2007 El Cajon Invitational
Cougars wrestling tough to start 2007-08 season

Posted Dec. 30, 2007
With an 11-1 dual meet record, it would be an understatement to say that the Steele Canyon High School wrestling team has had a very good start to the 2007-08 season. However, head coach Dan Kida said his team, while off to an exceptionally strong start, will undoubtedly face its toughest challenges the second half of the season.

“It’s difficult to set goals," Kida admitted."I don’ want to set expectations too high. We placed third last year at CIF. It’s going to be difficult to match that but that’s what we’re going for. For an individual to place at Masters and go to the state meet -- that would be a successful season for us.”

So far, knock on wood.

Steele Canyon competed in the Hamada duals at La Costa Canyon High School on Dec. 8, placing runner-up to the tourney-host Mavericks with a 5-1 record. The Cougars dropped a 52-12 decision to an LCC team considered among the best in the San Diego Section this season.

Perhaps a better indicator of Steele Canyon's wrestling prowess came at last weekend's El Cajon Invitational where the Cougars placed ninth in the field of 52 teams -- second-highest among San Diego Section squads. Steele Canyon came off the mat with three place-winners in the national-draw tourney: Caleb Cardenas was third in his 119-pound weight class while Robert Forester was seventh in his heavyweight division and Cody Rowland was eighth at 130 pounds.

This edition of El Cajon Invitational, held Dec. 28-29 at San Ysidro High School, returned to its former marquee status as an elite event with two teams from Oklahoma, including 15-time Oklahoma state and three-time national champion Midwest City, six from Arizona, as well as teams from Washington and Nevada.

Lake Stevens, a five-time Washington state champion, captured the team title with a 17-point edge over Midwest City, with Yuma Cibola following in third place and Cimarron-Memorial from Nevada in fourth place. Rancho Buena Vista, with two weight class champions, placed fifth (highest among San Diego Section teams) in the showcase mat fest.

Lake Stevens is the reigning 4A Washington state champion, Midwest City is the reigning Oklahoma 5A state champion while Cimarron-Memorial finished runner-up at the 2007 Arizona 4A state finals.

A total of seven Grossmont Conference teams participated, with the Cougars placing ahead of Helix (20th, 67.0 points), West Hills (21st, 65.0 points), Santana (32nd, 44.0 points), Valhalla (34th, 31.5 points), El Cajon Valley (42nd, 27.5 points) and Mt. Miguel (45th, 23.0 points).

"This was really our first tournament where we wrestled very talented teams, especially the teams from out of state. They were tough," Kida said. "I'm real proud of how our team held its own. Everybody won at least a couple matches."

The Cougars are 6-0 in non-tournament duals. Steele Canyon faced off the season with a 53-18 dual victory against Grossmont and tacked on subsequent wins against Santana (64-9) and El Capitan in match-ups against Grossmont North League teams.

“Our strength is our team strength,’ said Kida, who is making his second tour of duty with the Cougars following a two-year stint during the program’s transition from the junior varsity to varsity level. “We have team a few outstanding wrestlers like … We have team strength and a few wrestlers who should do well in tournaments.”

The Cougars' success this season has come despite fielding a lineup with six starting sophomores. "We're young and old at the same time," Kida said. "Next year we should have a good nucleus coming back. As a coach, you want to keep looking to back fill."

Cardenas finished with a 5-1 mark at the El Cajon Invitational that included three pins and a 10-0 major decision. He recorded victories against wrestlers from Hoover, Mater Dei Catholic, Lincoln and Cimarron-Memorial. His only loss was against eventual champion Willie Gunter of Midwest City in the semifinals. Cardenas defeated Cimarron-Memorial's Yosnay Malvarez by a 5-4 decision in the match for third place.

Forester won his opening two matches -- both by sub-minute falls before running into top-seeded Daniel Brutinel of Prescott, Ariz. The Cougar mat man pinned Lake Stevens' Zach Tauber in 2:49 in the wrestle-backs to qualify for the medal round. Forester edged West Hills' Rudy Ortega, 11-9, in the seventh-place match.

