Young grappler stacks up wins in Junior Trojans Wrestling

Dylan Wright wrestles as an eighth grader for the club team Pahrump Junior Trojans Wrestling. His school, Rosemary Clarke Middle School, has no wrestling program.

This club team is coached by Ray Cortez and is the only program in the valley for non-high school wrestlers.

Trojans coach Craig Rieger appreciates the skills taught to these youngsters.

“Coach Ray Cortez does a great job with the kids,” Rieger said.

Wrestlers can start wrestling as early as 4 years old for the club.

Dylan Wright (136 pounds) is one of those wrestlers that has been wrestling in the club and wants to continue wrestling for the Pahrump Valley Trojans team next year.

“I have been wrestling since I was 4 years old,” he said.

Wright said it was good to have spent his younger years wrestling but really he said it didn’t help him that much.

“My first year I didn’t win a single match,” he said. “What really helped me prepare for high school was my sixth-grade years. People from the Trojans wrestling team would help me with my moves. I wrestled guys older than me. It made me tougher.”

Dave Wright, his father, said when his son was four, Jax and Jace Clayton, two former champions for the Trojans team, took him aside when they were Junior Trojans and made him an honorary team captain and this gave him a sense of belonging on the club team.

The Clayton boys would go on to both win individual titles for the Trojans in 2014.

This year Dylan Wright has a record of 19-4 and all four of his losses were to the same wrestler. He has faced 12 different wrestlers this season. During this year he wrestled the Cadet Division, which is a division higher than him in age. Although he lost those matches, losing to the same guy four times made him a better wrestler.

“That guy is good and a tough wrestler and really strong and quick (the cadet wrestler),” he said. “He does moves instantly and has good takedown moves.”

Dave Wright, says it’s a physical development thing.

“The Schoolboy Division wrestlers are starting puberty and the Cadet Division guys have been there,” Wright said. “You can tell by just looking at their muscle development, so you are giving up strength.”

Wright has been invited to represent Nevada in the Schoolboy Division, ages 13-14, as part of Team Nevada. He will go to the NCAA Division I National Championship to wrestle in a tournament, where each team brings their state’s best Schoolboy Division wrestlers. He will also get to watch the college tournament. The tournament is on March 17-18 in St. Louis.

The Junior Trojans will also be going to the USA Nevada Folkstyle Championships on March 11-12 in Carson City and the USAW Folkstyle Nationals on March 31-April 2 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The team is taking donations and doing car washes for all those events.

If anyone would like to make donations they can contact Cortez at 775-419-9323.

Contact sports editor Vern Hee at vhee@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes