Douglas High wrestling

Kavanagh wins second straight regional title

River, Mica Klein punch tickets to state wrestling tournament

Douglas High’s Ella Kavanagh works the arm of her opponent, during the 105-pound championship match at the Northern Nevada regional girls wrestling tournament Saturday at McQueen. Kavanagh won by major decision, 9-1, to win her second straight regional title.

Douglas High’s Ella Kavanagh works the arm of her opponent, during the 105-pound championship match at the Northern Nevada regional girls wrestling tournament Saturday at McQueen. Kavanagh won by major decision, 9-1, to win her second straight regional title.
Photo by Carter Eckl.

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Douglas High School wrestling had three girl wrestlers punch their ticket to the state tournament this past Saturday at McQueen High School.

The Northern Nevada regional wrestling tournament concluded with a pair of Tigers competing in championship matches.

At 105 pounds, junior Ella Kavanagh won her second consecutive regional title, defeating Emily Roman of Wooster by 9-1 majority decision.

“It definitely means a lot. I mean, I put a lot of pressure on myself, so I was really hoping I would get this,” said Kavanagh after topping the podium.

It’s been a tough season for the Tiger junior, who had been sideline for a majority of the winter with a knee injury that she was worried had the potential to be season-ending.

Getting back in wrestling shape has been the priority over the last few weeks in preparations for the postseason run.

“Slowly easing back into practices and doing like double practices,” Kavanagh said. “I guess just wrestling, honestly.”

She’ll spend the next two weeks fine-tuning her skillset as she seeks her first state title, following a second place finish last season.

Freshman River Klein (110 pounds) impressed in her first regional wrestling tournament, taking second place and earning a spot in the state tournament.

Klein, who said she’s been wrestling since she was in sixth grade, needed less than 60 seconds to pin both of her opponents on the way to the championship.

In the finals, Klein ran into McQueen senior Bella Coronado, who boasted a 43-6 record coming into the tournament and was ranked 26th in the nation at 110 pounds by FloWrestling.

The Tiger freshman never let Coronado get a pin, using a bridge that caught the eye of her coaches before losing by tech fall, 17-0.

“It’s some of the most natural wrestling I’ve experienced with River,” said Douglas head coach Jake Fair. “She has one of the best bridges I’ve ever seen.”

Her elder sister, Mica Klein, will join her at the state tournament after finishing in fourth at 145 pounds. Klein went 3-2 in the regional tournament.

With top four finishes in their weigh class, the three will all compete at the state wrestling tournament Feb. 7-8 in Fallon.

At 115 pounds, Jasmine Tamondong just missed on a state qualification spot, taking fifth with a 3-2 record in the tournament.

Kalia Blumenthal went 2-3 and finished sixth at 140 pounds while Isabelle Tamondong went 2-2.

UP NEXT: The three qualifiers will compete at the state wrestling tournament in Fallon Feb. 7-8. The boys regional wrestling tournament is this Saturday at Spanish Springs High School.

(Douglas High freshman River Klein lunges in to grab a leg against her opponent in the finals of the 110-pound weight class at the Northern Nevada regional girls wrestling tournament Saturday. / Carter Eckl)

TIGER HOOPS TWO-GAME WEEK

Both Douglas High School boys and girls basketball teams had scheduled off days last Friday night.

This week, the Tigers were on the road Tuesday at Galena before coming home for Senior Night against Spanish Springs on Friday.

The Douglas boys (10-10, 7-5) met with the Grizzlies (7-13, 3-9) for the second time this season on Tuesday. Friday, the Tigers will honor seven seniors against the Cougars (16-4, 12-0).

The girls team (9-11, 5-7) will follow the same slate, tangling with Galena (8-14, 2-10) and returning home Friday for Senior Night versus Spanish Springs (15-5, 11-1).