Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

From the Press Box:

Wrestlers in good position to win state

Expanded coverage

The coaches can sugar coat the truth as much as they want or try to downplay what took place on Feb. 7 at the 3A Southern League wrestling tournament.

But the truth is Boulder City administered a complete beat down to the rest of the 3A South — a make 'em cut their own switch, then take 'em behind the woodshed kind of beating.

The final tally was 222 points for Boulder City, 159 for second place Virgin Valley, a 63-point margin of victory. That's the second largest margin of victory among the state's seven region tournaments — Cimarron-Memorial defeated Bonanza by 71 points in the Sunset Region tournament.

Seven Eagles won championships and took second place in two more. That's nine finalists in 14 matches.

Impressive.

Then again, it wasn't much of a surprise to anyone who has followed the Eagles this season. Wire to wire, it's been a dominating year for the Boulder City High wrestlers, and now they have a strong shot at winning the state title.

The Eagles posted a perfect record in the regular season in 3A Southern League Dual matches and kept that streak alive at the league tournament.

Coach Kevin Ruth created a model of success at Boulder City High that has molded the team into a strong contender on a year-by-year basis.

His program has produced individual state champions the last two years, and there's the strong possibility of making it three in a row, when the team competes at state Feb. 14.

Juniors Allen Haines and Steven Kaposta finished as state runners-up last year, while junior Jake Thormodsgaard took fourth. All three are back and fresh off winning league titles.

Thormodsgaard said it best for all three: "I can't wait to get on that podium."

The addition of Jim Cox, Del Sol's former wrestling coach, last year is another reason for the team's success. A former high school All-American and collegiate wrestler at Iowa State, he knows a thing or two about the sport.

There's a reason both Ruth and Cox refer to each other as co-coaches: because they rely on each other.

They've formed a partnership such that one can step in for the other and not miss a beat.

The best news for Boulder City is 90 percent of the team returns next season and all seven region champions are juniors or younger.

Before jumping too far ahead, there's still one more obstacle in the way, but it's possible the Eagles are coming back carrying the state championship trophy.

Brent Hinckley is the Boulder City News sports writer and can be reached at 990-7822 or [email protected].

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