Mesa League dual championship:
Holy headgear! Barons top Lancers, 30-29, in final match

Posted Feb. 11, 2009
The crowd in the Bonita Vista stands roared. “Steve-ie! Steve-ie!”

Just moments before the chant had been “Cod-y! Cod-y!” But when Baron strongman Cody Lopez was unable to pin Hilltop’s Joel Porras in their 215-pound match, it appeared that host Bonita Vista’s spirited comeback from a 23-10 deficit might go for naught.

The Lancers had taken a two-point lead in the match following Lopez’ when Lancer heavyweight Andrew Aguilar received a forfeit victory. All that remained for Hilltop to do in the Mesa League championship encounter Feb. 5 at BVHS was to win the final 103-pound match to secure this year’s league dual meet title, thus extending its string of consecutive league titles to seven.

But Baron junior Steve Johnston had ideas of his own: A BV win in the final match would extend the Barons’ league championship streak to three years running.

Hilltop’s Jonny Talamantes drew the assignment to preserve the lead and it looked like the Lancers might escape the hostile surroundings with just that — adding to six consecutive South Bay League dual titles. Talamantes took an early 2-1 lead and nearly had his opponent in a pinning move. But Johnston fought his way out of the hold and tied the bout at three points apiece to end the opening period on a reversal.

The two lightweights grappled throughout the second period, with each seemingly ready to take control. It was Johnston who succeeded first, putting Talamantes on his back for a near fall en route to taking an 8-3 lead heading into the final period. The decibel level began to rise on the BV side of the gym as the clock ticked down. Talamantes once again got Johnston into a pinning hold and the Hilltop fans began to air out their lungs in turn.
But when Johnston fought off the hold once again and scored a reversal, a 10-3 win was in the books and the Barons were 2009 Mesa League champions.

“We were playing catch-up all night long. I told the guys to be patient,” BV coach Gabe Ruz said. “It was unbelievable.”

Hilltop coach Thomas Juarez, a former wrestler for Ruz at Montgomery High, put together some master strategy by refusing to give into the Barons’ strengths. The Lancers hugged the edge of the mat and avoided potentially damaging tie-ups. The strategy almost worked.

Bonita Vista trailed by 134 points when the team’s “Fantastic Four” finally came up in succession: Hector Arambula (160), Nick Barnes (171), Frank Bell (191) and Lopez. Pins by all four likely would send the Barons on to victory. But the Lancers wrestled tough, giving up only two pins (by Barnes and Bell) to severely limit the hosts’ scoring potential. Instead of running off 24 unanswered points and taking a 34-23 lead with two matches remaining, Bonita Vista led only 27-23.

Hilltop won five of the first eight bouts, including two by pin (Mike Reyes at 130 and David Ramirez at 152). The Barons won five of the last six, including two by fall.

“When everybody was coming up to me and saying that I had to get a pin, it was insane,” Barnes said.

The Bonita Vista lead vanished with a forfeit loss at 285 pounds, leaving Johnston and Talamantes to decide their respective teams’ championship fortunes.

Johnston said when the crowd began chanting his name, it put the entire season into perspective.

“It gave me the energy to push through for my school,” he said. “I just felt that with all the practices we went through and then to go out and lose, I had to win. When he got me in the half-nelson, I knew I had to get my head out and get up off the mat.”

The Baron fans counted down the final 10 seconds.

9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

“I thought it was fantastic,” said Ruz of the dual meet’s spine-tingling ending. “Steve’s a real tough competitor, tough as they come. I feel good putting him out there. We got a lot more than those four.”

Ruz said the dual may have been decided in the very first match when Mike Jaimes lost by a 15-0 technical fall to Hilltop strongman Anthony Salinas, ranked fourth in the section at 112 pounds.

“We had to put a freshman in at 112 pounds. It was his first varsity match,” Ruz said. “His job was just not to get pinned. He lost 15-0 and that proved to be the difference (in the final team score). That got us off to a good start. I knew it was a good omen for us.”

“We’ve still got a young team,” Barnes said. “We’ll be back next year.”

In Hilltop’s gym this time.

