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Waters finishes wrestling career with bronze at state

Matt Brown, Sierra Sun
Courtesy photoWaters, now a senior, stands on the third-place podium Saturday.
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Marcus Waters’ last hoorah in high school wrestling ended with a third-place medal in the 3A state championships at Virgin Valley High School on Saturday.

In the 152-pound weight class, Waters was the highest placing Truckee wrestler in the event, adding another accolade to a wrestling career that started at age 5 in the Truckee youth program.

He could not improve on his second-place finish last year in the state championships, but he is the only Truckee wrestler on this year’s team to finish in the top three in each of the last two state tournaments.



More importantly, Waters ended his career with a victory.

“It’s kinda funny because if you get third place, you get to end the season with a victory,” said assistant coach Ron Curtis. The second place winner, of course, is the loser of the championship match. The third place winner is the winner of the consolation championship match.



Waters went 3-1, with his only loss coming in his second match against three-time state champion Jarrin Prokasky of Lowry, 7-1. Waters went on to beat the No. 1 seed from the Southern 3A, Cody Schneider of Pahrump Valley, 10-4, to earn a bronze medal. Schneider had entered the tournament with only two losses to his credit all year.

“It was great to see Marcus come out and dominant a good opponent in his last match,” said Curtis, who at one time headed the youth program that no longer exists. “He’ll always remember it.”

Waters has excelled in wrestling his whole life.

At the age of 8, Waters qualified for the Junior Olympics held in Fresno. He did not place in the event, but his appearance proved that his wrestling skills were developing and improving quickly.

Waters finished 2003-2004 with a 37-13 record.

Shane Wright, the other Truckee senior who wrestled his last match in a Truckee uniform on Saturday, lost his last two matches after starting off the tournament with a victory by fall over Jason James of Pahrump Valley in the 171-pound weight class.

Like his entire season, the third match was a gutsy performance against Dayton’s Tim Torres. Losing 11-10, Wright barely missed a winning takedown as time ran out.

“He had such an emotional year,” Curtis said.

Wright dealt with asthma attacks that forced him to forfeit two matches, a broken nose and injured ribs over the course of the season. His senior year was by far the most strenuous of his Truckee career. But his toughness was an inspiration to the team all season.

Junior Buck Claesson, a state champion last year, finished fourth (125-pound class) in 2004, for the next best Truckee performance at Virgin Valley. Claesson went 2-2 in the tournament, losing his final match 13-4 to Trinity Donelow of Lowry in the consolation final.

“Buck learned that being a multi-year state champion is difficult,” Curtis said. “It’s a lot of pressure.”

Freshman Tim Curtis went 1-2, winning his middle match against Brandon Soukup of Yerington. Curtis lost his third match to eventual consolation champion Brady Moulton of Lowry.

Freshman Clayton Acuff, junior Amy Watkins and junior Scott Rice all went 0-2 at Virgin Valley to end their seasons.

Results: 3A State Championships at Virgin Valley, Feb. 14

Class Wrestler W-L Place Season W-L

103 Clayton Acuff 0-2 DNP 10-13

112 Amy Watkins 0-2 DNP 7-18

125 Buck Claesson 2-2 No. 4 31-12

130 Tim Curtis 1-2 DNP 25-18

140 Scott Rice 0-2 DNP 14-21

152 Marcus Waters 3-1 No. 3 37-13

171 Shane Wright 1-2 DNP 27-12


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