Monte Vista mat men roar at 2K5 SDI
Monarchs narrowly out-pointed by Vista Panthers for team title

By Phillip Brents
Posted Jan. 6, 2005

The Monte Vista High School wrestling team, with 10 returning starters at its disposal, expects to once again challenge for the Grossmont South League dual championship and make a run at this season’s San Diego Section Division III team title. The Monarchs have won the last four league dual championships and finished second in the team standings at last season’s Division III finals, won by arch-rival Valhalla.

So far, Monte Vista’s mat men have not given head coach Steve Bulette any reason to doubt the team’s potential this season.

The Monarchs finished a scant 3.5 points behind Vista in the race for the team title of the 38-team fourth annual San Diego Holiday Invitational held Dec. 16-17 at Eastlake High School. Vista finished runner-up to state champion Poway at last season’s San Diego Masters championship meet and the Panthers once again look to challenge for the No. 2 spot in the section behind the invincible Titans.

Monte Vista actually led Vista by one-half point heading into the final match of the championship finals of this year’s San Diego Invitational. But with four tournament champions for the Panthers compared to the Monarchs’ two, the Monte Vista edge proved to be too narrow. Still, the Monarchs’ tourney performance has to be encouraging, especially at this stage of the season.

“It came down to one more win for us anywhere in the tournament,” Bulette said of the battle for the team title with the Panthers.

That stands as a pretty good measuring stick.

Monte Vista finished the tournament with eight medalists, including weight class champions Hunter Beamon (103 pounds) and Rudy Simmons (119 pounds) and third-place finisher Tim Day (145 pounds). Beamon earned further honors as the tournament’s Outstanding Light Weight wrestler.

Other medals went to Persio Morel (fourth place, 112 pounds), Chris Eade (fourth place, 160 pounds), Aaron Eberhart (fifth place, 140 pounds), Tim Pugsley (fifth place, 215 pounds) and Robert Grey (sixth place, 112 pounds).

Beamon, who entered the tournament seeded fourth in his weight bracket., swept through the tournament with five pins, including one in 16 seconds and another in 1:25. He pinned University’s Ariann Martinez in 5:40 in the championship round to raise his record to 15-2 with 13 pins. The Monarch sophomore is currently working on a streak of 12 consecutive falls.

The San Diego Invitational title was special: it was his first varsity tournament championship. Last year, he finished eighth in the same weight class. “My goal was just to win, to keep on pinning,” said Beamon, who started wrestling in the fifth grade with junior kids programs and finished as last season’s freshman league champion.

Simmons, executing some slick moves, improved his record to 13-4 with a 15-4 major decision victory against Clairemont’s Aaron Roper, the top-seeded grappler in the weight bracket. Simmons, who entered the tournament seeded second, finished with one pin, one 15-0 technical fall, an 8-1 decision (in the semifinals against Mt. Miguel’s Aray Camacho) and the finals major decision.

Day won a 5-4 decision from Tehachapi’s Eric Tercy to place third while Eberhart (28 seconds) and Pugsley (38 seconds) both scored sub-minute pins in winning their fifth-place matches.

A total of eight Monarchs advanced to the semifinal round.

The Monarchs’ prowess on the mat has been evident from the onset of the season. Monte Vista had two medalists at the season-opening 42-team El Dorado Holiday Invitational. Pugsley finished fifth at 215 pounds while Simmons was sixth at 119 pounds. As a team, the Monarchs finished in 18th place – 11.5 points behind Valhalla (three medalists).

Befitting the team’s talent level this season, the Monarchs upgraded their tournament schedule by competing in the Clovis West Shoot-Out (captured by defending state champion Poway with a 54-15 dual victory against returning state power Buchanan on Dec. 10). Several Monte Vista wrestlers did well in the 16-team event that is considered one of the top dual format tournaments in the state. Beamon went 6-0 with six pins.

Day, who placed third at last season’s Division III finals, went 5-1. Pugsley, a sixth-place finisher at last season’s divisionals, also went 5-1 and, in Bulette’s words, “looks to be a contender for a ticket to state.”

Grey and Pugsley finished second at last season’s Grossmont Conference championships.

Other Monte Vista wrestlers to contend with this season appear to be Eric Winchell and Eade. Winchell placed third in his 152-pound weight class at last season’s Division III championship meet and returns to the same weight class this season. He has been one of the team’s hardest workers, almost religiously attending off-season tournaments for the past several years, building his skills and talent level with each season.

Winchell entered the season ranked second in the 152 weight class behind Calexico’s Jorge Lopez (second at the El Dorado Invitational).

Eade, fifth at last season’s Division III finals, is a junior who is also improving fast, according to Bulette.

Monte Vista had seven place-winners at last year’s San Diego Invitational: Beamon (eighth place, 103 pounds), Jason Diaz (second place, 112 pounds), Simmons (sixth place, 119 pounds), David Hendricks (sixth place, 125 pounds), John Swafford (seventh place, 135 pounds), Trent Lewis (fifth place, 160 pounds) and Pugsley (eighth place, 215 pounds).

Overall, this year’s San Diego Invitational was a showcase for Grossmont Conference wrestlers. Helix’s Stephen Alvarez, El Capitan’s Tony Sangermano, Steele Canyon’s Bryce Bidegain, Mt. Miguel’s Greg Villalobos and Granite Hills’ Jesse Alexander joined Monte Vista’s Beamon and Simmons with finals appearances. Alvarez and Sangermano paired off for the 125-pound championship, with Alvarez (15-2) winning by an 11-3 major decision. Villalobos (9-1) scored an 8-1 victory against RBV’s Danny Chavez to win the 189-pound title. Bidegain dropped a 7-2 decision to Vista’s Joe Barajas at 145 pounds while Alexander dropped an 11-2 major decision to Tehachapi’s Joe Smith in the 215-pound division.

Other East County place-winners included Granite Hills’ Ross Logan (fourth, 135), David Graciano (fourth, 140) and Derek Cockrum (eighth, 160); Steele Canyon’s Caleb Cardenas (fifth, 112) and Tyler Ramer (sixth, 130); Mt. Miguel’s Camacho (fifth, 119) and Ivan Herrera (sixth, 160), Helix’s A.J. Agustin (seventh, 112) and Robert Burton (seventh, 119); El Capitan’s T.J. Herrera (third, 171) and Josh Garcia (fourth, 275); Santana’s Jake Anagnosastopolis (sixth, 189); and El Cajon Valley’s Cory Jackson (eighth, 103),

Helix (with three medalists) finished 12th in the team standings, five points ahead of Granite Hills (four medalists) in 13th place while Mt. Miguel (three medalists) finished 15th, Steele Canyon (three medalists) finished 17th and El Capitan (three medalists) finished 18th.

East County notepad
Steele Canyon had four quarterfinal qualifiers Cardenas (112), Ramer (130), Bidegain (145) and Garret Estevane (160). Helix had four quarterfinal qualifiers: Agustin (112), Alvarez (125), Victor Richmond (135) and Alex Burch (140).

Mt. Miguel had four quarterfinal qualifiers: Camacho (119), Herrera (160), Villalobos (189) and Jimmie Cavalier (215). Granite Hills had two quarterfinal qualifiers: Logan (135) and Alexander (215). El Capitan had a trio of quarterfinal qualifiers Sangermano (125), Herrera (171) and Garcia (275).

Other Grossmont Conference quarterfinal qualifiers included El Cajon Valley’s Jackson (103), Grossmont’s Valentin Cuevas (119), and Santana’s Tim Sherlock (125) and Anagnosastopolis (189).

In key match-ups that could swing future dual meet encounters, Steele Canyon’s Cardenas egded Monte Vista’s Grey, 9-5, in the fifth-place match while Granite Hills’ Alexander pinned Monte Vista’s Pugsley, seeded second in the weight bracket, 6:33 in overtime in a high impact semifinal encounter.

Panthers on the prowl
Vista finished the tournament with four champions and seven medalists to conclude a power-packed performance. Champions included Gregg Cohen (135), Joe Barajas (145), Jesse Foster (160) and Seth Rehn (171).

Rehn, seeded fourth, earned Outstanding Upper Weight honors with four pins, including a 3:35 fall against top-seeded Jacob Jones of Southwest El Centro in the semifinals, and a 13-8 victory against Central Union’s Alfonso Felix in the finals. Three of Rehn’s pins came in the first period, including pins of 42 and 45 seconds.

Cohen defended his top-seeded position with four falls and a 10-8 finals win against Santa Fe Christian’s John Mossy (seeded second). A returning state qualifier, Cohen scored three first-period pins, including falls of 15 and 44 seconds.

Barajas (seeded first) also cut a dominating path to the finals with three major decisions and a 19-1 technical fall in the semifinals before topping Steele Canyon’s Bryce Bidegain by a 7-2 decision for the weight class title.

Foster, seeded second used a 2:43 pin, 17-2 technical fall, 1:43 pin and 12-4 major decision to reach the fiinals, where he defeated Temecula Valley’s Marcus Ortega (who had upset top-seeded Chris Eade of Monte Vista in the semifinals) by an 8-4 decision.

The Panthers also came home with two third-place medals and one seventh-place medal, maximizing their point totals in the medal rounds with victories.

Derek Dixson (125) and Niall Morga (130) both finished third. Morga was seeded first but was knocked to the consolation round by a 9-3 loss in the semifinals against eventual champion Brock Gordon of Southwest El Centro. Dixson was seeded second but was knocked to the consolation rounds by a 12-3 major decision in the semifinals by eventual champion Stephen Alvarez of Helix.

Mike Thomas (215) placed seventh in his weight class.