RENO >> Carter Rudolph didn’t play the slots in Reno but he did hit a jackpot of sorts for the Lower Lake Punishers youth wrestling club last weekend during the RMN Rumble in Reno tournament at the Reno Livestock Center.
A field of approximately 1,200 wrestlers competed for championship belts in the various weight and age divisions offered.
Rudolph won the 8-and-under heavyweight division by pinning all three of his opponents. He scored a second-round pin over Aaron Chavez of the Victory Wrestling club, needed only 41 seconds to pin Dwin Stokes of Greenwave Wrestling in the semifinals, and pinned Enrique Segura of the SoCal Fury in just one minute in the championship match. While it wasn’t the first time Rudolph and Segura had faced each other on the mat, it was Rudolph’s first career win against his finals opponent.
Placing a strong second in the 12-and-under 70-pound division was No. 3 seed Isaiah Rubio. After winning 3-1 and 3-0 decisions in his first two matches, Rubio dropped a hard-fought 3-2 battle to Aiden Edwards of Hemet Youth Wrestling in the championship match. He later beat Payton Munson 5-2 in the battle for true second place.
The Punishers scored another second-place finish in the 12-and-under 62-pound division where Dominick Clark finished 2-1, his only loss coming to Charlie Bergeson of Texas in the finals.
Also for the Punishers Travis Boyles placed sixth in the 10-and-under 57-pound division.
In the 10-12 heavyweight rookie division (wrestlers with one to two years of experience) Isaiah Stone went 4-0 to secure first place.
