Hunter Collins positioned himself to finish first or second in
the 171-pound high school division of the Reno Tournament of
Champions.
Reno, Nev. – Hunter Collins positioned himself to finish first or second in the 171-pound high school division of the Reno Tournament of Champions.
Among the Gilroy High junior’s victims was No. 2 seed Mitch Sanderson of Pleasant Grove, Utah, who he pinned. Sanderson is a two-time Utah state champion and cousin of wrestling legend Cael Sanderson. Collins, the No. 3 seed, ran an armbar into a figure 4 to the head of Sanderson and pinned him.
Collins’ championship match was against Kirk Smith of Centennial, Idaho. Smith is the No. 1 ranked 171-pounder in the nation, a reigning Junior National champion.
GHS freshman Jesse Delgado lost in the quarterfinals to No. 4 seed Jesse Meis of Alamosa, Colo., 5-2. But Delgado also notched decisions over No. 7 Dominic Madril of Pomona, Colo., and A.J. Valles of Selma. He finished fifth by beating Chris Done, who he beat last week in the final of the Zinkin Classic. Delgado and Done are No. 1 and 2 in the state at 103.
Martin Gonzalez notched decisions over No. 11 seed Nam Dunbar of Bishop O’Connell, Virginia, and Anthony Waters of Buchanan, but lost to No. 4 seed Kolby Bradley of Springville, Utah.
Perhaps the most surprising run by a Gilroy wrestler was by 215-pounder Jesse Rogers. After losing to Brian Keyser of Upper Perkiomen, Pa., Rogers pinned five straight opponents to set himself up for a top-8 finish. He lost again to Keyser, but finished No. 7 by decisioning No. 8 seed Rory McBryde of Chugiak, Alaska, 5-2.
“We were more than pleasantly surprised,” coach Armando Gonzalez said. “This is the most medalists we have ever had here. And this was the toughest Reno tournament we were ever in with a lot of top wrestlers from Pennsylvania as well as the West.”
