LVN Top 10 list 2015 - Sports

The Lahontan Valley News also looks at the top sports stories of 2015, with Nos. 5-10 features today and Nos. 1-4 unveiled this Friday.

5. GOINGS FINISHES ON TOP OF THE STATE

A junior at the time, Fallon’s 160-pound wrestler, Sam Goings, captured the team’s only state championship in February. Goings exacted revenge in the process and capped off his run with a 12-1 win over Virgin Valley’s Broc Smith at the Winnemucca Events Center. Goings, who lost to Smith earlier in the season, helped pace the Greenwave team to a fifth-place finish.

6. HENDRIX BROTHERS PLACE IN TOP 10 OF NHSFR

The Hendrix brothers of Caleb and Cord made a strong showing at the National High School Finals Rodeo in Rock Springs, Wyo., as they took ninth in the team roping. They finished ninth in the short go as well as ninth in average with a mark of 37.35 seconds. Their highest finish during the average run was seventh.

7. FALLON GRADS SIGN TO PLAY AT DIVISION I LEVEL

The Greenwave senior class sent five onto the NCAA Division I level as Nathan Heck, Jordan Schultz, Ali Tedford, Joe Pyle and Justin Hatfield signed letters in May. Heck picked up a scholarship to run track and field at Idaho State while Schultz joined Heck but as a walk-on. Tedford and Pyle were preferred walk-ons for the Wolf Pack women’s basketball and football programs, respectively. Hatfield also walked on at Idaho after breaking the career record for sacks in the Nevada Division I-A level.

8. LADY WAVE BEGINS SEASON UNDEFEATED

The Lady Wave went undefeated to open up the 2015-2016 season as Fallon notched 12 consecutive victories, capped off with winning the Elite Varsity Basketball Tournament. In the process, Fallon also defeated four Division I teams, including McQueen twice. Fallon knocked off Douglas, Damonte Ranch and eventually Reed to win the tournament.

9. VASQUEZ KO’S IN ANNUAL RURAL RUMBLE

Reno’s Oscar Vasquez, who attended Hug, brought the crowd to its feet in the annual Rural Rumble as he knocked out Jose Toribio in the seventh round. Vasquez, a 122-pound flyweight, improved to 9-1 with two knockouts and 5-0 at the Rural Rumble and took the next step as a prospective title contender. The event, a main staple in the Lahontan Valley during the late summer, drew another good crowd as it was televised national on Univision for the first time in August at the Churchill County Fairgrounds.

10. EX-FALLON GRADS SHINE REGIONALLY

A trio of Ex-Fallon stars made waves including Shawn Nelson, who guided the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs women’s basketball team to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division II Tournament in March. Also in March, Tyler Simper finished 34th out of 130 participants (selected from a field of more than 2,000) in the Venice Beach, Calif., tryouts for American Ninja Warrior. Sean Sweeney placed in the Top 20 of the Southwest region to qualify for the regional phase of the Reebok CrossFit Games Open Competition in Dallas in May.