ROUNDUP: Pierson leads Panther parade to Wildcat Rumble title

Kayden Pierson is only a sophomore wrestling amongst a senior-laden group in Palo Verde’s upper weight classes.

The 160-pound wrestler fit in well on Saturday.

Pierson spun through the grip of White Pine’s Aryton Almberg with about one minute left to break a 9-9 tie with two reversal points. He then added a pair of near-falls to walk away with a 15-10 victory in the 160-pound championship match of the Wildcat Rumble at Las Vegas High.

“I made a promise to my dad that I wasn’t going to lose,” Pierson said. “Losing’s not my thing. I don’t like to lose.”

Pierson led a group of seven individual champions as the Panthers held off second-place Centennial, 81-76½ for the tournament title.

The host Wildcats were third with 66½ points.

Palo Verde had nine finalists, including seven individual champions, in taking the team win.

Jordan Hart (120) and Billy Wosik (132) each took first early for the Panthers, but it was the 145-220 weight classes that showed off the heart of Palo Verde’s lineup.

Zee Garcia (152), Pierson, Marcus Judd (182), Ryan Ratliff (195) and William Mason (220) rattled off titles for the Panthers, and teammate Kyle Leet (145) finished second to two-time defending state champ Alex Aniciete of Las Vegas at 145.

“That’s our senior class, going up the line,” Palo Verde assistant coach Jasen Burit said. “It’s a big push for us, to count those seniors up top.”

The mixture of youth and experience has the Panthers hoping to challenge for a Sunset Region and state title.

“It’s nerve-wracking,” Pierson said of wrestling amongst the seniors. “I know what is expected of me, and I don’t want to disappoint.”

Burit said the win gives the Panthers faith in a long program of offseason conditioning.

“It’s really nice to know where we’re sitting,” Burit said. “Hopefully, we can get the same results come league and regionals.

“The kids put in tremendous work (during the offseason). That work really paid off, especially in conditioning.”

Along with Aniciete, Antonio Jauregi (125), Aaron Gonzalez (138) and Lahmad Evans (285) each claimed an individual title for Las Vegas.

Centennial’s Alec Gonzales was first at 113, and Desert Pines’ Eglin Prestin took the 106 title.

Host Grizzlies nail down Spring Valley Duals title
At Spring Valley, Debyn Benjamin picked up a pin in 2:20 at 106 pounds to help the Grizzlies capture the Spring Valley Duals title with a 48-30 win over Liberty in the championship match.

Enzo Perez (113), Teven Mayo (132), Jordan Conner (138), Dominique True (195), Devin Dishari (220) and Silvano Villanueva (285) each added a fall for the Grizzlies.

Ian Wilson (152), and Jordan Joseph (182) had a pin apiece for the Patriots.

Arbor View won all but one contested match to rout Foothill, 72-6, for third place.

Pahrump Valley finished 2-3 in the competition, beating Spring Valley's junior varsity (65-15) and Indian Springs (67-12). The Trojans dropped decisions to Arbor View (65-12), Bishop Gorman (66-12) and Liberty (51-21).

Freshman Jace Clayton went 5-0 at 195 pounds for the Trojans.

Cimarron-Memorial claims Mustang Duals

At Shadow Ridge, Cimarron-Memorial posted a 40-31 win over the host Mustangs in the Gold Division championship match of the Mustang Duals.

Alta (Utah) took third, and Dobson (Ariz.) was fourth.

Dobson's junior varsity took the top spot in the Silver Division, followed by Rancho and Silverado.

In the Bronze Division, Alta's junior varsity was first, followed by Shadow Ridge's junior varsity and Cheyenne.