Dave Maxwell | Pahrangat Valley’s Tayt Leavitt in a recent match. He will help lead five Panthers into the 2A state wrestling tournament this weekend in Winnemucca.
Pahranagat Valley wrestlers are sending five to the state wrestling tournament in Winnemucca, Feb. 8-9.
The Panthers finished fourth as a team with 99.5 points at the 2A Southern region tournament at Indian Springs High School last week.
The five wrestlers who will be competing are Hagen Harris, Jesse Jones, Jake Griffin, Tayt Leavitt, and Jon Michael Stewart.
Harris (106) took first place as he received a bye in the first round, then pinned Andre Haro (West Wendover). At state, his first match will be with Tell Baptist (Yerington).
Jesse Jones (145) took first place. In his first match, he scored a technical fall over Kyle Zierow (Lincoln County), then pinned Blake Luna (Laughlin) and had a 4-0 decision over Dillon Otteson (Tonopah).
His first match in Winnemucca will be with Battle Mountain’s Jacee Herald. Battle Mountain is the six-time defending 2A state wrestling champion. Defending state champion Jayce Leyva (Pershing County) is also in this group. Jones lost to Leyva last year.
Jacob Griffin (182) took third place at the regional. He lost by fall to Nathanial Dolezal (White Pine) in the first match, but pinned Giselle Kimball (The Meadows) for third place.
At state he will be matched up against JayDan Vasquez (Yerington).
Tayt Leavitt (220) pinned both his opponents to earn the first-place medal.
He beat Kevin Pope (Tonopah) midway through the second period, and won by fall again over Kegan Hexem (White Pine) at the end of the second period in the finals.
In Winnemucca, Leavitt’s first match pits him against Kaitlyn Teller (Owyhee).
Jon Michael Stewart (285) took second place at the regional tourney. He first pinned Seth Patrick (Lincoln County), but lost by fall, near the end of the third period, to Jonathan Rodriquez (West Wendover).
Stewart’s first opponent at state will be Acilino Thomas (Owyhee).
Davin Minick (138) of Pahranagat Valley placed sixth at the regionals and did not qualify for state. He won his first match by fall over Luke Melendrez (Tonopah), but then lost his next three matches, all by fall, to Jordan Thompson (Spring Mountain), Kevin Lemire (Laughlin), and Anthony Digregorio (Indian Springs).The top four in each weight class at both the Northern and Southern regionals advanced to the 2019 NIAA Class(es) 4A, 3A, and 2A/1A Nevada State High School Wrestling Championships, presented by the Station Casinos at the Winnemucca Events Center Feb. 8-9, hosted by Lowry High School.
