Tigers take 2nd at Reed Invite

The Douglas High wrestling team made the most of a cancelled road trip over the weekend, taking second at the Reed Invitational after inclement weather wiped out their plans to compete at the Natomas Duals in California.

Douglas defeated Wooster, Incline, Reno and Reed and lost to Carson, the eventual tournament champions.

The Tigers got solid production from throughout its lineup as 119-pounder Wes Peterson won all five of his matches Saturday.

Dillon Spates (125 pounds), went 4-1 with three pins, Harlan Paiz (160) went 4-1, and Zach Falanga (215) went 4-1. Falanga bumped up to the heavyweight divison against Carson and beat Senator standout Justin Barlow 4-0.

Carson edged out the Tigers 32-34 in what equated to the championship match.

Douglas turned around to defeat Reed 39-34 and claim second place.

Other standout performers for the Tigers on the day included 130-pounder Michael Sepulveda, who went 3-2 with three pins, heavyweight Patrick Miller (3-1 on the day), 171-pounder Kyle Matthews (3-2 with three pins), 189-pounder Ryan Paiz (3-2, two pins) and Cody Spates, who went 3-1 on the day with two pins, despite injuring his leg in the first match of the day.

Austin Martin (135 pounds) and Kyle Damyen (140 pounds) each posted two wins on the day.

"I'm very happy with the way the team competed," Douglas coach Justin Shine said. "They all stepped up when they had to."

Douglas had one more schedule change to add for this weekend. After continuing league competition tonight at Damonte Ranch (6 p.m.), the Tigers will compete in the prestigious Reno Tournament of Champions which draws some of the top wrestlers in the country this weekend. They were originally scheduled to compete in the Lowry Invitational.

"We're excited to see how we stack up," Shine said.