Topic: News: Greenwave HS Competes at Weightlifting Tournament

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Greenwave Competes at Weightlifting Tournament
By Thomas Rabson

Greenwave paricpants in weightlifting at Hug included, from left, Patrick Edwards, Buster Linton, coach Ray Holladay, Chris Hinkey, Doug Newman, Fletcher Bowman and Rick Bogdanowicz.

For the first time in almost a decade, Greenwave high school athletes recently competed in the Northern Nevada High School Weightlifting Championships at Hug High.

Fallon took sixth in the varsity class and ninth in junior varsity. Schools from the Northern 4A except Elko and Bishop Manogue competed.

"I was very proud of the effort the kids put out at the meet," Fallon football coach Ray Holladay said. "This meet was good for us because it showed us why the other teams in the North are able to push us around on the field."

Reed captured the crown with 26 points followed by Spanish Springs with 24 and Hug with 13. Fallon finished with nine points. Spanish Springs, though, won the junior varsity division with 26 points followed by McQueen with 25 and Reed with 18.

Holladay said football powerhouses like Reed, McQueen and Spanish Springs place high in the weightlifting competitions, which is an advantage for not just football, but all sports.

McQueen and Spanish Springs placed at least one lifter in the top three in all seven weight categories. Reed had at least one in the top three in four categories.

"It is not because of the top players on each team. It is the overall strength of the teams we play," Holladay added. "This is where teams have a huge advantage over our athletes, not just in football but in all sports. The best thing to come out of this competition is now we know where we need to get if we want to compete year in and year out."

Athletes competed against each other in accordance to both their grade in school and weight class. Scores were averaged for all three divisions: clean and jerk, bench press and squat. Doug Newman, a junior, led the Wave in the varsity group by taking second in the 186-205-pound category. Juniors Chris Hinkey took fifth in the 206-225 category, and Rick Bogdanowicz came in sixth. Junior Patrick Edwards placed 11th in the 166-185 category.

In junior varsity, sophomores Buster Litton took seventh at 146-165, and Fletcher Bowman finished eighth at 226 pounds and over.

The off-season summer football program is also underway, and Holladay said the turnout has been good for varsity. Holladay, who's entering his third year with the team, is worried about the junior varsity numbers.

"We have had a good turn out so far for the varsity program," he said. "Our j.v. numbers are down and that concerns me."

Practices for the varsity and j.v. teams are every week on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 7 to 9:30 a.m. The freshman squad, under coach Steve Johnson, is running three-day mini camps throughout the summer.

The official start day for practices for the fall sports season is Aug. 10.

Holladay said a strong commitment to the summer workouts is crucial towards developing a strong football program for the fall.

"We have challenged the kids to make at least 90 percent of the off-season practices," Holladay added. "If we can get 100 percent commitment from our players to the 90 percent rule throughout the summer, we will be so much further along when we start officially Aug.10."

The amount of work put in the off-season could either make or break the program.

"The kids have to understand in order for us to be as good as they want to be it takes a commitment to the off-season," Holladay said. "We will only be as good as the work the kids put in between now and the start of the season."