The Olympian High School wrestling team has produced one of the school’s finest seasons on record in 2018-19, and it’s not over yet for the Eagles.

Olympian will send 13 wrestlers to this weekend’s San Diego Masters state qualifying tournament at San Marcos High School. Competition is Friday and Saturday, Feb. 15-16.

The top four place-finishers in each of 14 weight classes advance to the state championship tournament the following weekend in Bakersfield.

Flying high
The Eagles, three-time Metro Conference tournament champions, recorded a second-place finish among the 18 teams competing in last Saturday’s San Diego Section Division I championship tournament at Olympian School.

Olympian finished with 225.5 points to trail Rancho Bernardo, which captured the team title with 309 points. The Eagles finished well ahead of third place San Marcos (last year’s division champions), which totaled 148 points.

Olympian advanced nine wrestlers to the semifinal round, six to the finals and netted two weight class champions – Tyshawn Anderson at 162 pounds and Luis Castro at 287 pounds.

Second-place finishers included Zachary Ikaika Ramos (108), Rylen Gregorio (172), John Johnson (184) and Shahi Baker (222).

The top-seeded Castro (32-3) pinned all three of his opponents to win his gold medal. He pinned San Marcos’s Ricky Johnson in 1:01 in the quarterfinals, Bonita Vista’s Alex Alcala, seeded fourth, in 2:23 in the semifinals and Westview’s Erik Cole, seeded second, in 54 seconds in the championship round.

Anderson, seeded second in his weight class, captured an 8-6 overtime match in the finals against Rancho Bernado’s Alexander Florey after recording a 3:03 pin in the quarterfinals and a 12-2 major decision in the semifinals.

The Eagles advanced four wrestlers to third-place matches.

Ryan Magsino (128) and Mico Gonzalez (140) both won to earn bronze meals.

Magsino out-pointed Bonita Vista’s Khari Douglas, 8-0, to win his match while Gonzalez recorded a 5-2 decision over El Camino’s Albert Padilla.

Jaydon Caoile (115) and Ralph Magsino (122) both finished fourth.

Caoile lost 3-2 to Vista’s Christian Tingzon while Magsino was unable to wrestle due to the five-match limit rule.

The top seven place-finishers at the Division I tournament advanced to the San Diego Masters tournament, with eighth-place finishers earning alternate nods.

For Olympian, Jacob Neiman (134) finished fifth while Alejandro Llarena (154) finished sixth. Spencer Albani (147) finished seventh to earn the Eagles’ final Masters nod.

Also famous
San Ysidro’s Israel Ramirez joined Anderson and Castro with gold medals at the Division I tournament after securing first place in his 122-pound division.

Ramirez, seeded second, won his opening two matches by pin and then persevered to win his next two matches by minor decisions to finished 4-0 in the weight class.

Ramirez edged San Marcos’ Eli Dalangin, 1-0, in the semifinals and topped top-seeded Braydon Concepcion of Rancho Bernardo by a 4-1 score in the championship round.

The Cougars finished 14th overall as a team with three Masters qualifiers. Joining Ramirez at this weekend’s state-qualifying tournament are teammates Camilo Marizcal (fifth, 222) and Jarren Fabunan (seventh, 172).

Next up
Bonita Vista, which finished runner-up to Olympian at the Metro Conference championship tournament Feb. 2 at San Ysidro High School, recorded a strong sixth-place team finish with 125 points at the Division I tournament. The Barons placed just two points behind fifth place Vista and 2.5 points behind fourth place Patrick Henry.

Bonita Vista reeled in seven Masters qualifiers and two alternates, led by Jordan Bendorf (second, 134) and Daniel Reyes (second, 147).

Also advancing to Masters for the Barons are Douglas (fourth, 128), Michael Miller (fourth, 222), Alcala (fourth, 287), Joel Lopez (seventh, 115) and Tyler Krecklow (seventh, 140). Cameron Alanis (eighth, 108) and Benjamin Robles (eighth, 172) are alternates.

Miller and Krecklow both won individual Metro championships this year.

Bendorf, seeded second, scored three consecutive pins to reach the finals against top-seeded Nicholas Rizzo of Rancho Bernardo. Rizzo captured an 11-9 overtime decision to earn the top spot on the awards stand.

Reyes, also seeded second, rode the momentum of three pins to the championship match against RB’s Jaden Abas, who won by a 2:28 pin.

Reyes won the 154 title at the recent Metro finals.

Eastlake, which finished 13th in the team standings, recorded five place-winners: Jesus Plasencia (fourth, 108), Michael Morgan (fifth, 197), Jacob Mejia (seventh, 122), Gavin Bartow (seventh, 134) and Tristan Curby (seventh, 184).

