Two Wave wrestlers place in top four

The Greenwave wrestling team placed two in the top four of the Rollie Lane Invitational over the weekend in Napa, Idaho.

Ben Dooley (285 pounds) took third and Sean McCormick (160) finished fourth as Fallon continues through the gauntlet of tough tournaments this season.

“The Idaho tournament was really tough. We saw some great competition from teams from Idaho, Oregon, Colorado and Nevada,” said third-year Fallon coach Trevor de Braga.

The Greenwave heads to Spring Creek on Friday for the two-day Spartan tournament before concluding the non-league schedule with Morro Bay next week. The league duals are in two weeks at Fernley.

“As a team, we still have work to do to get to our potential, but we have a few tough tournaments coming up to really up our level of wrestling,” de Braga said.

Dooley pinned his first three opponents to advance to the semifinal round. Like his title bout in the Sierra Nevada Classic, Dooley was on the move toward a takedown but things quickly turned as Jake Mcginnis (Gooding) pinned Dooley in the third period. Dooley, though, pinned Zac Ramos (Caldwell) and then decisioned Caleb Parrott (Crook County), 12-4, to take third.

McCormick pinned his first three opponents, each within a minute of the opening period, before winning by forfeit in the quarterfinals. McCormick lost to Matthew Twait in the semifinals in overtime where the Meridian wrestler scored a 7-5 sudden victory. McCormick defeated Victor Torres (Culver), 3-1, in the consolation round before dropping a 3-2 decision to Clay Keller (Baker/Powder Valley) in the third-place bout.

“Ben and Sean didn’t quite wrestle their best in the semifinals and both lost close matches,” de Braga said. “Ben got too high on the kid when he was on top and got bucked over the top to his back. That’s the name of the game in wrestling. One split-second, you are up and one move can catch you and turn the match around.”

Mason Smith (120) advanced to the quarterfinals and came a win shy of placing. Smith pinned his first two opponents, each in the first period, and decisioned Levi Cluff (Columbia), 7-1, to advance to the quarterfinals where he was pinned in the second period. Smith defeated Jared Rivera (Meridian), 4-2, but dropped a 7-2 score to Jordan Grimm (Post Falls) to end the day.

Tommy McCormick (138) won his first three matches to reach the quarterfinals where he dropped a 5-3 decision to Braxton Balmforth (Shelley). McCormick, who pinned his first opponent and then won back-to-back decisions, defeated Braxton Robison (Blackfoot), 9-6, but lost 8-5 to Ryan Wilson (Centennial) to fall one win away from medaling.

“Tommy and Mason showed great improvement this weekend losing some nail biters to some tough kids,” de Braga said. “Those are the matches I’d like to see us win, but we’re getting there.”

Marcel Poracky (160) pinned his first two opponents, each in the second period, but dropped his next two. Matthew Twait (Meridian) decisioned Poracky, 4-2, in the championship bracket and Logan Deim (Meridian) scored a 6-2 win over the Fallon grappler. Poracky, though, went 4-0 in the “hard-luck” tournament on the second day, which gave those eliminated in the first day a second chance.

Leo Aicher (152) dropped into the consolation after being pinned in his first bout but Aicher won his next two. He decisioned Mason Cooley (Crook County), 5-2, and Riggen Reyes (Ridgevue), 10-0, but lost to Logan Siegord (Lakeland) by pinfall.

Blane Aicher (152) went 1-2 after losing his first contested bout, a pin by Boeden Bassett (Blackfoot). Aicher defeated Jesse Hernandez (Moscow), 9-0, but lost to Justin Wick (Kuna), 4-0.

Wyatt Hatch (120) advanced on a bye in between both losses to finish 0-2. He was pinned in the second period of his opening match before suffering a technical fall in the consolation round.

Mark Moyle (220) lost both matches by pinfall to Nathan Sargent (Blackfoot) and Mario Hansen (Crook County).