Out of 27 teams at the Spring Creek Kiwanis Invite, the Moapa Valley High School boys wrestling team placed sixth, led by the first-place finishes of Stetson Houston and Caleb Anderson.

Houston won the 132-pound weight class, going 5-0 with two pinfalls, a technical fall, a 6-3 decision and an 18-12 decision in the championship. Houston trailed 12-10 with 30 seconds remaining when he earned two points for a reversal that resulted in a pair of nearfalls that won him the match.

“He had two really challenging matches where he had to dig deep,” said MVHS head coach Ryan Anderson. “He was down 0-3 in his semifinal going into the third period. He got a takedown in the third and sent the match into overtime. He secured a takedown in overtime to win it. His finals match was a battle as well.”

Anderson also went 5-0 to win the 138-pound weight class, with four pinfalls and a major decision, 12-4, in the championship match. Coach Anderson called his performance “pretty dominant.”

The Pirates also had a pair of fourth-place finishers in Tyson Houston, at 126 pounds, and Ryker Katich, 165 pounds. Katich won four of six matches, three by pinfall and another by technical fall. Tyson Houston also went 4-2 with three pinfalls and one technical fall victory.

Connor Wolfley finished fifth at 120 pounds with a 4-2 record. He had three pinfalls and a major decision. Tred Cameron was sixth at 144 pounds, going 3-3 with a pinfall and a pair of major decisions.

As for the MVHS girls, they took 16th out of 30 teams. Abby Palmer took fifth despite giving up a lot of weight by wrestling in a pooled weight class of 155 to 170 pounds. “Tenley Jensen had a great tournament as a first-year wrestler,” Coach Anderson informed. She earned a sixth-place finish.

At Spring Creek High School on Thursday, Jan. 15, the boys did fall in a dual to Kimberly, Idaho, 38-35. The Bulldogs are a 4A team in their respective state, however.

Getting wins for the Pirates were Tyson Houston (16-0 technical fall); Stetson Houston (20-2 technical fall); Caleb Anderson (8-0 major decision); Trenton Bunch (1:10 pinfall); Katich (1:03 pinfall); Jayden Staley (3:13 pinfall) and Felix Ramirez (7-4 decision).

The MVHS JV boys will attend the Clark Classic, Jan. 23-24 as the varsity team hosts the 3A Southern Region Duals starting on Friday, Jan. 24 at 9 a.m. The Moapa Valley girls are off until the NIAA Girls Southern Regional in Las Vegas starting Friday, Jan. 30.