The first month of the high school wrestling season has been quite eventful for a pair of Mater Dei Catholic High School mat men.
Last weekend both Crusader grapplers earned top eight place-finishes at the prestigious Doc Buchanan Invitational Jan. 5-6 in Clovis.
The tournament, generally regarded as the toughest regular season event in California, attracted 104 teams on a national basis this year.
Beristain finished sixth in his 170-pound weight class while Schmitt placed eighth at 195 pounds.
Both wrestlers excelled on the mat. Beristain was seeded 12th to start the tournament.
Five San Diego Section wrestlers earned top eight place-finishes at this year’s Doc Buchanan tournament.
Rancho Bernardo’s Jaden Abbas finished first in his 138-pound weight class. Rancho Buena Vista’s Bernie Truax finished seventh at 145 pounds while Rancho Bernardo’s Tyler Badgett placed eighth in the same weight class.
Beristain and Schmitt are both legitimate contenders to qualify for this year’s state championship meet. Beristain, currently ranked first in the section, won last year’s San Diego Masters state-qualifying tournament at 170 pounds while Schmitt, currently ranked third in the section, placed fifth at 182 pounds.
New frontiers
Beristain opened the season by placing runner-up at the Carlsbad invitational. He then recorded first-place finishes at the Jimmy Hamada/La Costa Canyon tournament and El Cajon Invitational tournaments before recording a second-place finish at the Tournament of Champions Dec. 29-30 in Cerritos.
Beristain received the outstanding upper weight wrestler award at the 47th annual ECI, held Dec. 15-16 at San Ysidro High School.
Schmitt’s place-finishes have also been impressive: seventh at the La Costa Canyon tournament, third at the ECI and fourth at the TOC.
Both will be competing at this weekend’s Battle for the Belt tournament in Temecula and will compete at the annual Holtville tournament Jan. 26-27.
A lot of wrestling will be showcased locally.
The Metro Conference championship tournament is scheduled Feb. 3 at Eastlake High School.
Mater Dei Catholic will host the San Diego Section Division IV individual championship tournament Feb. 17. This year’s Maters tournament is scheduled Feb. 23-24 at Olympian High School.
Section rankings
Eastlake’s Ben Martinez is ranked third at 126 pounds, while Mater Dei Catholic’s Anthony Ching (120) and Olympian’s Ethan Ramos (132), Luciano Parra (160) and Luis Castro (285) are all ranked fourth in their respective weight classes.
Martinez and Ramos were state qualifiers last year along with Beristain.
47th annual El Cajon Invitational
Dec. 15-16 at San Ysidro High School
(Metro Conference place-winners)
113 Pounds
Eighth place: Marc Nunez (Hilltop)
120 Pounds
Eighth place: Israel Ramirez (San Ysidro)
126 Pounds
First place: Ben Martinez (Eastlake)
160 Pounds
Seventh place: Axel Perez (Otay Ranch)
182 Pounds
First place: Uriel Beristain (Mater Dei Catholic)
195 Pounds
Third place: Thomas Schmitt (Mater Dei Catholic)
220 Pounds
Fifth place: Andrew Villagomez (Montgomery)
285 Pounds
Seventh place: Luis Castro (Olympian)
Eighth place: Sergio Carzoli (Eastlake)
Top 10 teams: 1. Frontier 253 points, 2. Rancho Bernardo 233, 3. Northview 216.5, 4. Sultana 208, 5. (tie) KOFA (Ariz.), Liberty 183.5; 7. Brawley 139.5, 8. William Field (Ariz.) 132, 9. Campo Verde 129, 10. Montclair 122