Otay Ranch and Sweetwater finished 17th and 18th, respectively, in the 19-team Division I field.

Rancho Bernardo advanced 10 wrestlers to the finals, winning seven weight class championships.

Go green
Hilltop finished 10th in the team standings at the Division II tournament in Fallbrook while Chula Vista finished 18th in the 18-team field.

Hilltop had six place-winners, four Masters qualifiers, two Masters alternates, and one finalist.

Christian Aguilera finished second at 122 pounds while Marc Nunez (fourth, 115), Thomas Loughner (fourth, 154) and Dominic Gurule-Metzig (seventh, 134) rounded out the Lancers’ contingent of Masters qualifiers.

Joaquin Angulo (108) and Isaac Santos (184) both finished eighth as alternates.

Chula Vista’s Eric Briseno finished eighth at 172 pounds.

Aguilera, seeded sixth in his weight class, upset Mira Mesa’s Calel Velasco by a 6-4 decision in the semifinals to draw Poway’s Carson Sauriol in the championship match.

Poway recorded 12 individual weight class champions and 13 finalists in romping to the Division II team title with 390.5 points. Mira Mesa finished second with 186 points.

Golden boy
Mater Dei Catholic scored some prestige points for its program by collecting one individual goal medal at the Division IV tournament at St. Augustine High School as Nicolas Demers won his 115-pound weight class.

The top four place-finishers at the Division IV tournament advanced to Masters.

The Crusaders recorded four Masters qualifiers, with Christian Silva (second, 172), Javier Salas (third, 128) and Karl Moreno (fourth, 147) joining Demers.

Keith Moreno (108) and Daniel Moreno (134) both finished fifth as alternates.

Mater Dei Catholic finished seventh in the 24-team field.

Imperial (230 points) edged Holtville (217.5 points) to win the team title.

 

 

CIF wrestling gets southern exposure at Montgomery High School

Castle Park, Mar Vista, Montgomery and Southwest high schools competed at the San Diego Section Division III championship wrestling tournament at Montgomery High School last Saturday.

The top six place-winners in each of the 14 weight classes earned berths to this weekend’s San Diego Section Masters state-qualifying tournament at San Marcos High School.

Mar Vista’s Roy Figueroa (128 pounds) and Montgomery’s Jose Sanchez (184 pounds) — both reigning Metro Conference champions — led the local contingent with third-place finishes.

Mar Vista’s Julian Winnie placed sixth at 122 pounds while Castle Park’s Guillermo Anguiano placed sixth at 162 pounds to also qualify for Masters.

Castle Park’s Xavier Alvarado secured an alternate position at 115 pounds after placing seventh in his weight class.

Mar Vista’s Elijah Eugenio (108) and Nathan Bingham (162) both finished eighth in their respective weights.

Montgomery finished undefeated in South Bay League dual meets this season.

“We did it with a whole bunch of young guys,” Aztec coach David Jarumayan said. “We had a lot of first-year wrestlers come out. Having numbers (in the lineup) made a difference.”

Castle Park finished runner-up to Montgomery in South Bay League dual meets with a 4-1 record. It’s been a season of renewal for the Trojans, who are having one of their most successful seasons in recent years.

“It’s been a great season,” CPHS head coach Robert Schertzer explained. “We have a lot of young kids, eager, who want to be pushed, always willing to learn. They all work hard. They’re young but coming along. The camaraderie is the big thing. They are together like a family. There are positive things coming up ahead.”

Brawley won its 19th consecutive CIF team championship after out-pointing the field with 254.5 points. Mt. Carmel finished a strong second with 223.5 points, followed by La Costa Canyon in third place with 195 points and Grossmont Hills League champion West Hills in fourth place with 189 points.

Mar Vista finished 14th in the 19-team field with 42 points, followed by Montgomery in 15th place with 25 points. Castle Park finished 16th with 18.5 points while Southwest finished 19th with three points.

Brawley advanced seven wrestlers to the semifinals and finished the tournament with five weight class champions. Mt. Carmel had five finalists and one champion while LCC had four finalists and three champions.

West Hills advanced five wrestlers to the finals, with Jake Maheu winning the 172-pound title.

Brawley’s champions included Daniel Moreno (108), Anthony Maldonado (115), Preston Brewer (128), Jose Gutierrez (140) and Jayden Smith (162).

“It was an ugly season with multiple injuries at the wrong time,” commented Brawley coach Tony Leon. “This tournament was the first time we’ve been healthy. We are young; we have three seniors on the team. We want to get better.”

The Wildcats will take 11 qualifiers to Masters to duel for state qualifying slots.

 

Division III Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents