2006 San Diego Masters Report:
Hilltop's Sardella is Metro's lone state qualifier

By Phillip Brents
Posted March 2, 2006

Hilltop High wrestling coach Tim Tyler described two-time San Diego Section Division II champion John Sardella as a tall, skinny blond kid with one important wrestling attribute: leverage.

Sardella used that attribute to his advantage at last Saturday’s San Diego Section Masters championship tournament at Otay Ranch High School to earn a trip to this weekend’s state championship tournament in Bakersfield.

“He’s got leverage. Some kids don’t understand leverage. John’s a little different. He uses it to his advantage. It was a nice deal,” said Tyler of Sardella’s third-place finish in the 140-pound division.

The top four place-finishers in each of 14 weight classes at last Saturday’s Masters finals advanced to the state tournament, with fifth-place finishers in four selected weights also receiving qualifying berths.

Sardella carries the torch as the Metro Conference’s lone state qualifier this season. Mar Vista’s Joey Martinez nearly joined him before suffering a last-second x-x loss to Vista’s Alex Trueblood in the 215-pound semifinals. Martinez then suffered a loss in the ensuing consolation semifinals to place fifth.

The only weight classes serving up fifth-place state qualifying berths were 103, 119, 140 and 145 pounds.

Sardella could have advanced to the state tournament even with a fifth-place finish but instead reserved his berth with a gutsy 5-4 overtime win against Granite Hills’ David Graciano in the consolation semifinals, thus guaranteeing the Hilltop wrestler no worse than a fourth-place finish.

Sardella emerged with the overtime win on a penalty point charged against Graciano for fleeing the mat.

“It was a gutsy call,” Tyler said of the official’s call that gave his wrestler a state berth.

Graciano finished sixth after a 10-4 loss to Vista’s Emerson Kanawi, the reigning San Diego Section Division I champion.

This year’s Masters tournament was one of the most exciting in recent years, particularly in the semifinal matchups. Xx higher-seeded grapplers suffered losses, with both top seeds in the heavyweight division sent to the wrestle-backs with upset losses.

Sardella drew eventual 140-pound champion Todd McKay of Mt. Carmel in the semifinals, dropping an 8-2 decision. Meanwhile, Poway sophomore Anthony Almanza topped Valhalla senior Keith Juengst by a 6-3 decision. Juengst, who had defeated Sardella by a 17-5 major decision in the finals of the Holtville Invitational, defeated Kanawi, 9-5, to advance against Sardella for third place.

However, Juengst, a sixth-place state medalist two years ago, injury defaulted to the Lancer mat man.

McKay shut out Almanza, 3-0, in the championship match.

Tyler, who was honored before the finals as an upcoming inductee in the National High School Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla., said he enjoyed the tournament’s quarterfinal-round the preceding day the most. “I thought overall there was some great wrestling. I thought there were some exciting matchups,” Tyler said.

Sardella, who earned the fourth-seeded position in his bracket, wrestled twice in the first day of competition after receiving a first-round bye. The Hilltop grappler defeated Scripps Ranch’s Chris Araiza by a 5-1 decision in the second round in a rematch of the pair’s Division II championship match that also went Sardella’s way by a 6-2 decision.

Tyler certainly had to be excited about the ensuing quarterfinals after Sardella posted a 15-7 victory against Kanawi, the Division I champion, to advance to the semifinals.

Martinez also entered this year’s Masters tournament seeded fourth in his weight class and wrestled his way to the semifinals with a 58-second pin against San Ysidro’s Joel Mendoza and an 11-4 win against RBV’s Kyle Karlicek. Martinez then appeared about to topple top-seeded Trueblood before the Vista wrestler came back to edge the Mariner standout, 7-6, in the dying seconds of their semifinal matchup.

Escondido’s Kellen Desmond then took advantage of an incompletely-executed move by Martinez in the consolation semifinals to record a 4:46 pin and take Martinez out of the running for a state qualifying berth. Martinez finished fifth after receiving a default win against Scripps Ranch’s Correy Vigil.

Sardella and Martinez were the only two Metro Conference wrestlers to advance to the semifinals, though a total of 13 area mat men qualified for the second day of competition, including 11 in the consolation wrestle-backs.

Other second-day qualifiers included Sweetwater’s Carmelo Trinidad (103), Montgomery’s Pedro Tapia (119), Mar Vista’s Matt Arroyave (125), Eastlake’s Eric Abordo (130), Hilltop’s Javier Martinez (135), Eastlake’s Hawk Thompson (135), Mar Vista’s Alan Matos (145), Eastlake’s Stephen Cooker (145), Bonita Vista’s Gabe Ruz (145), San Ysidro’s Juan Mendoza (275) and Hilltop’s Keoki Cavaco (275).

Defending state champion Poway qualified 13 wrestlers for this year’s state tournament, advancing 12 to the finals and winning eight individual Masters titles in a power-packed showing. Other schools with Masters champions included Brawley, Crawford, Mt. Carmel, Rancho Bernardo and Vista.

Former Bonita Vista state qualifier George Flores, now competing for Poway, earned a third trip to the state tournament after winning the 103-pound title with an 18-2 technical fall against Torrey Pines’ Daniel Kwittken. Flores, who finished second in the 103-pound class two years ago while competing for the Barons and fourth last year at 112 for Poway, improved to 38-4.

Hilltop, with 10 Masters participants, finished in a tie for 13th in the team standings with Fallbrook. Top 10 teams included Poway (first), Vista (second), Brawley (third), Carlsbad (fourth), Mt. Carmel (fifth), La Costa Canyon (sixth), Valhalla (seventh), Torrey Pines (eighth), Escondido (ninth) and Scripps Ranch (10th).