2005-06 Grossmont Conference Preview:
Valhalla Norsemen: A look back, a look forward

By Phillip Brents

Before we preview the current season, it might be appropriate to take a look back at the 2004-05 campaign — one filled with both its share of pain and frustration but also its share of accomplishment … and, if you will, satisfying moments of glory for the Valhalla High School wrestling team..

The 2004-05 Norseman squad had some holes to fill. Several top-flight wrestlers were not in the lineup to open the season, most notably reigning San Diego Masters champion and state medal-winner (sixth at 103 pounds) Keith Juengst and Alan Canizalez. Though Canizalez later returned to the Valhalla roster, winning a Division III title in the process, the talented Juengst sat out the season. Still, head coach Glen Takahashi took what he had and molded it into a championship team.

2004 ECI
For decades, San Diego Section wrestlers have measured their postseason success by their fortunes at this venerable tournament. The axiom goes something like this: success at the El Cajon Invitational usually means success in postseason competition, including the state tournament. That was no more apparent than at the 2004 tournament as the Norsemen took an 11th-place team finish (only one of three San Diego Section teams to crack the top 10 team finishers) and came off the mat with six place-winners.

Brock Wenbourne (189) placed fourth in after advancing as far as the semifinals in the 35-team, two-day tournament. Joining Wenbourne on the awards stand were Adrian Canizalez (125) and Eli Garcia (152), both of whom finished seventh, and eighth-place medalists Matt Kielbasa (130), Bruno Salazar (145) and Justin Parker (171).

Canizalez, who is the only freshman on the Norsemen’s varsity roster, defeated Ventura’s Lalo Ordonez to enter his name in the tournament ledger.

Grossmont Conference Finals
The Norsemen captured the team title at the Grossmont Conference finals, tallying a meet-best 196 points to the 156.5 points posted by runner-up Granite Hills. Valhalla finished the tournament with 12 place-winners, seven finalists and five champions.

The Norsemen’s five conference champions included Jarrod Maguire (112), Alan Canizalez (135), Charles Tonnaer (140), Justin Parker (171) and Brock Wenbourne (189).

Maguire earned the Outstanding Lightweight award.

At the time, the tournament team title gave Wenbourne on the awards stand were Adrian Canizalez (125) and Eli Garcia (152), both of whom finished seventh, and eighth-place medalists Matt Kielbasa (130), Bruno Salazar (145) and Justin Parker (171).

Canizalez, who is the only freshman on the Norsemen’s varsity roster, defeated Ventura’s Lalo Ordonez to enter his name in the tournament ledger.

Grossmont Conference Finals
The Norsemen captured the team title at the Grossmont Conference finals, tallying a meet-best 196 points to the 156.5 points posted by runner-up Granite Hills. Valhalla finished the tournament with 12 place-winners, seven finalists and five champions.

The Norsemen’s five conference champions included Jarrod Maguire (112), Alan Canizalez (135), Charles Tonnaer (140), Justin Parker (171) and Brock Wenbourne (189).

Maguire earned the Outstanding Lightweight award.

At the time, the tournament team title gave the Norsemen bragging rights over fellow Grossmont South League tri-champions Granite Hills and Monte Vista, which finished second and fourth, respectively, in the tournament standings. (However, Valhalla later had to forfeit its dual meet victory against Monte Vista for use of an ineligible wrestler on a rule technicality, giving the Monarchs sole possession of the 2004-05 league dual championship.)

Nonetheless, the Norsemen put on an inspired performance to win the team title by a 40-point margin over the Eagles. Some of the highlights for Valhalla fans included Josue Martinez's repeat performance by once again pinning Rudy Simmons of Monte Vista to prove that his victory in the teams' dual meet was no fluke. Martinez finished second in his 119-pound division while Simmons placed third. Another memorable moment for Norsemen supporters was Tonnaer’s finals victory against Granite Hills’ Cade Muhlig. Tonnaer’s loss by fall to Muhlig at the Granite Hills dual contributed to a Granite Hills victory and share of the Grossmont South League title.

Valhalla’s Eli Garcia finished runner-up in his 152-pound weight class while third-place finishes went to Valhalla’s Adrian Canizalez (125) and Eric Kincaid (160).

Fourth-place finishes went to Valhalla’s Matt Kielbasa (130), Bruno Salazar (145) and Ben Pastore (275).

for Norsemen supporters was Tonnaer’s finals victory against Granite Hills’ Cade Muhlig. Tonnaer’s loss by fall to Muhlig at the Granite Hills dual contributed to a Granite Hills victory and share of the Grossmont South League title.

Valhalla’s Eli Garcia finished runner-up in his 152-pound weight class while third-place finishes went to Valhalla’s Adrian Canizalez (125) and Eric Kincaid (160).

