Four South County mat men will make the trek to Bakersfield’s Rabobank Arena to compete in this weekend’s boys state wrestling championships after successfully navigating the qualifying field at last weekend’s San Diego Masters championship tournament at Olympian High School.
The top four place-finishers in each of 14 weight classes at the San Diego Masters earned berths in this weekend’s state meet.
- Mater Dei Catholic’s Thomas Schmitt placed second in his 197-pound weight class.
- Olympian’s Ethan Ramos placed third in his 134-pound weight class.
- Eastlake’s Ben Martinez placed fourth in his 128-pound weight class.
- Olympian’s Luis Castro placed fourth in his 287-pound heavyweight division.
Both Martinez and Ramos are making their second trips to the state meet; Schmitt and Castro are first-time qualifiers.
“I’m really excited,” explained Martinez, who is 28-6 on the season. “I think all the hard work I’ve put into this sport has paid off. I’m just thrilled to be able to compete with the best of the best at the state meet.”
Schmitt (34-12) is Mater Dei Catholic’s fourth state qualifier since the 2013-14 season.
“This last weekend watching Tom punch his ticket to the state meet was something special and this weekend at state he’s in a position where he can have an opportunity to pursue his goals and become a state medalist, and get a wrestling scholarship to wrestle in college,” Crusader coach Brett Sanchez said.
“This is the best time of the year that we train year-round for and we hope Tom gets what he deserves with all the battles he’s gone through since he started his wrestling career. If anybody deserves this moment and opportunity it’s Thomas.”
This isn’t the first time that Olympian has qualified multiple wrestlers for the state meet. The Eagles had three state qualifiers in 2014.
Olympian coach Myron Griffin believes Ramos is poised to make a huge impact at the tournament this weekend.
“I ask all wrestlers their goals for their season and his was to return to state and place, and with his motivation I can see him doing just that,” Griffin explained.
“Luis Castro has been making huge improvements throughout the year. Winning or placing at every tournament this season, he always finds a way to win.
“I could not be any happier about their successes and I am very excited to see them at state.”
Battle tested
Schmitt finished the highest of the four Metro state qualifiers. Seeded third, the Crusader mat man won his opening three matches, pinning Central Union’s Andrew Castillo in 1:22 in his first trip to the mat and then adding a 4-0 decision over Rancho Bernardo’s Alexander Florey in the quarterfinals and a 6-1 win over second-seeded Chris Dixson of La Costa Canyon in the semifinals.
Schmitt, the Division IV champion, advanced to the championship match against top-seeded Kalani Sorensen of San Marcos, the Division I champion. Sorenson defeated Schmitt by a narrow 3-2 decision to win the gold medal.
Also seeded third, Ramos defeated Holtville’s Ethan Strahm by a 16-0 technical fall and Del Norte’s Noah Martinez by an 8-0 major decision to advance to the semifinals against second-seeded Malik Patricio of Mt. Carmel, the Division III champion.
Patricio recorded a win by an 11-6 decision to drop the Olympian wrestler to the consolation semifinals. Ramos won a tight 4-2 decision over Sweetwater’s Joe Fonseca in a rematch of the Division I championship match, to advance to the third-place match and, in the process, secure a qualifying berth to the state meet.
Ramos was awarded third place when Brawley’s Roberto Arias, who had won five consecutive matches in the wrestle-backs, conceded by medical forfeit.
Fonseca, the runner-up at the Division I finals, wrestled University City’s Sean Gonzales in the seventh-place match, winning by a 3-2 decision.
Poway’s Chase Zollman, the Division II champion, pinned Patricio in 1:20 to claim the weight class championship.
Martinez, the Division I champion, entered the Masters tournament seeded second in his weight class. He pinned his first two opponents – Helix’s Elias Garcia in 2:55 and La Jolla’s Elliot Austin in 1:43 – before drawing third-seeded Cameron Santiago of Poway in the semifinals.
Santiago, the Division II runner-up, won 10-4 to push Martinez to the consolation semifinals. The Eastlake grappler topped San Marcos’s Christian Navida, the Division I runner-up, by a 4-2 decision to qualify for the state meet.
However, Martinez was denied winning the bronze medal following an 8-6 overtime loss to Mt. Carmel’s Allan Kenji Beato, the Division III.
Castro had to follow a longer path to secure a berth in this year’s state tournament. Seeded fourth after placing runner-up at the preceding Division I finals, the Olympian wrestler pinned St. Canyon’s Joshua Constancio in 51 seconds in his first match.
However, Castro was pinned in 3:47 by Monte Vista’s Blake Schmidt, the third-place finisher at the Division III finals. The win pushed Schmidt to the semifinals against top-seeded Andrew Johnson of Poway.
Castro had to win three high-stakes matches to advance to the state meet. He edged Eastlake’s Sergio Carzoli by a 3-2 decision and then pinned Central Union’s Jeffrey Castro in 2:16.
The wins advanced the Eagles matster to the consolation semifinals where he recorded a victory by injury default over San Marcos’s Enrique Galicia.
Olympian’s Castro drew a rematch with Schmidt in the third-place match but Schmidt won by a medical forfeit to place Castro fourth in the weight class.
Johnson edged West Hills’ Lucas Ah Key, the Division III champion, by a 2-0 decision in the championship match.
Rancho Bernardo’s Jaden Le, the Division II champion, shut out Santiago, 5-0, to win the weight class title.
Soaring Eagles
Griffin may have been even more excited by his team’s overall performance at the section-wide tournament.
“It was an amazing weekend at Masters and I am so proud of our wrestlers,” the Olympian coach said. “We finished Masters in fifth place as a team, which I believe has not been done by a Metro league team in more than a decade so I’ve been told.
“This is a true testament to the dedication and hard work of all our wrestlers during season that not only myself, but all of our coaches look forward to the future of our team as we continue to grow and learn.”
The top six place-finishers in each weight class received official recognition at last weekend’s Masters tournament.
Four additional South County wrestlers earned recognition:
- Eastlake’s Antonio Collazo finished fifth at 115 pounds.
- Sweetwater’s Joseph Fonseca placed fifth at 134 pounds.
- Olympian’s Zachary Ramos placed sixth at 108 pounds.
- Mater Dei Catholic’s Anthony Ching finished sixth at 122 pounds.
Mat attack
Poway, the Division II team champion, captured the Masters team championship with 369.5points — far out-distancing runner-up Rancho Bernardo with 237 points.
Brawley, the Division III team champion, finished third with 153 points.
West Hills led the collection of East County teams with an eighth-place finish with 79 points, followed by Steele Canyon in ninth place with 75.5 points.
In a show of force, Poway qualified all 14 of its wrestlers for this year’s state tournament, including eight Masters champions.
The Titans, who are sending legendary head coach Wayne Branstetter off to what could be one of the program’s best showings at the state meet, qualified 12 wrestlers for the Masters championship round.
Branstetter, 67, is closing out a highly decorated 45-year coaching career, including 40 years at Poway High School, this season.
His Poway teams have won four state titles and finished second on six occasions. The Titans won their first state championship in 1986.
Will they win another?
For details on this weekend’s tournament, visit the website at www.cifstate.org.
