Valley grapplers compete in Reno tournament

RENO, Nev. — A handful of Mat-Su Valley wrestlers competed in the Reno Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nev., over the weekend.

A trio of grapplers from Palmer High and a pair of Wasilla wrestlers participated in the two-day event, which featured teams from across the United States.

Wasilla’s Austine Gonzalez led Valley wrestlers with four wins in the tournament, but fell one win short of the placing rounds. Gonzalez opened his tournament with a 7-3 win over Nick Jones of Alamosa, Colo., in the 195-pound bracket. In the second round, Gonzalez pinned Brandon Spiers of Villa Park, Calif., at the 1:08 mark.

Gonzalez was knocked into the consolation bracket by Tyler Green of Easton, Pa., the second-seeded wrestler at 195. The Wasilla wrestler responded by pinning Dallas Pedersen of West Jordan, Utah, in his first consolation match. Gonzalez also earned a win by forfeit over Jacob Ponce, another West Jordan wrestler.

Danny Knox of Carlsbad, Calif., knocked Gonzalez out of the tournament with a 3-1 defeat one round shy of the placing rounds.

Wasilla senior Abe Fox finished 2-2 in the tournament.

Fox, seeded sixth at 120, opened his tournament with consecutive wins. After a first-round bye, Fox needed only 31 seconds to pin Derrick Vidales of Morenci, Ariz. Fox, a defending Alaska state champion, edged Josh Temple of Henderson, Nev., 5-4, in the third round.

Fox suffered a pair of tough losses to end his tournament. He faced third-seeded Rami Haddidin of Brighton, Utah, in the quarterfinals, and Haddidin scored the slim 5-4 win.

Fox’s final match came against another Alaska product. Dillingham’s Jared Miller, who recently won his fourth state title, beat Fox 9-5 in the consolation round.

A pair of Palmer wrestlers finished with 2-2 records.

Luke Heun scored a pair of wins at 145. Heun opened his tournament by pinning Gavin Palmer of Alamosa, Colo., but ran into the second seed of the bracket in the second round. Second-seeded Joey Lavallee of Reno pinned Heun at the 3:18 mark.

Heun rebounded with a 6-3 win over Rocklin Loranger of Chester, Calif., but suffered a tough 12-9 loss to Isaac Juarez of Kearns, Utah.

Lavallee went on to win the 145-pound title.

Palmer heavyweight Sean Maranville also finished 2-2. Maranville pinned a pair of opponents in less than a minute. He pinned Austin Bunkall of Bingham, Utah, in 54 seconds in the first round, and Alden Giang of Reed High in Sparks, Nev., in 37 seconds in consolation action.

Maranville was pinned by Will Dawson of Churchill, Ore., in the second round, and by Chase Hauder of Spanish Springs High in Sparks, Nev., in the consolation rounds.

Palmer senior AJ Gentz suffered a pair of tough losses in the tourney at 152. Carter Armendarez of Temecula, Calif., who is ranked third nationally in freestyle, edged Gentz 8-5 in the first round.

Ryan Hoyos of Spring Creek High in Elko, Nev., edged Gentz 6-4 in consolation action.

Each year, Valley wrestlers compete in the Reno Tournament of Champions, seen as one of the top prep wrestling events in the western region of the U.S. Two Valley grapplers have been crowned champions at the Reno tourney. Wasilla’s Jed Wade won his weight class in 2003 and Palmer’s Gabe McMahon was an individual champion in 1995.

A handful of Alaska wrestlers placed this year. Bartlett’s Caleb Green, a defending state championship and this tournament’s top seed at 285, advanced to the finals, but suffered a 2-1 loss to Fernando Herrera of Lowry, Nev.

Another Bartlett wrestler, Drew Yeager, used a 12-6 win to finish fifth at 220.

Seventh-seeded Justin Allen of Valdez finished fifth at 160. Bethel’s Mario Kujo was seventh at 145.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.