Trojans wrestling won the Southern Nevada Division I-A Regional Championship last Friday and Saturday, in nearly 15 hours of action and passion-packed wrestling matches.
Regional wrestling summary:
Senior Joseph Zarabozo at 106 pounds set the tone for the Trojans by pinning his Western opponent in 4:43. In his second round he faced Brandon Smith of Virgin Valley, who he lost to by pin in the second round. In his third round Zarabozo faced a second Virgin Valley opponent and beat him by pin at 3:27. He beat his fourth Clark opponent by pin in 3:20 but lost his bout for third/fourth place by losing his fifth round. In his final sixth round, he beat his Western opponent by decision of 12-8, placing Zarabozo in fifth place. He finished the season at 19-12.
Sophomore Nathan Trudeau at 113 pounds is the least experienced Trojan varsity wrestler, facing his first time at Region. Due to his seeding position in his 16-man bracket, when he lost his first two matches he was out of the tourney. Trudeau finishes the season with a 4-15 record.
Junior Gino Gusman at 120 pounds beat his first Moapa Valley opponent with a quick pin in 39 seconds. He lost his second bout by decision 3-9 to his Chaparral opponent who ended up with second place. Gusman came back strong, beating his Cheyenne, Faith Lutheran, Sierra Vista and second Sierra Vista opponent with a decision of 7-3, and pins of 2:41, 2:06 and 3:57. His season record sits at an impressive 23-4.
Junior Antonio Sandoval at 126 pounds pinned his first Faith Lutheran opponent in 3:08. He lost his second bout to a Chaparral opponent who eventually placed second. He beat his third Del Sol opponent with a quick pin in 1:09 and his fourth Mojave opponent with a pin in 5:08. He suffered a loss by decision 5-10 to his fifth Virgin Valley opponent. Sandoval came back strong in his final match, beating his Sierra Vista opponent by pin in 3:08 and placing Sandoval fifth overall. Sandoval’s season record stands at 21-7.
Senior Nick Nelson at 132 pounds soundly beat his first two Boulder City and Moapa Valley opponents with a pin in 20 seconds and a major decision of 15-2. He lost 5-8 to his third Virgin Valley foe. Nelson beat his fourth Western opponent by decision 10-3. Nelson was forced to default due to injury and finished fourth in region. His season record stands at 12-7.
Senior Levi Gundacker at 138 pounds beat his first two Clark and Del Sol opponents with pins in 1:26 and 1:29. He lost his third match to a Faith Lutheran opponent (a state champion wrestler). Gundacker came back strong in his fourth bout against his Virgin Valley opponent, pinning him in 2:10. In his final bout Gundacker lost by decision 1-7, placing Gundacker fourth in region. His season record stands at 19-9.
Junior Kevin Daffer, a Junior Varsity wrestler at 145 pounds, gained valuable experience wrestling at region as a Trojan extra. Daffer won his first match by forfeit and lost his next two by major decision and a pin.
Senior Sam Brophy at 145 pounds started region in his well-earned first-seed bracket and raced straight to his championship bout. He beat his first four opponents by a forfeit, his Sunrise Mountain opponent by pin in 2:40, his first Western opponent by pin at 5:19 and his Mojave opponent by 10-4 decision. In his final championship bout, Brophy faced a Western opponent which he lost to by 0-2 decision. He finished the season at 23-3.
Senior Anthony Vega at 152 pounds won his first Region match by forfeit. He lost his second match to his Moapa Valley opponent by pin. Vega beat his third Faith Lutheran opponent with a pin in 2:47 and lost his final fourth bout to his Mojave opponent. He closes the season with a 6-7 record.
Trojans 160 pounds weight class was forfeited at Region.
Senior Samuel Tucsnak at 170 pounds beat his first Moapa Valley opponent by pin in 1:26, his second Sunrise Mountain opponent he beat by technical fall 19-4, his third Boulder City opponent he beat by major decision of 18-10. In his fifth and final championship bout, Tucsnak lost to his Faith Lutheran opponent by decision 4-11. Tucsnak heads to state with a season record standing at 25-7.
Senior Jonathan Corrow at 182 pounds went straight to the championship with three bouts and won. This grappler has repeatedly demonstrated to Pahrumpians what “tough” means. Corrow heads to state as the region champion. He holds a season record of 24-5.
Senior Abraham Preciado at 195 pounds represented the Pahrump Trojans at region as an extra. He beat his first three opponents to bring him to the championship bout. Preciado beat his way to the championship round with decisions of 7-2 over his Faith Lutheran opponent, 4-3 over his Clark opponent and 6-3 over his Boulder City opponent. This placed Preciado directly against his teammate and friend, Jax Clayton at 195 pounds. In his championship bout against Jax, Preciado lost by a pin in a match that Pahrumpians could not decide how to root for. Preciado heads to state as the region’s second place.
Senior Jax Clayton at 195 pounds won his first match by forfeit, his second against Spring Valley opponent by pin in 1:38 and his third by pin in 1:59 against his Mojave opponent. In Jax’s final championship bout against Preciado, he beat him by a pin in 2:47. Jax heads to state as a region first place champion with a season record of 27-3.
Senior Brandon Dirrigl at 220 pounds wrestled as another Trojans extra. He beat his first Moapa Valley opponent with a quick pin in 0:48. He lost his second round in a major decision to Chaparian of Clark. Dirrigl won his third match by forfeit, his fourth Faith Lutheran opponent by a quick pin in 0:31, his fifth Boulder City opponent by pin in 2:00 and his sixth and final Moapa Valley opponent by decision 11-4. Dirrigl’s final region win gave him third place, sending him to wrestle at State this weekend.
Senior Jeremy Coates at 220 pounds quickly beat his first Spring Valley opponent with a pin in 0:34, his second Mojave opponent he beat with a pin in 3:08 and his third Boulder City opponent with a pin in 1:44. Coates then wrestled Clark’s Chaparian and lost by a 2-8 decision. As Coates heads to state with a region second place, his season record stands at 24-6.
Senior Jace Clayton at 285 pounds won his first round by forfeit, his second Del Sol opponent he beat with a quick pin at 1:48, his third Sunrise Mountain opponent by a very fast pin in 0:52 and his fourth and final championship bout against Clark, with a pin in 4:57. Jace goes to state with a region first place. His winning season record stands at 24-6.