Fourth-place finishes went to Valhalla’s Matt Kielbasa (130), Bruno Salazar (145) and Ben Pastore (275).

San Diego Section Division III Finals
Valhalla, with 11 medalists and four individual champions, finished in first place with a 73-point bulge on runner-up Monte Vista, which also finished the division tournament at Westview High School with 11 medalists.

The division title was the Norsemen’s 12th divisional in school history and first since 2001.

Valhalla had eight of its 11 medal-winners reach the championship round. Weight class champions included Jarrod Maguire (112 pounds), Alan Canizalez (135), Eli Garcia (152) and Brock Wenbourne (189). Second-place medalists included Josue Martinez (119), Charles Tonnaer (140), Bruno Salazar (145) and Ben Pastore (275).

Canizalez, with four pins in as many matches, earned the Outstanding Light Weight award.

Despite starting the season slow with injuries, the Norsemen appeared to peaking at the right time with a strong finish after capturing the Grossmont Conference championship title the previous week.

"That’s our philosophy. We want to peak at the right time. From the first day, we tell the kids never to shoot to high and never to shoot too low. For some of them, the end goal is state or nationals. We tell them there will be bumps along the way," Valhalla coach Glen Takahashi said.

The Norsemen experienced more than their share of those usual proverbial bumps along the road. But, in the grand tradition of a champion, they overcame that adversity to become stronger for it.
"They bonded with the adversity," said Takahashi of his resilient squad. "W we had our share of injuries. But we told the team that whoever we stand with at the end of the year, we go to battle with."

Takahashi said the team had grown together as a team, and that was responsible for much of the squad’s success. "Our entire program has grown with this experience," he said.

Valhalla finished with 268 points to handily win the 2005 CIF title.

"I don’t think that we had anyone who surprised. The surprise, and you might not necessarily call it a surprise, was that no one on the team quit (in the face of early adversity). That they hung in there might be our biggest surprise. That we had seven finalists and five champions (at the conference finals) shows that. But then we expect big things from our wrestlers each year," Takahashi said.

Valhalla had nine wrestlers seeded among the top two positions at the Division III finals. The Norsemen advanced 11 wrestlers to semifinal matches. Consolation round medalists included Matt Kielbasa (third, 130), Eric Kincaid (fourth, 160) and Justin Parker (third, 171).

Valhalla’s Anthony Espinoza (103) and Fred Hewitt (125) both finished seventh in their respective weights to earn alternate berths to the San Diego Masters tournament, bringing the total to 13 wrestlers (out of 14 weight classes) who were training the ensuing week to represent the Norsemen in the Masters tournament.

"We knew it was going to be a battle. The kids were told to wrestle every one like they were a state champion," said Takahashi of his team's runaway CIF team championship victory.

San Diego Masters Finals
The San Diego Section Masters wrestling tournament is called the great leveler of talent. It serves as the section’s state qualifying tournament and brings the top qualified wrestlers together from the four divisional enrollment divisions under a two-day format to determine which competitors have all the necessary tools to compete alongside the best in the state.

Four Grossmont Conference wrestlers earned the right to compete at the state championship tournament. Among them was Valhalla junior Jarrod Maguire (112 pounds).

How tough is this tournament? Of the 112 divisional finalists (first- and second-place placers from the four enrollment divisions), less than half (45 percent) qualified for the year’s state tournament. The Grossmont Conference sent eight divisional champions and 60 divisional qualifiers to the 2005 Masters tournament. Of the eight individual CIF champions, two qualified for the state meet. Of the conference’s 23 second-day qualifiers, eight made it to on the awards podium. Just four of the conference’s 60 Masters entrants made it through to the state finals — itself a grueling two-day tournament in which just eight of 38 qualifiers in each weight class receive medals.

Blackened eyes, bloodied noses and swollen faces were often the reward for success at Masters.

The top four place-winners in each weight class advanced to the state meet, with three additional fifth-place wild-card finishers also getting tickets to the elite Bakersfield meet.

Those fifth-place state qualifying berths turned out to be at 103, 112 and 160 pounds. However, at the time of the fifth-place matches took place, no one knew which bonus weight classes the San Diego Section would receive.

Valhalla had three wrestlers entered in fifth-place matches. Veteran Norsemen coach Glen Takahashi put it best by simply telling one of his wrestlers before stepping onto the mat. "You’ve got one match left. Just go out and win it."

At this point after two days of grueling competition, there was not much else that could be said.

Maguire and fellow juniors Alan Canizalez (135) and Bruno Sala- Salazar (145) were the three Valhalla wrestlers left standing out of 11 initial Masters qualifiers. Maguire and Canizalez both won their medal-round matches while Salazar placed sixth. Maguire edged Carlsbad junior Matt Duffy 6-4 while Canizalez, a late season returner to the Valhalla lineup, stopped Mt. Carmel junior Bryce Hansen 8-2. Central Union sophomore James Smith eliminated Salazar by a 1:20 pin.

