McNary boys wrestling is returning from the Silver State with a silver medal.
The Celts were down in Las Vegas over the weekend at the Diamondback Duals at Desert Oasis High School, going 6-1 in the 16-school tournament, enroute to a second place finish.
McNary was the only school to participate that wasn’t from Nevada, but the Celtic boys didn’t feel out of place.
Friday’s opening dual against The Meadows may have felt anti-climatic following their travel. All but two matches were forfeit wins for McNary in the 78-5 opening dual win.
Their next two duals were nail-biters, coming down to the final matches.
With two matches remaining against Silverado High School, the two schools were knotted at 33. Pinfalls from Jensen Dubois at 215 pounds and Diego Piceno at 285 sealed the win for the Celts.
Dubois was up a weight class against Silverado. In McNary’s third dual, Dubois was back down at 190 pounds, and again was a major factor in McNary’s win.
The Celts trailed Valley High School 36-24 with four matches to go. Pinfalls from Alex Stephen at 175 pounds and Dubois at 190 tied the match, and the Celts took forfeit wins in the final two weight classes to edge Valley 48-36 and close out the first day of action.
Saturday started out smooth for the Celts, as they cruised to victories in their first three duals to earn a spot in the championship.
First, it was a 54-27 win against host school Desert Oasis, followed by a 65-18 win against Legacy.
To earn their spot in the championship, the Celts defeated Lake Mead Christian Academy 41-33. The final score looks closer than the dual was, with Lake Mead Christian taking four of the final five matches, outscoring McNary 21-6 to close it out.
The Celts trip to the desert ended in the championship against Foothill, a 67-9 loss.
The McNary boys are off until Jan. 4, when they host South Salem in the first district meet of the season.