John Brooks has been an active participant in the Rollie Lane Invitational across his seven-year tenure at Lowry High. His teams rarely threaten to hoist championship hardware, but this year, Brooks’ grapplers will thoroughly enjoy the 240-mile trek from Nampa’s Idaho Center to their home in Winnemucca, Nev.

Cousins Jace Billingsley and Michael Billingsley won individual titles along with Ryan Nelson, as Lowry amassed 91 points for a title-winning effort among 42 teams in the 12th annual tournament that bears the name of Nampa’s legendary coach.

“I just wanted to be the top-placing Nevada team here. The kids took it one notch higher,” said Brooks, whose team edged Lewiston (80 points) and Hermiston, Ore. (77).

“It’s a good brand of wrestling. This has always served as a turning point for our kids every year. We come back and finish the year strong because of this tournament.”

Lowry was the perceived favorite heading into the tournament and lived up to its billing, spurred by victories from Nelson (182) and Michael Billingsley (170).

And there was Jace Billingsley, who avenged losses in the championship match in each of the previous three seasons and won the 160-pound title.

“This is the first time we’ve been in the hunt to win it,” Brooks said. “This thing is always close.”

 

Cook leads 6th-place Kuna

Kuna sophomores Casey Cobb (98) and Michael Cook (120) won individual titles to help the Kavemen record a sixth-place finish, the highest among Treasure Valley teams.

It’s Cook’s second consecutive Rollie Lane title, part of an effort that earned him an award as Most Outstanding Wrestler among lower-weight competitors.

“You can’t say enough,” Kuna coach Pat Owens said. “He’s your role model. He’s exactly what you want.”

It’s yet another accolade for Cook, who’s ranked 12th in the nation among all wrestlers in his weight class by USA Wrestling Magazine, and seventh among all sophomores by Win Magazine.

He won last year’s 103-pound 4A state championship inside the Idaho Center. That’s when he said “the pressure is on,” to win another one this season.

He echoed similar sentiments Saturday. Instead of relishing his second straight Rollie Lane title, he talked about working harder “to get that third one.” He’s halfway to making history, considering there’s been one four-time Rollie Lane champ: Lewiston graduate Casey George, who accomplished the feat last year and now competes for Boise State.

As for Cook, he placed second at last month’s Tri-State tournament, while his teammate, Cobb, placed third. Both finished undefeated at the season-opening Buck’s Bags duals. And Saturday, they added to their budding sophomore campaigns with trips to the podium’s highest tier.

“It’s great to have two champs,” Owens said.

Evans adds another trophy to resume

The match was tied. The clock was ticking toward overtime.

Four seconds, three seconds, two seconds …

Then New Plymouth senior Raymond Evans earned a two-point takedown against Lewiston’s Josh Carlton to win the 126-pound weight class title.

“It was a scrambling situation,” said Evans, who holds honorable-mention status among the nation’s wrestlers by USA Wrestling Magazine. “His hips were lower than mine, my hips win.”

It adds to Evans’ growing resume. This season, he took second at Tri-State and first at the Calhoun Classic.

In February, he’ll try to become the 16th wrestler in state history to win four straight state titles.

Delgado wins second straight title: Hermiston 138-pound senior Joey Delgado downed Melba’s Jared Johnshoy for his second consecutive Rollie Lane title.

Delgado, who was one of four Hermiston wrestlers to win an individual title, is a three-time Oregon state champion ranked 18th in the nation by Intermat.com.

His victory came with a price: A goose egg above his right eye puffed to black-and-blue coloring, while blood oozed around his lips.

Delgado, however, says the pain is worth the title.

“Always,” he said with a smile. “Always worth it.”

Berger upsets nationally-ranked Tuma

Centennial 132-pound sophomore Hayden Tuma is ranked eighth among 132-pound competitors by Intermat.com. But on Saturday he fell victim to Hermiston’s Tyler Berger, who won by a 9-6 decision and earned Most Outstanding Wrestler among middle-weight competitors.

“Once I got ahead of him, I knew I could break him,” said Berger, who avenged a triple-overtime loss to Tuma from last year.

Other notes

Nampa 106-pounder Mikel Perales and Columbia 182-pounder Spencer Salinas each placed second.

CDA’s Garrett Demers won the 195-pound division and was awarded Most Outstanding Wrestler among higher-weight competitors.