Rowland won three consecutive matches in the single-elimination wrestle-backs to qualify for the medal round. He finished 4-2 after dropping a 10-9 decision to Valley Center's Wyatt Castner in the seventh-place match. Rolan topped West Hills' Amir Adiea by 45-second pin and Santana's Tim Sherlock by 12-10 decision in the wrestle-backs to go with a 55-second pin against Shafter's Juan Barron. Rolan's two losses came against eventual champion Gabriel Miranda of Cibola and Midwest City's Ben Johnson (third place).

The Cougars will find out just how they stack up in the race for this year’s Grossmont South League title when they host Monte Vista on Thursday, Jan. 10. Steele Canyon dropped a tie-breaker to the Monarchs last season while dropping a 36-27 dual decision against defending league champion Valhalla. All three teams are favored again this year to vie for the league banner, with Granite Hills and Helix squads looking to impact the order of finish.

The Cougars did win the team title at last year’s conference championship tournament, out-scoring both Monte Vista (second) and Valhalla (third).

However, a strong start -- as well as a strong finish -- seems to be on order this season.

“That’s going to be a pretty good dual,” Kida said. “Both teams look very strong this year. It’s going to be a very important dual meet to set the stage for the rest of the season.”

The defending league champion Norsemen face off against Mt. Miguel in their opening Grossmont South League dual (at the Spring Valley school on Jan. 10) before hosting Steele Canyon on Jan. 17 in another high-stakes match-up. Valhalla competed at the ECI with just eight wrestlers because of illness and injuries, according to head coach Mark Gerardi. Better things could be in store for the Norsemen down the road, he said.

Ryan Schmehr was the lone Valhalla's place-winner, taking eighth place at 112 pounds.

"It was a great tournament. The out-of-state participation was very strong with teams from Oklahoma, Washington, Arizona and Nevada. We had some local teams go up against them and do well as well," Gerardi said. "(For Valhalla), I think once we get everyone back and everyone healthy, we'll be one of the contending teams."

ECI notepad
•Out-of-area teams grabbed 80 of the 112 individual medals (70 percent) awarded at this year’s tournament. A total of 14 San Diego Section teams were represented on the awards stand.

•Weight class champions received championship boxing-type belts instead of the usual trophies.

•Helix had three placers: A.J. Agustin (fourth, 112), E.J. Perkins (eighth, 189) and Patrick Phalen (eighth, 215).

•Orange Glen led the San Diego Section with three finalists (all runners-up): Andrew Natividad (130), Danny Varela (135) and Aaron Smith (145). The Patriots had four placers overall, with Ivan Archiniega finishing eighth at 160 pounds.

•RBV's two champions included Cody Fanning (152) and Trent Smith (285). RBV led the San Diego Section with six place-winners. Joining the two Longhorn tourney champs on the award stand were Gabe Estrada (fourth, 125), Russell Delmar (third, 145), Cory Moch (third, 189) and Johnny Perez (fourth, 215).

•Natomas 140-pounder Vlad Dombrosky earned the tourney's Outstanding Light Weight award with three pins, including falls against the weight bracket's top two-seeded grapplers.

•The Upper Weight MVP award went to Cimarron-Memorial 215-pounder Robert Atwood with five pins and one technical fall.

Lake Stevens had 12 medalists and five finalists while Midwest City had 10 placers and four finalists.

BV matsters turn in showcase performances
Two Barons earn medals at prestigious El Cajon Invitational

The Bonita Vista High School wrestling team appears headed for what could turn out to be a rather spectacular season — one perhaps capped by another championship showing.

The Barons ended the 2007 calendar season with a prodigious 16-4 dual meet record and top 20 showing in the El Cajon Invitational. The Barons showcased two individual place-winners in what has to be rated as one of the strongest fields in the 37 editions of the ECI tourney. Present at the Dec. 28-29 mat fest at San Ysidro High School were 15-time Oklahoma state and three-time national champion Midwest City, five-time Washington state champion Lake Stevens and 2007 Nevada state runner-up Cimarron-Memorial.