Bonita Vista 30, Hilltop 29
Thursday, Feb. 5 at Bonita Vista High School
112: Anthony Salinas (Hilltop) tech fall Mike Jaimes (Bonita Vista) 15-0. Hilltop leads 5-0.
119: Ricky Haynes (Bonita Vista) major decisioned Eli Eaves (Hilltop) 13-0. Hilltop leads 5-4.
125: Carlos Ayala (Bonita Vista) decisioned Ricardo Aceves (Hilltop) 6-3. Bonita Vista leads 7-5.
130: Mike Reyes (Hilltop) pinned Dalton Randolph (Bonita Vista), second period. Hilltop leads 11-7.
135: Matt Reyes (Hilltop) decisioned Andrew Humiston (Bonita Vista) 10-5. Hilltop leads 14-7.
140: Aaron McCrorey (Bonita Vista) decisioned Edgar Sanchez (Hilltop) 3-0. Hilltop leads 14-10.
145: Roman Flores (Hilltop) decisioned Taylor Breland (Bonita Vista) 13-6. Hilltop leads 17-10.
152: David Ramirez (Hilltop) pinned Alex Contreras (Bonita Vista) 2:52. Hilltop leads 23-10.
160: Hector Arambula (Bonita Vista) decisioned David Cinco (Hilltop) 7-5. Hilltop leads 23-13.
171: Nick Barnes (Bonita Vista) pinned Alex Kekic (Hilltop) 1:22. Hilltop leads 23-18 (Bonita Vista penalized one team point deducted for unsportsmanlike conduct).
189: Frank Bell (Bonita Vista) pinned Chance San Miguel (Hilltop) 3:30. Bonita Vista leads 24-23.
215: Cody Lopez (Bonita Vista) decisioned Joel Porras (Hilltop) 15-8. Bonita Vista leads 27-23.
285: Andrew Aguilar (Hilltop) wins by forfeit. Hilltop leads 29-27.
103: Steve Johnston (Bonita Vista) decisioned Jonny Talamantes (Hilltop) 10-3. Bonita Vista wins 30-29.

Hilltop High School Varsity Wrestling Records
(Through Feb. 6, 2009)

103: Angel Seville 14-6 (fourth Mira Mesa, fifth San Pasqual)

112: Anthony Salinas 26-6 (first Battle by the Beach,first Mira Mesa, second San Pasqual, second Monte Vista, fifth Holtville, seventh ECI)

119: Eli Eaves 21-11 (third Battle by the Beach, first Mater Dei)

125: Ricardo Aceves 20-11 (fifth Battle by the Beach, fifth Mira Mesa, fifth Monte Vista, third Mater Dei)

130: Mike Reyes 19-8 (second Battle By the Beach, fourth Mira Mesa, injured in semifinals, fourth Holtville)

135: Matt Reyes 27-6 (first Mater Dei, third San Pasqual, third Holtville, fourth Monte Vista)

140: Jason Jasmund 15-10 varsity (second Mater Dei), 3-2 JV (fourth Monte Vista JV)

145: Roman Flores 25-10 (third Battle by the Beach, third Mira Mesa, third Holtville, sixth San Pasqual)

152: David Ramirez 23-9 (fourth Holtville, fifth Battle Beach, fifth Mira Mesa)

160: David Cinco 20-9 (third Battle by the Beach,first Mater Dei, third San Pasqual)

171: Alex Kekic 7-7 varsity, 17-2 JV (first Hilltop JV, first Mater Dei JV, first Otay Ranch JV, fifth Monte Vista JV)

189: Chance San Miguel 18-7 3rd Mira Mesa, 6th San Pasqual

215: Joel Porras 16-8 (fourth Mira Mesa, third Mater Dei)

285: Andrew Aguilar 15-4 varsity (first Mater Dei, second Holtville), 10-0 JV (first Hilltop JV, first Otay Ranch JV)

Metro Conference Report:
Mar Vista, Chula Vista, Otay Ranch combine for six medalists at season-ending Helix varsity tournament; next up ... Metro finals

Posted Feb. 10, 2009
The 2008-09 Metro Conference wrestling championship tournament is scheduled Saturday, Feb. 14, at Sweetwater High School. While Bonita Vista and Hilltop look to contribute a lion’s share of wrestlers to the championship finals, newly-crowned South Bay League champion Mar Vista as well as Chula Vista and Otay Ranch also look to impact the tournament with standout performers.

The Mariners, Mustangs and Spartans were all in action at last Saturday’s 37-team Robert Jenkins Memorial tournament at Helix High School. The three Metro teams combined to send six mat men to the awards stand — not quite such an easy task in both how the tournament is formatted and the caliber of sectionwide competition assembled.

Chula Vista junior 189-pounder Roman Molina had a breakthrough performance by placing second in his weight class while Spartan senior Gustavo Ortiz finished third in his 145-pound division.

