By Gregg Chappell
Moapa Valley Progress
Due to final exams this week, the Pirate wrestling team was idle until the weekend. Parker Chappell, 182 lb. wrestler, was the only Pirate to compete at the Pine View Invitational in St. George, Utah.
The tournament was attended by 41 teams this year. Eleven of the teams were from the 4A schools in Las Vegas and the others were from Utah and Colorado. The tournament was held Friday and Saturday in which 1764 matches were conducted.The 64 man bracketed tournament has grown in popularity and will move to the Dixie Center next year.
Chappell was seeded number one in the 182 pound weight class. He drew a bye on the first round and advanced automatically to the second round where he faced Jesse Ramos from Cimmaron Memorial High School. Chappell defeated him by a pin in 59 seconds and advanced to the third round on Friday evening. There he pinned Ty Yardley from Beaver, Utah in the second period.
Saturday morning Parker grappled in the quarter finals against Kory Koryakos from Liberty High School. Chappell pinned Koryakos in the first period and advanced to the semi finals. There he met his opponent from Orem High School. Parker defeated Kaleb Egbert by a score of eight to six.
Late Saturday afternoon Chappell faced Brando Cunningham from Arbor View High School in the championship match. It was an intense battle for the entire three periods and Chappell defeated Cunningham by a score of 7-5 giving Parker the first place spot.
After this weekend Chappell’s record now stands at 46 wins – 3 losses for the season.
The tournament was dominated by a very tough Payson, Utah team which easily took first place. Cimmaron Memorial placed second followed by Liberty High School in third place. Desert Hills finished in fourth place followed closely by the Gators of Green Valley High School in fifth place.
The Pirates have duals against Green Valley, Basic High School, Boulder City and Virgin Valley this week. Friday and Saturday Moapa Valley will travel to Enterprise to compete in their two day tournament.
