2006-07 San Diego Section
Wrestlers to Watch

San Diego Section Masters Finals

Redhawks' Peak wrestles to new heights
Five East County wrestlers qualify for state meet

Posted Feb. 27, 2007
Robin Peak is grateful that enough people cared not to cancel Mountain Empire High School wrestling program this season. Gary Priester was one of those who cared, coming out of self-imposed retirement after five years as head coach to make sure that Peak, in particular, had a chance to prove himself on the mat his senior year.

Call it can act of providence. Peak and Priester are both headed for Bakersfield this coming weekend after Peak bested all the competition to win his 189-pound weight class at last Saturday’s San Diego Section Masters state qualifying tournament at San Ysidro High School. It is the first time in more than 20 years that a Mountain Empire wrestler has qualified to compete in the state championship tournament.

Priester had to ask for directions to Rabobank Arena where the two days of competition (March 2-3) will be held.

“I was ready to retire from coaching the wrestling team and had told the school about my intentions,” said Priester, who helped coach his two sons, Noland and Nathan, to the Masters tournament during their prep wrestling careers at the Campo school. “But when I found out this year that they hadn’t found a new coach and that the district was ready to cancel the program, I stepped forward again.”

What Priester found was bare when he returned to the school. There were no dual meets on the Redhawks’ schedule and just one tournament — that at the very end of the regular season.

What followed was one of the most inspiring stories that one will ever find in a sport that stresses personal sacrifice, self-discipline and dedication.

Peak, a strappling physical specimen who has dedicated his life to Christ, made his season debut at the Helix varsity tournament on Feb. 3 (the 2006-07 season started in late November). He lost his second match to a competitor from La Costa Canyon. From there, he went undefeated, winning individual titles at the ensuing Coastal League and San Diego Section Division IV finals and capping this year’s Masters tournament with a last-second 4-2 victory against Imperial’s Cameron McNeer.

He was pre-seeded 24th (last in his weight class) at the Masters seeding meeting but fellow coaches, after seeing Peak on the mat, suggested that the 189-pound division be re-seeded. Priester had hoped for a No. 8 seed. Enough coaches were impressed by what they had seen that the Mountain Empire wrestler was seeded fifth.

The top four finishers in each weight class at Masters qualify for the state tournament. Peak opened the first day of this year’s Masters tournament with a bye before pinning Morse’s Kevin Luangkhot in 5:45 and recording a 6-5 decision against Vista’s Mike Thomas (seeded fourth) to advance to the semifinals.

In the second day of competition, Peak (16-1) edged top-seeded Jacob Jones of Southwest El Centro by a 3-2 decision to qualify for the championship match. Meanwhile, McNeer (seeded sixth) upset second-seeded Chris Thomas of Valhalla, 6-4, in overtime in the other semifinal.

Peak had defeated McNeer, 7-0, the previous week in the 189-pound championship match at the Division IV finals, though this time the Mountain Empire wrestler had to use a takedown at the edge of the mat as time expired to record the 4-2 win.

McNeer, a junior, finished 31-9.

Understandably, Peak showed a bit of exuberance on the mat after the inspired victory.

“I want to thank God first of all,” Peak said humbly while basking in the after glow of victory. “I want to thank my father and I want to thank my coach for coming back one more year. I couldn’t have done it without them. The next accomplishment is to place at state.”

Peak credited attending a camp sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes as being instrumental in guiding him to victory. “That was my second time going there.” Peal said. “It helped me so much in my confidence an pulling through to achieve your goal.”

Peak said the inspiration to excel at this year’s Masters tournament started at last year’s Masters when he went 0-2. “I went two and out and I wanted to come back and wrestle longer,” he said.

“That was his inspiration,” Priester said. “He wanted to come back here and win some matches. He worked out on his own during the off-season and stayed after our regular practices to lift weights. He was very self-motivated, our team captain.”

Peak received the coveted Jay Penacho award at the conclusion of the Masters tournament. The award is given to the tournament’ most inspirational wrestler.

Inspiration, in fact, is just what Peak found when he needed it most, he said. “I give all the credit to God. At that last stop, I had to pray,” he said.

Peak wasn’t the only one whose prayers were answered.

Five East County wrestlers, in all, qualified for this year’s state tournament, including four from the Grossmont Conference: Helix senior 135-pounder Stephen Alvarez (second), Valhalla senior 112-pounder Landon Holmes (third), Monte Vista senior 171-pounder Chris Eade (third) and Granite Hills sophomore 103-pounder Zach McClanahan (fourth).

All four joined Peak in the semifinals, with Alvarez (seeded fifth) pulling off one of the bigger upsets of the tournament with his 6-5 victory against top-seeded John Mossy of Santa Fe Christian, the section’s lone All-American at this season’s Reno Tournament of Champions.

