Pahrump Valley wrestlers take 4 of 5 at Spring Valley Duals

It’s beginning to look like this could be a very special winter for the Pahrump Valley High School wrestling team.

After winning three of four matches at the season-opening Boulder City Duals and sweeping a quad meet Tuesday night at Bonanza High School, the Trojans took four out of five matches Saturday at the Spring Valley Duals.

And they did it while forfeiting four weight classes in all five of them.

“Jakob Landis, our heavyweight, is in Hawaii with the band; we should have a senior, Christian Monje, back at 220, we hope; our 106-pounder, Mason Prunchak, will be back, he just hurt his foot so we let him rest this week; and then hopefully we’ll get our 120-pounder, Donnie Miller, back,” Pahrump Valley wrestling coach Craig Rieger said. “We’ll see.”

Sophomore Dylan Wright and senior Tristan Maughan both went 5-0, with Wright winning by fall every time. In fact, Wright, wrestling mostly at 170, spent 3 minutes, 47 seconds on the mats. Total. His longest bout came against Foothill senior Jack Coffey, a pin in 1:16 during the Trojans’ 46-36 win.

Did Wright even break a sweat?

“No,” he said without cracking a smile. “I just think that if you can catch them unprepared, it’s a lot easier. If you keep going at them, they’re going to get tired before you are.”

“Dylan Wright hasn’t lost yet this year,” Rieger said. “He’s doing a great job.”

Wright came into the season with high expectations after finishing third at the Class 3A state championships as a freshman.

“I think I ended the season 33-5 last year, and all five of my losses were to really good seniors,” he said.

Maughan probably worked the hardest — or at least the longest — of all Trojan wrestlers. He posted two first-period falls and won by forfeit, but he also won two bouts by decision. Maughan majored Foothill senior Justin Wirig 11-1 and won a 7-0 exhibition during Pahrump Valley’s 54-18 win over Basic.

“Tristan Maughan is starting to come around,” Rieger said. “He had a good Tuesday and a good day today.”

“Right now I’m very satisfied,” Maughan said. “At the end there I started taking shots, and that’s what I’ve been working on all week long. I wasn’t taking shots in our last two meets. I finished up my last two matches just shooting and getting the takedown, and that’s a big improvement for me right now.”

“I’m planning on dropping down one weight class to 52 from 160,” he explained. “Those guys might be closer to me in strength, but right now, I’ve gotta shoot.”

Rieger also liked the way Isaak Cruz wrestled. The senior 145-pounder posted two first-period pins and won a 7-6 decision against Virgin Valley junior Case Crandall, the Trojans’ first non-forfeit victory in a match in which they turned a 24-0 deficit into a 39-36 win.

“Isaak Cruz had a good day,” Rieger said. “He gave up a tough pin against Spring Valley, but Isaak is wrestling well.”

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Cruz said. “I might have lost to Spring Valley, but he’s a really good kid. I’ve just got to work harder.”

Cruz also expects to drop down a weight. But whether at 145 or 138, the opponent doesn’t figure much into his plans for a bout.

“I don’t really like to pay attention to how good the guy is or how bad the guy is,” Cruz said. I just want to go out there and do my thing, get it over with, and that’s it.”

Cruz said his strengths include ankle picks and single-leg takedowns, and he has high hopes for his final season.

“My expectations are very for high for myself, I’ll be honest,” said Cruz, who placed fourth at the region championships last season. “I just feel like since it’s my senior year, I have to try my best and go 100 percent, plus more.”

Rieger was pleased with much of his lineup. He said freshmen Coby Tillery (126) and Henry Amaya (132) work hard and are fun to watch, and he had praise for sophomore Anthony Pearson at 195. “He just keeps improving, starting to feel better about himself,” Rieger said.

“Spencer Lane had a good today at 138,” he continued. “He’s a senior but never made it on varsity, and now he’s the varsity 138 and he had three wins today.”

Pahrump Valley also defeated Silverado 43-42 and lost to Spring Valley 57-24. They wrestled their first Sunset League match Tuesday night at Valley in a tri-meet with Chaparral. On Saturday they will head to Henderson for the Patriot Duals at Liberty High School in a field that also will include Bonanza, Durango and SLAM Academy.

Contact Sports Editor Tom Rysinski at trysinski@pvtimes.com On Twitter:@PVTimesSports