Maguire won the lottery ticket, as it turned out.

Valhalla led the conference with seven second-day qualifiers. Joining Masters medalists Maguire, Canizalez and Salazar as second-day qualifiers were Eli Garcia (152), Eric Kincaid (160), Justin Parker (171) and Ben Pastore (275). Both of the Norsemen’s two divisional alternates got into the opening day of the Masters tournament: Anthony Espinoza (103) and Fred Hewitt (125).

The Norsemen captured a satisfying seventh-place finish in the section finals to show the hard work and dedication this team had to endure over what turned out to be a long, eventful season. The good news was that the team would bring back its three highest finishers at Masters as well as seven other Masters participants.

2005 State Championships
The best and most talented wrestlers throughout California converged on Rabobank Arena (formerly Centennial Garden) in Bakersfield March 4-5 to try to become the best in the state. The number of high school sports that declare individual state champions by direct one-on-one matchups is short. Wrestling is one of the most grueling and demanding of them.

Though the emphasis might not have been on wins, the Grossmont Conference's four state qualifiers — El Capitan senior Wes "Tank" Fenton, Valhalla junior Jarrod Maguire and Granite Hills seniors Jesse Banaga and Garret Grizzle — went where few ever got a chance to go. Approximately 700 wrestlers throughout the state compete in each weight class. Only the top eight finishers at the state championships are awarded medals.

The conference’s "Four Horsemen" were among the San Diego Section’s 60 qualifiers (in 14 weight classes) from a pool of approximately 800 varsity wrestlers.

They were the few and the proud.

Maguire, the fifth-place finisher in the San Diego Section, lost his opening-round match of the tournament against Santa Fe senior Jojo Rodriguez, the fourth-place finisher from the Southern Section, by a 12-1 major decision. The loss dropped the Grossmont Conference champion to the single-elimination consolation wrestle-backs where he drew San Diego Section champion Marlon Frausto from Eastlake. Frausto eliminated Maguire by a 3-1 decision.

Frausto would advance to within one victory of earning a state medal in the tournament. Foothill senior Brian Moreno, a defending state champion, would capture the weight class title with a 5-3 championship-round decision against Fremont junior Filip Novachkov.

2005-06 Preview
In the early stages of the 2005-06 season, there appears to be some genuine promise. Juengst is back in the lineup after a season’s absence and those who churn out the state rankings have not forgotten him, ranking him eighth at 140 pounds to jump-start the new season.

With two upper weight wrestlers still out of the lineup because of duty in the football playoffs (on Valhalla’s best-ever pigskin squad), as well as SAT testing and eligibility issues, the Norsemen brought eight wrestlers to the season-opening El Dorado Holiday Invitational. Three medaled: Jarrod Maguire (sixth, 125), Keith Juengst (fourth, 140) and Bruno Salazar (second, 171). As a team, Valhalla finished 14th — 3.5 points ahead of Monte Vista.

Salazar pinned his way into the finals against Poway senior Greg Prioleau, who then pinned his way to the Outstanding Heavy Weight award. Salazar had only seven minutes of mat time prior to the finals.

In placing fourth, Juengst lost a 7-4 decision to La Sierra’s Chris Pineda (it is interesting to conjecture whether the two will rematch at this year’s ECI).

Maguire dropped a 13-8 decision to Poway’s Colin Kenley to place sixth.

It was then off to the prestigious Reno Tournament of Champions where even more grueling competition awaited.

Fight the future
While Valhalla’s varsity squad hopes to be at full strength in January to hopefully able to make an impact at season’s end, there are a number of younger wrestlers who are gaining invaluable experience.

Two Valhalla junior varsity wrestlers placed at the annual John Bright JV/Frosh tournament Dec. 2-3 at Poway High School. Sophomore Mike Quihuis won the 125-pound title while Waseem Sako was third at 140 pounds.

The freshman team placed third behind Poway and Brawley. The Salazar twins, Renzo (135) and Franco (140), joined teammate Wade Templeton (130) as champions. Templeton was also named lightweight MVP. Vincent Luna finished second at 275 pounds.

Freshman Renzo Salazar pinned his opponent from Mt. Carmel in finals to become the only Valhalla champion at this year’s El Cajon Junior Varsity Invitational.

Valhalla’s "B" varsity team competed at the Marauder Invitational Dec. 10 at Serra High School. Eric Kincaid-Sharp advanced to the semifinals of his 160-pound weight class, finishing third with a 2:01 pin of Point Loma’s Geoff Cummings.

The Keith Juengst File
2004-05 Accomplishments
Weight class: 103 pounds
•6th state medalist
•1st San Diego Masters
•1st San Diego Section Division III
•1st Grossmont Conference