SGV/WHITTIER PREP SPORTS ZONE WRESTLING NOTEBOOK
Northview and Walnut wrestlers turn in top performances in Bakersfield and San Diego.
Northview wrestler Noah Alamo in action last week at the Mater Dei Tournament. (Photo courtesy of Northview HS Wrestling)
Last weekend was the first big weekend of tournament action throughout the state.
Here is a look at how the area wrestlers did at many of the tournaments.
RUMBLE FOR THE RIG
Northview took their annual trip up to Bakersfield for the Rumble for the Rig Tournament, which gives some clues as to what might happen at the state tournament in February.
The Vikings turned in another solid performance as they finished in sixth place in the team standings. Buchanan took top honors with Clovis North taking second and Temecula Valley checking in third. De La Salle captured fourth and Bakersfield placed fifth.
Mario Sandoval was the lone Viking to hit the top of the medal stand as he took the gold medal in the 126-pound category. In the final, Sandoval defeated Gavin Bauder of Clovis North HS, 4-0.
In a state final preview at 120 pounds, Northview’s Adrian Limon suffered a 15-9 loss to Temecula Valley’s Ethan Perryman. Perryman is ranked third in the state in the latest state rankings by The California Wrestler and Limon is ranked six.
Nick Arellano rebounded for a 5-0 loss to De La Salle’s Manuel Martir in a quarterfinal at 106 pounds and took fifth place. Arellano pinned Bakersfield’s Isiah Posadas early in the first period of their fifth-place match.
Julian Leon advanced to the semifinals at 132 pounds where he lost a tough 8-7 decision to Cisco Cabrera of Buchanan High 8-7. Leon rebounded to narrowly defeat McKay Mauro of Clovis North, 3-0 in the third-place match.
Jacob Leon marched his way to the quarterfinals at 152 pounds before suffering a second-period loss by fall to Buchanan’s Devin Alexander. Leon finished the tournament in sixth place.
Nate Cruz also advanced to the quarterfinals but dropped a 4-1 decision to Temecula Valley’s Mat York. Cruz rebounded to defeat Corcoran High’s Isaiah Navarro with an early first-period pin in the fifth-place match.
LA COSTA CANYON TOURNAMENT
Walnut took the trip down to San Diego for the big La Costa Canyon Tournament and had a successful day with a seventh-place performance. Oakdale took first place with Slam Academy taking second and San Clemente finishing third.
Two Mustang wrestlers won gold medals.
Freshman Ronnie Ramirez announced his arrival on the high school scene by winning the 106-pound weight class. In the championship final, Ramirez defeated Josiah Maestas of Slam Academy 12-4. Ramirez is ranked second in the state at 106 by The California Wrestler.
Fernando Barreto had little trouble capturing the gold medal at 145 pounds with a dominating performance. He won four of six matches by fall and one other by technical fall. In the final, Barreto defeated Koa Ruiz of Santa Ana Calvary Chapel (a transfer from San Marino) with a dominating 12-3 victory.
Elijah Flores advanced to the quarterfinals at 126 pounds where he lost to Calvary Chapel’s Allan Hendricks 5-1. In the fifth-place match, Flores pinned Vista Murrieta’s Matthew Catalano early in the first period.
Jonathan Ruiz also advanced to the quarterfinals at 113 pounds, where Jaggar French of Del Oro defeated Ruiz, 4-1. Ruiz lost the fifth-place match to Redwood’s Nikolao Sellers with a second-period pin.
TOM BRAVO CLASSIC
Many of the top teams compete locally at the Tom Bravo Classic at Los Osos High. Bishop Amat was the highest-placed area team with a sixth-place effort. La Habra (10th), Bonita (11th), La Canada (12th), and San Dimas (15th) were among the other area teams to place in the top 20.
Only two wrestlers advanced to the championship finals, and both were from Bishop Amat. In the 132-pound championship final, Luca Munoz was pinned by Palm Desert’s Andrew Barbosa early in the first period. Raymond Macias was pinned in the second period of the 285-pound final by Palm Desert’s Daniel Herrera.
La Canada’s Alex Mykalo turned in a solid effort with a third-place finish at 145 pounds. In the third-place match, Mykalo pinned Etiwanda’s Kevin Coursalt with a first-period pin. La Habra’s Diego Ornelas defeated La Canada’s Junya Ishida with an exciting 8-7 win in the third-place match at 170 pounds and Bishop Amat’s Devon Jones pinned Etiwanda’s Hector Perez early in the first period of their third-place match at 220 pounds.
San Dimas’ Liam Sullivan-Napoli defeated San Marcos’ Carlos Rodriguez with a first-period pin in the 285-pound third-place match.
West Covina’s Jaramiah Juarez took the bronze medal at 182 pounds. In the third-place match, Juarez pinned Yucaipa’s Kevin Williams early in the second period.
Bonita’s Cole Parra finished in fourth place at 152 pounds and San Dimas’s Seth Hoodye also secured fourth place at 160 pounds.
SCOTT DAVIS TOURNAMENT
Several area wrestlers took top honors at the Scott Davis Tournament at Mater Dei High School. Sonora had two wrestlers hit the top of the medal stand.
Vivano Gutierrez snatched top honors at 132 pounds with a 9-5 win over Diamond Bar’s Ryan Wong in the championship final.
In one of the more exciting final matches of the day, Kyle Sakuda defeated Centennial’s Gino Martinez 7-6 to secure the 145-pound title.
Northview also sent a group of wrestlers to the tournament with Marcus Tolentino capturing first place at 106 pounds with an early second-period win by fall over Centennial’s Cesar Castillo. Patrick Pardoja worked his way to the championship final at 152 pounds before losing in fall to Centennial’s Javier Montes early in the first period.
Rowland’s Thad McGowan advanced to the final at 285 pounds where he lost to Centennial’s Isaac Lopez early in the first period.
WESTMINSTER COSSAREK TOURNAMENT
Arroyo was the only area team to participate in the tournament and finished in 16th place.
The only Knight wrestler to hit the medal stand was Finn Long, who took the bronze medal with a 7-0 win over Artemis Shmuel of Segerstrom High in the third-place match at 132 pounds.
TOURNAMENT ACTION HEATS UP THIS WEEKEND
It’s another big weekend of wrestling action throughout the state with 23 tournaments taking place for boys and girls. Damien HS will have a two-day tournament that starts on Friday. Among the area teams that are scheduled to participate include Bonita, Charter Oak, Glendora, Monrovia, Nogales, Northview, San Dimas, Walnut, and West Covina.
Fans can keep track of the tournament with real-time results on trackwrestling.com.
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