Overall, 10 out-of-state teams competed at the 52-team tournament, with Lake Stevens edging Midwest City by 17 points for the team title. Yuma Cibola finished third — two points ahead of Cimarron-Memorial.

The two BV placers were among 32 medalists from the San Diego Section and the only two from the six Metro Conference teams entered in the national-draw showcase.

Bryan Roughton, a transfer from Golden West in Visalia, placed sixth in his heavyweight class while senior Cesar Sandoval finished seventh at 125 pounds.
The Barons placed 16th as a team — the fifth-best showing by the 26 San Diego Section teams. Bonita Vista, which tallied 87.5 team points, trailed Rancho Buena Vista (fifth, 210 points), Steele Canyon (ninth, 111.5 points), Valley Center (10th, 107 points) and Orange Glen (106.5 points).

Eastlake, the next highest South County team, finished in 25th place with 57 points.

Otay Ranch (28 points) placed 41st in the team standings, followed by San Ysidro (46th, 17 points) and Southwest (48th, 11 points) and Mater Dei Catholic (49th, 10 points).

Roughton entered the ECI with a 19-1 record and tacked on a 4-2 tourney showing to reach the halfway point of the 2007-08 season with a commanding 23-3 individual record.

Roughton dropped a 3-2 decision against Ironwood (Ariz.)’s Caleb McGee in the battle for fifth place after jump-starting the tournament with a pair of wins. He collected three pins, dropping a tight 1-0 decision to Valley Center’s Jason Klingerman in the consolation semifinals (with the winner advancing to the third-place bout).

Sandoval entered the ECI 16-3 and left 20-5 after defeating Hoover’s Gary Green by a 13-4 major decision in the match for seventh place. Sandoval won his opening two matches — 4:22 pin and 22-7 technical fall — before dropping a 10-5 decision against eventual weight class champion Colbey Garrison of Cimarron-Memorial in the quarterfinals.

The Barons showed their potential by placing second to Hilltop in the inaugural Olympian-Metro Conference dual championships Dec. 14. Bonita Vista finished in the runner-up position by one point despite forfeiting two weight classes.

The Barons topped Montgomery, Eastlake, Castle Park and Otay Ranch before dropping the one-point decision against the Lancers in the finals. The narrow setback against reigning South Bay league champion Hilltop — the South Bay’s early season leader in invitational tournament showings — has bolstered the hopes of BV head coach Gabe Ruz that his team can not only repeat as Mesa League champions but have a shot at toppling the Lancers for the team title at the season-ending conference finals.

“We’re going for that Mesa League title,” Ruz said.

Ruz, who battled teams from Hilltop for league supremacy during a long coaching run at Montgomery, initially took over the BV coaching position to help keep the program going during a low point as well as having the unique opportunity to coach his son, who was making his high school wrestling debut as a Baron.

Since then, the Bonita Vista program has rebounded in major fashion, winning last year’s Mesa League title in a stunning 37-34 upset against Eastlake. The 2007-08 BV squad is obviously out to show that was no fluke performance last year but merely a harbinger of good things to come.

“I knew that Bonita was always a tough team to beat because they got kids to fill in all the weight classes,” Ruz said. “Now we’re getting some athletes out. That’s how a program builds itself.”

The Barons finished second at the Glendora, La Quinta and Olympian dual-format tournaments. The team has a mix of wrestlers from all grade levels who have been significant contributors to its success thus far.

“My sophomore class is wrestling tough,” Ruz said.

That sophomore class includes Ricky Haynes (112), Frank Bell (171) and Cody Lopez (189). Lopez entered the ECI with a 19-1 record.

The team’s junior standouts include Hector Arambula (152) and Nick Barnes (160). Barnes was 14-0 entering the ECI while Arambula was 12-0.

The Barons are next slated to compete at the Monte Vista varsity invitational Jan. 5.