Mar Vista’s Carter Barnett was third at 152 pounds while teammate Joe Rilatt was fourth at 160 pounds,

For Otay Ranch, Eddie Bajet finished third at 171 pounds while Eddie Estevez was fourth at 103 pounds.

Mar Vista, which went undefeated in six league duals, finished 10th in the team standings with 74 points, followed by Otay Ranch in 11th place with 73.5 points. Chula Vista was 15th with 60 points.

Westview, which now has to be considered a strong contender to win the upcoming San Diego Section Division II team championship, captured this year’s Helix varsity tournament team title with 210.5 points, followed by longtime North County power Vista (second, 162 points) and rising East County power-broker Steele Canyon (third, 155.5 points).

Steele Canyon entered the final round in the lead before being overtaken by both the Wolverines and Panthers. Westview finished with five finalists and three individual champions while Steele Canyon had four finalists but only one managed to win his weight class.

Torrey Pines (fourth, 145 points), Carlsbad (fifth, 144 points), Poway (sixth, 142 points), Monte Vista (seventh, 97 points), Fallbrook (eighth, 93.5 points) and Brawley (ninth, 93 points) rounded out the top 10 teams.

With the 40-match rule limiting many teams’ lineups, the three South Bay teams still had to be pleased by their showing in the top half of the tournament field.

Molina was seeded sixth in his weight class but moved along the tournament bracket with a 13-4 major decision and 5:39 fall to meet second-seeded Alex Rossell of Monte Vista in the semifinals. Molina pinned Rossell in 41 seconds to draw Westview’s Mike Hadley in the finals.

Hadley, the top-seeded grappler in the weight class, recorded his fourth pin in as many trips to the mat by pinning Molina in 2:48. With his four pins, Hadley was named the tournament’s outstanding upper weight wrestler.

Molina opened the season with a second-place finish at the Mar Vista Battle by the Beach tournament in December and finished with a silver medal at the inaugural Mater Dei team tournament in mid-January.

Ortiz, who has been wrestling at the varsity level since his freshman year, opened the season by winning his weight class at the Battle by the Beach tournament and earning a silver medal at the Mater Dei team tourney. He finished second in last year’s Mesa League finals but has set a goal to qualify for this year’s state tournament.

Ortiz is currently undefeated in league and improved his overall record to 30-4 following the Helix tournament. He has 13 pins this season.
Ortiz was seeded fourth at the Helix tourney and advanced to the semifinals with a 7-4 win by decision and a default victory. He lost 4-2 to top-seeded Todd Graff of Steele Canyon but responded with two wins in the consolation round — both by decision — to finish third.

Barnett and Rillat both made the semifinals in their respective weights. Rilatt, in fact, earned the No. 1 seed in his weight division and promptly scored two pins to advance to the semis until he was untracked with a loss by fall to a wrestler from Poway. Barnett was seeded second in his weight class and advanced to the semifinals on the strength of two wins, including a 54-second pin, until he dropped an 11-7 decision to his semifinal opponent from Torrey Pines.

Barnett finished the tourney strong with a pair of wins in the consolation bracket.

Otay Ranch has started to demand some respect on the mat despite fielding a very young team.

Estevez and Bajet both made the finals of the San Ysidro tournament the previous week, with Estevez winning his weight class and Bajet placing second to Bonita Vista’s Frank Bell. Estevez was a victim of the five-match rule that prevented him from wrestling in the third-place bout (which would have been his sixth match that day). As it was, Estevez finished the tournament with two pins and one technical fall. Bajet, who also finished 4-1, won by forfeit in his third-place match.

Jonathan Henkle, who did not compete at the Helix event, captured the heavyweight title at the preceding San Ysidro Invitational. He also won his weight class at the Rim of the World tournament.

Metro preview
Other top showings at Saturday’s Metro finals should include those by Eastlake and Sweetwater. The Titans recorded a top 10 finish at the Holtville Invitational two weekends ago while the Red Devils had two finalists at the San Ysidro Invitational that same weekend en route to a sixth-place team finish.

Eastlake’s David McCluggage finished second in his 140-pound division at the Holtville Invitational and currently sports a 26-7 overall record while teammates Ryan Gobeil (22-9) finished third at 125 pounds and Xavier Godoy (16-6) was fifth at 171 pounds.

Other top Titans include heavyweight Matthew Gaughan (25-9), 125-pounder Keith Martin (25-10), 152-pounder Stephen Lampa (22-8), 145-pounder Juan Inumerable (20-12), freshman 103-pounder Mathias Mendillo (14-7) and 135-pounder Florencio Medina (13-4).

