SUNSET REGION: Sinyard, Spartans wrest crown from defending champ Mustangs

Winning the heavyweight title at the Sunset Region wrestling tournament was a special feeling for Cimarron-Memorial sophomore Austin Sinyard.

Being able to give the Spartans the team championship made it the memory of a lifetime.

Sinyard’s second-period pin of Centennial’s David Wilson in the heavyweight final in the last match Saturday night lifted Cimarron to a 196-190 victory over Shadow Ridge at Bonanza High School.

“I can’t even explain it. This is the best feeling I’ve felt in my whole life,” Sinyard said. “This is by far the biggest tournament I’ve ever competed in and the biggest win I’ve ever had.”

Sinyard, who won the title match by fall in 3 minutes, 15 seconds, said he embraced the pressure of knowing he could deliver his team a region trophy.

“You love kids with that kind of character,” Cimarron coach Mike Garcia said. “You love his character, and that was a character builder. It’s a huge win for us.”

Sinyard’s pin set off a wild celebration among Cimarron’s wrestlers, who took their second region title in the past three years.

In addition to Sinyard, the Spartans also got individual championships from sophomore Austin Lattana (103 pounds) and junior Austin Beaman (160).

“It’s much sweeter knowing I helped our team in a huge way,” Sinyard said. “It makes the win 10 times sweeter. As long as the whole team is happy, I’m happy.”

Shadow Ridge fell just short of a repeat region title despite individual championships from Brandon Fisher (189) and Jordan Kurth (215).

Palo Verde took third with 181 points behind individual titles from Jordan Hart (112), Rob Buckhannon (130), Paul Educate (140) and Marcus Judd (171).

Hart scored an upset in the championship match with a pin of Northwest League rival Bronson Ashjian of Cimarron with only 8 seconds remaining in the match.

Ashjian, the league’s No. 1 seed, entered the title match with a 56-2 record. Hart trailed 5-1 in the third period before putting himself in position for the dramatic pin.

“I just told myself I couldn’t stop. I had to keep going, and I did just that,” Hart said. “It’s the greatest feeling, amazing. The best feeling in the world.”

Spring Valley junior Ray Waters capped a masterful tournament with a first-period pin of Bishop Gorman’s Tommy Field in the 152-pound final.

Waters, who improved to 71-1, won all four of his matches at the tournament by pin, including three in the first period.

“This is just motivation for state,” Waters said. “I was originally at 160 at the beginning of the season, but I decided to go down to 152 to help my team out, and it went well.”

Individual Sunset titles also went to: Bonanza’s Mike Zellner (119), Arbor View’s Ruben Rodriguez (125), Arbor View’s Brandon Brian (135) and Cheyenne’s Kenny Pero (145).

The top three individuals in each weight class advanced to the Class 4A state tournament, which begins Friday at Spanish Springs High School in Sparks.

Waters and Hart were named co-Sunset Wrestlers of the Year, and Garcia and Shadow Ridge’s Gus Gledhill shared the coaching honor.

Sunset Region Tournament

At Bonanza

Team Scores

Cimarron-Memorial 196, Shadow Ridge 190, Palo Verde 181, Arbor View 167, Spring Valley 117, Centennial 103, Bishop Gorman 98½, Bonanza 88½, Desert Oasis 76, Western 62, Pahrump Valley 60, Cheyenne 57½, Sierra Vista 43, Legacy 40, Faith Lutheran 34, Clark 23, Mojave 20, Durango 6

Championship Matches

103—Lattana, CM, d. J. McKee, SR, 19-2. 112—Hart, Palo, p. Ashjian, CM, 5:52. 119—Zellner, Bon, d. Siedlecki, S. Val, 6-0. 125—Rodriguez, AV, d. Colwell, CM, 10-2. 130—Buckhannon, Palo, d. Poopa, AV, 9-2. 135—Brian, AV, d. Jackson, Bon, 3-1. 140—Educate, Palo, d. Andasol, SR, 8-4. 145—Pero, Chey, d. Caldwell, SR, 6-2. 152—Ray Waters, S. Val, p. Field, BG, 1:19. 160—Beaman, CM, p. Vaughan, Wes, 4:32. 171—Judd, Palo d. Tootle, SR, 5-3. 189—Fisher, SR, p. Clark, BG, 0:55. 215—Kurth, SR, d. Karst, Cen, 6-3 (OT). 285—Sinyard, CM, p. Wilson, Cen, 3:15.

Third Place

103—Gonzales, Cen, d. Garcia, DO, 8-1. 112—Rumsey, SR, d. Temple, Leg. 119—Ad. Avelar, CM, d. Costa, Palo. 125—Wosick, Palo, d. Gallardo, SR. 130—Owels, Pmp, d. Howell, Cen, 9-7. 135—Holtfreter, FL, d. S. McKee, SR. 140—Mayes, AV, d. M. Bernardino, CM. 145—C. Bernardino, CM, d. Lasko, AV. 152—Russo, AV, d. Kinney, Bon, 4-2. 160—Strbac, S. Vis, d. Cunningham, AV, 5-4 (OT). 171—Poole, CM, p. Rodriguez, Chey, 4:15. 189—Wilbert, AV, d. Palmer, DO, 8-2. 215—Welte, BG, d. Lopez, Wes, 7-1. 285—Singer, BG, p. Smokey, AV, 3:54.