126 pounds, Brayden Evans 132 pounds and Trevor Durham 160 pounds; third Place Zach Baldwin 113 pounds, Dylan Smith 138 pounds, Schyler Postma 145 pounds and Lee Gamboa 285 pounds; fourth Place Nathan Sprague 138 pounds and Thad Anderson at 285 pounds.