Anthony Alviz (119 pounds) has the best winning percentage on the team with his 8-1 varsity record.

Mendillo and Patrick Zamora (160 pounds) both finished 5-0 at the Mater Dei duals while Medina, McCluggage, Godoy and Josh Bonoan (215 pounds) all posted 4-1 records.

SuHi’s Ricardo Yaji (112 pounds) and Alvaro Castillo (215 pounds) both placed second in their weights at the San Ysidro Invitational. The Red Devils had two more medal-winners: Cesar Chavez (third, 135 pounds) and Omar Vargas (fifth, 171 pounds).

Sweetwater had three gold medalists at the Mater Dei duals: Chavez (135), Carlos Guerrero (140) and Castillo (215).

San Ysidro's Joey Alvarez finished second to Bonita Vista's Ricky Haynes at the San Ysidro Invitational while Castle Park's Jovonnie Gonzalez captured the 140-pound weight division. Trojan heavyweight Alexi Saaman finished second at the San Pasqual Invitational on Jan. 24 but suffered an injury and did not compete at the San Ysidro tournament.

Hilltop finished sixth in the team standings at the San Pasqual Invitational. Place-winners included: Angel Seville (fifth, 103 pounds), Anthony Salinas (second, 112 pounds), Matt Reyes (third, 135 pounds), Roman Flores (sixth, 152 pounds), David Cinco (third, 160 pounds) and Chance San Miguel (sixth, 189 pounds).

The order of finish at December's Metro Conference duals was as follows: Bonita Vista (first), Hilltop (second), Eastlake (third), San Ysidro (fourth) and Mar Vista (fifth).

Mar Vista defeated San Ysidro, 33-32, in what turned out to be the South Bay League championship dual meet. The Cougars finished second in the league dual standings ahead of third place Sweetwater.

Mar Vista defeated San Ysidro, 33-32, in what turned out to be the South Bay League championship dual meet. The Cougars finished second in the league dual standings ahead of third place Sweetwater.

Metro Conference Report:
Pinning parade propels Barons to top of San Ysidro Invitational

Posted Feb. 4, 2009
With 10 semifinalists, seven finalist and five individual weight class champions, the Bonita Vista Barons stamped their name firmly on last Saturday’s San Ysidro Invitational. For those keeping score, this could be the Barons’ best team in the last two decades — the Mike Mendoza-Ernie Rios-Tommy Casper squads of the mid-1990s notwithstanding.

“What makes this team so good is that all the guys are contenders to win,” BV head coach Gabe Ruz said.

The Barons are set to face off against Hilltop Thursday for the Mesa League title at 6 p.m. The Barons enter the dual match-up as two-time defending Mesa League champions while the Lancers have won six consecutive South Bay League dual titles before moving to the Mesa League this season.
Both teams will compete for apparent supremacy at the Metro Conference championship tournament Feb. 14 at Sweetwater High School. The San Diego Section divisional championships follow on Feb. 21.

Bonita Vista looks to contend for the Division II team title alongside Mt. Carmel and Westview. The Barons remain surprisingly unranked this late in the season. In keeping with their season-long war for respect, Ruz’ mat warriors appear to have won another battle at San Ysidro.

Bonita Vista finished with 248 points — well ahead of second place Serra (134,5 points) and more than double that of third place Otay Ranch (114 points). Scripps Ranch (111 points) finished fourth, followed by Madison (fifth, 108.5 points), Sweetwater (sixth, 101 points), Lincoln (seventh, 96 points) and San Ysidro (eighth, 91 points).

Barons champions included Ricky Haynes (121 pounds), Hector Arambula (154 pounds), Nick Barnes (162 pounds), Frank Bell (173 pounds) and Cody Lopez (191 pounds). Arambula, Barnes, Bell and Lopez all won by pin in their finals matches.

Finishing second in their respective weights for Bonita Vista were Andrew Humiston (137 pounds) and Aaron McCrorey. Other Baron medalists included Steve Johnston (third, 105 pounds), Teddy Mendoza (fifth, 114 pounds) and Deiranieh (third, 127 pounds) for a team total of 10 medalists — tops among the 10 Metro teams entered in the 26-team tournament.

Dalton Randolph nearly made it 11 medalists for the Barons after losing a 9-8 decision to Otay Ranch’s Vic Anton in the fifth-place match at 130 pounds.

Barnes, Bell and Lopez all finished with four pins in as many matches while Arambula had three pins.

