Boulder City wrestlers capture third place in regionals

Team Boulder’s Patrick Garvin, Collin Fox and Nelson Van Diest each finished in second place and four other teammates placed in the top four as Team Boulder captured third place in the Southern Region Division 1-A wrestling championships Saturday at Mojave High.

The top four finishers in each of the 14 weight classes advanced to the Division 1-A state tournament, which begins Saturday in Primm at Buffalo Bill’s Star of the Desert Arena.

Pahrump Valley scored 275 points to win the Southern Region team title, followed by Virgin Valley (189 points) and Boulder City (154). Five-time defending state champion Lowry once again dominated the Northern Region and is favored to repeat as state champion.

Fox (120 pounds) lost the championship match by 13-1 major decision to Virgin Valley’s Juan Dominguez. In his semifinal, Fox won an 8-3 decision over Levi Gundacker of Pahrump Valley.

Garvin (138) lost his title bout 3-0 to Faith Lutheran’s Trent Dolby. Garvin won his semifinal by a 4-2 decision against Western’s Luis Lopez.

Van Diest lost his championship match 5-0 to Pahrump’s Abraham Castro-Preciado. Van Diest reached the final with a pin of Western’s Andrew Solis in 1 minute, 19 seconds.

Top four placers who qualified for state from Team Boulder along with Garvin, Fox and Van Diest are Brady Branscum (106), Tyler Rushworth (132), Dylan Dennington (152), Thomas Prach (160) and Jackson Dunagan (220).

Branscum lost by pin in the third-place match to Mojave’s Lanson Evangelista-Avenue and in the semifinal match by pin to Virgin Valley’s Clancy Leavitt.

Rushworth lost by pin to Pahrump’s Nick Nelson in the 132-pound third-place match. He lost his semifinal, also by pin, to Western’s Alex Richardson.

Dennington lost his third-place match to Pahrump’s Samuel Tucsnak and his semifinal match to Virgin Valley’s Broc Smith.

Dunagan won his third-place match by pin against Cheyenne’s Guillermo Prieto in 1:28.

Prach lost his semifinal match by pin against Moapa Valley’s Jared Repp and did not advance.