RENO >> Blake Fredrickson of the Punishers Wrestling Club of Lower Lake won four of his five matches, losing only to eventual champion Isaiah Gonzalez in the semifinals, and finished a true second to garner All-American status during the Reno Worlds last weekend in Reno.
Nearly 3,500 wrestlers from throughout the country made their annual pilgrimage to Reno to compete in the world’s largest youth tournament, which brings together the best of the best.
Of the nine Punishers who ventured to Nevada, three ended up placing and three others just missed out on a medal.
Fredrickson logged the best finish among the Lake County contingent while competing in the 15-and-under 82-pound division. He drew the No. 1 seed, Gonzalez of the Viper Wrestling Club out of Washington, on his side of the bracket and the two eventually met in the semifinals where Fredrickson jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Gonzalez evened the match with two nearfall points in the third round and the two went to overtime where Gonzalez scored the first takedown to win the match and advance to the finals.
Fredrickson advanced through the consolation bracket to finish third before challenging runner-up Brendan Johnson of USA Gold in the “true second” match. Like Fredrickson, Johnson’s only loss came to No. 1 seed Gonazlez, who beat Johnson in the finals. Fredrickson defeated Johnson 7-6 in the challenge match for true second place.
Two other Punishers who excelled at the Reno Worlds were Travis Boyles in the 8-and-uner 43-pound division and Carter Rudolph in the 6-and-under 70-pound division. Boyles came in third while Rudolph, in his first trip to the Reno Worlds, finished fifth. In fact, Rudolph beat Aaron Chavez of Washington in the fifth-place match after being pinned by Chavez in the quarterfinals.
Other Punishers who distinguished themselves included Isaiah Rubio, who went 3-2 in the 10-and-under 61-pound division; Austin Fredrickson, who went 2-2 in the 10-and-under 58-pound division; and Adam Viramontes, who went 3-2 in the 8-and-under 85-pound division where a last-second 3-2 loss to Angel Rios of California in the consolation round cost him a medal.
Other Punishers competing in the Reno Worlds were Jayden Roath, Mason Roath and Jonathan Fredrickson.
Next up for the Punishers is the Greco State Championships April 24-26 in Fresno.