Haynes started off the Bonita Vista championship parade by recording a tooth-and-nail 6-5 victory against San Ysidro’s Joey Alvarez. The top-seeded wrestler in the weight class, Alvarez entered the tournament with 21 wins and 16 pins. Haynes, seeded third, upset the second-seeded wrestler in the weight class, Scripps Ranch’s Andrew Palmes, with a 5-2 semifinal win to draw Alvarez in the title match.

Arambula pinned Lincoln’s Daniel Johnson in 3:09 to capture the 154-pound individual championship. Arambula’s three pins include a 37-second fall in first round and a fall in 3:23 in semifinals. He also won by a 17-3 major decision in the quarterfinals.

Barnes pinned Scripps Ranch’s Nick Kieper in 2:31. Barnes pinned his three previous opponents in 1:26 (first round), 0:49 (quarterfinals) and 2:47 (semifinals).

Bell, who towers over most of his opponents, pinned Otay Ranch’s Eddie Bajet in 2:13 in a potential preview of the upcoming Metro finals. Bell opened the tournament with pins of 2:33 (first round), 2:52 (quarterfinals) and 1:01 (semifinals).

Bajet, seeded third, scored a 6-4 victory against second-seeded Yaraslav Katkov of Scripps Ranch in the semifinals after opening the tournament with pins of 3:15 and 2:10.

Lopez may have produced the most dominating performance of the tournament for the Barons with pins of 1:08 (first round), 1:26 (quarterfinals), 0:47 (semifinals) and 1:46 (finals). Lopez pinned Serra’s Jordi Kata in the championship round.

Humiston dropped a 9-1 major decision to top-seeded Chris Seo of Mission Hills in his finals match while McCrorey lost by a 3-1 decision to Castle Park’s Jovonnie Gonzalez.

Gonzalez was seeded second in his weight class; McCrorey upset top-seeded Armondo Viramontes of Montgomery in the semifinals to advance to meet Gonzalez.

Overall, eight Metro wrestlers captured individual weight class titles at last weekend’s San Ysidro Invitational while South County teams combined for 15 finalists.

Otay Ranch finished with two champions — Eddie Estevez (105 pounds) and Jonathan Henkle (heavyweight) — three finalists and four medal-winners overall.

Estevez defeated three Metro wrestlers in succession to advance to the championship match. He opened the tournament with pins of 4:53 (against San Ysidro’s Carlos Portillo) and 25 seconds (against Mater Dei's Jorge Gamez) and out-pointed top-seeded Johnston of Bonita Vista, 6-5, in the semifinals. Estevez pinned Canyon Crest Academy’s Josh Spry in the championship round in 1:39 to finish with three falls in four matches.

Henkle earned the top seed in his weight class, pinning all three of his opponents en route to capturing the gold medal. He pinned his first opponent in 41 seconds and followed with a 3:13 pin in the semifinals.

Also placing runner-up in their respective weights were Sweetwater’s Ricardo Yaji (114 pounds) and Alvaro Castillo (217 pounds) and Montgomery’s Mario Alvarez (147 pounds).
Yaji, seeded third, scored pins of 1:30 and 1:15 to advance to the finals where he dropped an 11-8 decision to Canyon Crest's Daniel Gallenson.

Castillo also recorded a pair of falls — 3:09 and 3:20 — to qualify for the finals.

Alvarez jump-started the tournament with two pins (1:58 and 1:38) before scoring a 9-8 win in the semifinals.

Sweetwater finished the tournament with four medalists: Yaji (second, 114 pounds), Cesar Chavez (third, 137 pounds), Omar Vargas (fifth, 173 pounds) and Castillo (second, 217 pounds).

Tourney host San Ysidro finished with five medalists: Portillo (fifth, 105 pounds), Alvarez (second, 121 pounds), Brandon Gregory (fifth, 127 pounds), Christian Quevedo (third, 154 pounds) and Jonathan Bastien (287 pounds).

Montgomery, which finished in 12th place, had three medalists: David Valenzuela (third, 121 pounds), Viramontes (third, 142 pounds) and Alvarez (second, 147 pounds).

Olympian, which finished in 13th place, had three medalists: Jose Gonzalez (third, 114 pounds), Mark Pimentel (third, 121 pounds) and John Grylls (fourth, 191 pounds).

Southwest, which finished in 18th place, had two medalists: Jesus Barron (fourth, 114 pounds) and Taylor Dutcher (fourth, 215 pounds).

