BULLHEAD CITY, Arizona — In the second season of girls wrestling as its own sport in the state of Nevada, several Elko County athletes performed well at the state tournament.
In the team standings, West Wendover led the local programs with an eighth-place finish on a collective total of 27 points — Owyhee taking 19th with 16 points.
Madison Rivera
Individually, the best local performance was posted by West Wendover junior Madison Rivera — who took second place in the 138-pound division.
She went 2-1 with a pair of wins by fall.
Rivera pinned Centennial’s Mya Bardoni in the quarterfinal at the 3:20 mark and beat Desert Oasis’ Noelani Almogela by fall in 3:52 during the semifinal round.
In the championship, Rivera dropped a 7-2 decision to Shadow Ridge’s Danielle Franco.
Mountain Spring Walker
Owyhee senior Mountain Spring Walker tallied all of the Lady Braves’ points, finishing third in the 235-pound class and posting a 3-1 mark with three pins.
She pinned Lincoln’s Lizzy Kirchefer in the quarterfinal in just 30 seconds but was pinned by Reed’s Charley Timms at the 44-second mark of the semifinal.
Walker rebounded with a win by fall in 1:47 against Legacy’s Nadia Armstrong in the consolation semi and closed with a 49-second pin over Palo Verde’s Erin Johnson in the consolation championship.
Destiny Gonzales
As a sophomore, West Wendover’s Destiny Gonzales placed third in the first-ever girls state tournament at 185 pounds.
She capped her junior season with a fourth-place finish in the 165-pound division, going 2-2.
Gonzales opened with a 14-8 loss to Coronado’s Eva Parra-Sosa in the quarterfinal, but she answered with back-to-back wins from the consolation bracket — earning a 9-2 decision over Sparks’ Maliyah Moore and a slim, 3-1 victory against Cimarron Memorial’s Jessica Rodriguez.
In the third-fourth match, Gonzales came up short in a 7-4 loss to McQueen’s Jasmine Morales.
Non-Placing Wrestlers
- West Wendover junior Faith Gonzles — 1-2 with a pin at 107 pounds
- West Wendover senior Aileen Landeros — 0-2 at 235 pounds
- Wells freshman Tegan Remington — 0-2 at 126 pounds
Congratulations
Congratulations to Madison Rivera, Mountain Spring Walker and Destiny Gonzales for placing at state and to all qualifiers of the NIAA Girls State Invitational.