4A STATE: Brathor beats clock, helps guide Green Valley to winner’s circle

Jared Brathor wasn’t sure how much time he had left to pull ahead of Bishop Gorman’s Owen Lawrie in the Class 4A state wrestling tournament.

The Green Valley sophomore had one second more than he needed.

Brathor took down Lawrie near the edge of the circle with a second remaining to hold on for a 3-1 victory in the 113-pound championship match Saturday at Cox Pavilion.

“I was nervous,” Brathor said. “I knew it was short time, under a minute. But I looked at the clock with one second left, and I knew I had to keep him down just one second and the match was mine.”

Gators freshman Sean Cannon also won at 106, and Green Valley won its first state wrestling team title in the school’s 21-year history, compiling 153½ points. Cimarron-Memorial was second with 102 points and Palo Verde third with 67.

“I’ve never gotten too excited about a win, but when I won a state title, I got excited,” Cannon said. “It shocked me to know that I’m a state champion.”

Brathor held a 1-0 lead on Lawrie entering the third period, but the Gorman freshman sat through for an escape with a minute left to tie the match.

With both wrestlers on their feet, Brathor slipped out of Lawrie’s head tie-up. The Green Valley lightweight then brought down Lawrie in a head-and-arm hold, and tossed him aside for the takedown as he barely kept his feet inbounds.

“He let go of my elbow, so I just went for an all-or-nothing move,” Brathor said. “I did it, and it worked.”

The Gators got second-place finishes by Zack Perry (132), Donovan Peek (152) and Ryder Newman (160).

Brathor credited Team GV, the Gators’ youth program for which he has wrestled since he was 6, for the team’s success. Cannon, Perry and Newman also wrestled in the feeder program.

“This is my eighth year as the head coach, and my first job was to bring together that youth program,” Green Valley coach Jon Ferry said. “It’s paid off. We’ve been able to work very well together, and now we have something to show for it.”

The runner-up Spartans got individual titles by seniors Chris Colwell (126) and Bronson Ashjian (132). The latter rolled to a 12-2 win over Green Valley’s Perry in a battle of defending state champions.

The Spartans trailed Green Valley, 144½-91 going into the finals and were unable to make up the difference. Green Valley relied on depth, getting third-place finishes by Josh Temple (120), Spencer Watson (126) and Richard Razo (138). David Hosey (170) placed fourth.

“Being fortunate enough to place nine guys in the state tournament is almost indescribable,” Ferry said. “I’m so proud of the heart that those guys showed, wrestling back. We had a game plan, and they really stuck to it.”

Palo Verde’s Jordan Hart (120) and Kyle Leet (138) each won a championship to rally Palo Verde to third place.

Reno’s Joey Lavallee won his third straight state title at 145, defeating two-time champion Alex Aniciete of Las Vegas High, 10-1.

Ray Waters of Spring Valley raised his season record to 54-0 with a win in the 160 final. Wooster’s Steven Elicegui (170) won his third state title with a pin over Liberty’s Jordan Joseph in 1:59. Carson’s Nicolas Garcia won at 182, rallying to beat Arbor View’s Brandon Cunningham, 4-3.

Reed’s Broc Westlake held off Shadow Ridge’s Brandon Fisher for the second straight year, winning 7-4 at 195. Raiders teammate Spencer Empey won at 220.

Mike Williams improved his record to 41-0 en route to the heavyweight title, becoming Eldorado’s first state champion since 1996.