Cannon lowers the boom
The state tournament is the grand stage for most Nevada high school wrestlers.
But Sean Cannon has plenty of big-tournament experience — and he’s only halfway through his freshman season.
The Green Valley 106-pound wrestler is 33-1 and rated among the nation’s top lightweights after wins in several prestigious tournaments.
“I love the sport and competing,” said Cannon, who has a team-high 20 pins. “I’ll always keep going at it to get as much competition as I can. Being able to wrestle is my life.”
Before helping the Gators to a 20-1 dual record, Cannon placed fifth at last summer’s USA Wrestling freestyle nationals in Fargo, N.D., and won the Triple Crown series at the Western Regionals in Pocatello, Idaho.
More recently, he won the La Costa Canyon Classic in Carlsbad, Calif., and the Rollie Lane Invitational in Boise, Idaho, as well as finishing atop the podium Dec. 17 at the prestigious Reno Tournament of Champions.
“I was excited, especially when they announced I was a freshman,” Cannon said of the win in Reno. “Everybody got louder and started cheering. I was like, 'This is really happening.’
“This was it. This was what I live for.”
Despite the accomplishments, Green Valley coach Jon Ferry said Cannon has adapted well as “just another member” of the Gators’ squad.
“The thing that impresses me is that he’s very level-headed with his accomplishments over the summer and during the season,” Ferry said. “He’s blended in. He’s another member of this team — nothing more, nothing less.
“His accomplishments speak more than enough, but he doesn’t bring that into the room or onto the mat.”
Even without Cannon, a Chicago native who joined Green Valley’s youth program three years ago, the Gators have plenty of talent to compete for the school’s first state title.
Green Valley finished second at state in 2011 and hardly can be labeled “rebuilding,” with defending state champions in 160-pounder Ryder Newman (34-3) and 132-pounder Zack Perry (29-4), both juniors. Third-place medalist Jared Brathor (27-7), a sophomore, also returns at 113 to help anchor a squad vying to repeat as Sunrise Region champion.
“The toughest tournament we can ever compete in is the state tournament, because it says 'state’ in front of it,” Ferry said. “Our job is to not make it more than it is, but it is still the toughest one they will compete in. It’s still the Nevada state tournament.
“We keep in mind that the big picture is to win our division, win the regional tournament and to be the first team in Green Valley history to win a team state title.”
And then there’s Cannon. A former jiujitsu and mixed martial artist, Cannon brings intensity into a room of wrestlers constantly striving to be better than the ones next to them.
“With the type of team we have, they try to one-up each other,” Ferry said. “They want to be able to match whatever he’s done. That attitude is contagious. It makes (Cannon) better, but it also makes everybody around him better.”
Cannon felt that contagion after he received the invitation to Reno, and he said it helped push him to the tournament championship.
“It was tough, the whole week,” Cannon recalled. “Our coach was pushing us hard, because he knew it was a different tournament. And the captains kept pushing me and making sure I did all the right things.”
With less than a month until the Sunrise Region tournament Feb. 10, Cannon is more focused on getting better than enjoying what he’s already done.
“He’s really mature, and he’s even gotten better since his first competition,” Ferry said. “He’s continuing to improve, he allows us to coach him, makes adjustments, and he doesn’t think that he knows it all.”