Holmes, seeded second, was the victim of a 14-10 upset win by Ramona junior Chris Kirk in the semifinals. McClanahan and Eade were both seeded fifth in the tournament.

Alvarez (34-4) dropped a 7-2 decision to La Costa Canyon senior Elliott Dennis (40-5) in the championship round. The Helix wrestler was coming off a first-place finish at the Division II finals the previous week and before that won his weight class at the Grossmont Conference championship meet.

The postseason rush, however, came after nursing a late season injury that forced him to miss the final two regular season tournaments. He recorded a 9-0 major decision against fourth-seeded Beau Cervantes of Mt. Carmel in the quarterfinals before upending Mossy in the semifinals.

The semifinal win ensured Alvarez (who finished 47-7 last season) a spot in this year’s state tourney. He raised his arms in ecstatic triumph after defeating the No. 1 seed, then collapsed out of weariness once back in his corner.

“Joy. Excitement. Elation.” Alvarez said in enumerating the emotions he felt at perhaps the defining moment of his career thus far. “I knew I had punched my ticket to the state meet.”

Alvarez is the first Helix wrestler to qualify for the state tournament since 1998. He has been wrestling since the eighth grade and everything came together at the right time this season (he won the 103-pound weight class at the Division II finals as a sophomore and finished third at 125 pounds last season).

“I felt real confident. If you don’t believe in yourself, you’re not going to win any matches,” said Alvarez, who has applied to the ROTC program at Iowa University.

“He worked at it hard,” Helix coach Ken Jenkins said of Alvarez, a four-year varsity letter-winner. “We had a plan. You’re not going to accomplish anything without a plan.”

Holmes, the reigning Grossmont Conference and Division III champion with 30-plus wins to his credit this season, defeated Brawley’s Alfonso Osuna by injury default for third place.

Valhalla coach Mark Gerardi said he feels Holmes’ season is not quite over. “He had hoped to be in the championship match at Masters but ran into some adversity,” the Norsemen coach said. “But we’re not done. I think he’s got a good chance to go on at state and medal.”

At midseason, Holmes was ranked fifth in his weight class.

Eade, who finished second at the Division III finals after winning the Grossmont Conference title, pinned San Pasqual’s Dominic Grippo to finish third.

McClanahan, yet another Grossmont Conference champion, dropped a match by fall to Poway’s Matt Welsh (seeded third) to place fourth.

Granite Hills coach Bart Hartley said McClanahan (26-10) began to gain confidence at midseason. “He realized that he was better that he was wrestling,” Hartley said. “Confidence is everything in this sport.”

Valhalla’s Thomas had expected to join this year’s contingent of East County state qualifiers but ran into some adversity in the semifinals, trailing McNeer by a 4-2 score before tying the match at the end of the second period and then riding out his opponent for the entire third period before losing on the first takedown in overtime.

Thomas then drew Poway’s Sean Hill, ranked seventh in the state, in the consolation semifinals, with the winner earning a berth to the state tournament. Hill won 8-2

It was a bittersweet ending to an otherwise spectacular season for Thomas, who subsequently finished fifth at this year’s Masters with an injury default win against Mt. Carmel’s Keeton Hveem. Thomas had entered the tournament ranked sixth in the state.

“It was one of the toughest weight classes,” Gerardi said succinctly.

Steele Canyon’s Caleb Cardenas (second at the Division III finals) placed fifth in his 119-pound weight class. Seeded fifth, the Cougar standout finished 4-2 at Masters with losses to the second- and fourth-seeded wrestlers.

Monte Vista's Tim Pugsley (fourth at the Division III finals) placed sixth in his 215-pound weight class after winning four consecutive matches in the single-elimination wrestle-backs. His losses were to the third-, fourth- and fifth-placers in the tournament, the last by injury default.

Notepad
•Mountain Empire finished second as a team at the Coastal League championships.

•Granite Hills had five Masters qualifiers. Joining McClanahan were teammates Brent Harkins (4-21 at 140), Jacob Castillo (21-17 at 152), Derek Cockrum (28-13 at 160) and Justin Phillips (27-3 at 189).

•Poway set a state record by qualifying all 14 of its wrestlers to the state tournament, sending 10 to finals matches and coming away with seven weight class titles at Masters.

•Vista and Brawley, which finished second and third, respectively, in the team standings, both qualified six wrestlers for the state tournament.

•Poway’s Joe Boone (13) and Carlsbad’s Jordan Taghvai (215) were named the outstanding wrestlers at the 2007 Masters tournament while La Costa Canyon’s John Strom (152) and Vista’s Seth Rehn (160) each received the CIF sportsmanship award. Boone is ranked second in the state, Taghvai fourth.