Holtville Invitational
Hilltop competed last weekend in the two-day Holtville Invitational, coming back from the desert with six grapplers with top five tourney showings: Anthony Salinas (fifth, 114 pounds), Mike Reyes (fourth, 132 pounds), Matt Reyes (third, 137 pounds), Roman Flores (third, 147 pounds), David Ramirez (fourth, 154 pounds) and Andrew Aguilar (second, heavyweight).

Eastlake’s David McCluggage finished second in his 142-pound weight class while other Titan place-winners included Ryan Gobeil (third, 127 pounds) and Xavier Godoy (fifth, 173 pounds).

Mar Vista’s Carter Barnett finished second at 154 pounds. The Mariners also had place-winners at 173 pounds (sixth) and 217 pounds (fifth).

Dual report
Bonita Vista defeated Eastlake, 39-33, on Jan. 28 to take an undefeated 4-0 record into Thursday’s league championship match-up against Hilltop. For the Barons, Bell and Lopez pinned their respective opponents in their final two matches to add an exclamation point to the victory.

Bonita Vista opened league dual meet competition on Jan. 8 with a 72-0 win against Mater Dei, recording 13 pins. The Barons subsequently defeated Chula Vista (59-16) and Otay Ranch (50-18).

Hilltop opened the Mesa League season on Jan. 8 with a 54-21 dual win against Otay Ranch and topped Eastlake, 41-15, on Jan. 22.

Bonita Vista Barons excel on the mat
Could CIF title be in the making?
Bonita Vista places fourth at Monte Vista Invitational

Posted Jan. 13, 2009
When the San Diego Section wrestling rankings hit Internet message boards on Jan. 1, no South County teams were included among the top 10 tournament teams. Given the general lack of respect the Metro Conference commands in county mat circles, it was perhaps no surprise.

But all of that could change in the coming weeks. More to the point, the Bonita Vista Barons could change that.

The Barons have size this season — not only in terms of the physical dimensions of their wrestlers but in the scope of talent throughout the lineup.

After engineering a strong fourth-place finish at last Saturday’s Monte Vista Invitational — a 27-team tournament that featured the top two ranked teams in the section, Poway and Brawley, and Division III front-runner Monte Vista — Bonita Vista coach Gabe Ruz has to start wondering just how good this year’s Baron squad is.

Could a Division II team championship be in the making?

"I think we have as good a shot as anyone in D-2," said Ruz, whose team faced off Mesa League dual meet competition Jan. 8 with a 72-0 victory against Mater Dei.

The Barons walked out of the Monarchs’ gym with seven medalists and three finalists, finishing with 151.5 points — 60.5 points ahead of seventh place Hilltop, the nearest South County team, and more than doubling the score on 12th place Eastlake.

Poway, ranked fourth in the state, won the team title with 337.5 points, followed by Brawley with 190 points and Monte Vista with 185 points. The Gilbert (Ariz.) Tigers finished fifth with 123.5 points. Escondido (111 points), Hilltop (91 points), Torrey Pines (82.5 points), Morse (79.5 points) and San Pasqual (79 points) rounded out the top 10 teams.

It appears Bonita Vista will duel Westview and Mt. Carmel for supremacy in the Division II championship tournament in February.

Hilltop and Eastlake also will compete in the Division II tournament along with Sweetwater and San Ysidro. Chula Vista and Otay Ranch will compete in Division I while Montgomery, Mar Vista, Castle Park and Southwest will participate in the Division III tournament. Olympian and Mater Dei will participate in the Division IV tournament.

Senior Hector Arambula (152) and juniors Frank Bell (171) and Cody Lopez (189) all finished second in their respective weight classes after dropping matches to Poway wrestlers.

Arambula, who entered the tournament with an 18-2 record and improved to 21-3, lost by 4:50 pin to Poway senior Jake Poliakoff. Arambula earned the No. 1 seed in the weight class, advancing to the championship match with a 1:01 fall against Castle Park’s Jesse Ramos, 10-3 quarterfinal victory over Brawley’s Luis Perez and a 5-4 semifinal win over Monte Vista’s Alex Aviala.

Poliakoff was seeded third and upset second-seeded Spence Sarazin by a 7-0 decision in the semifinals. Poliakoff finished his four matches with two pins, a 12-2 major decision and the 7-0 shutout victory.

Arambula had previously placed first at the La Quinta and Olympian/Metro Conference duals and was coming off a seventh-place finish at the region’s top regular season tournament, the El Cajon Invitational.

Bell, who placed eighth in his weight at last month’s ECI, gave his Poway opponent, senior Alex Brown, all he could handle in losing a 12-7 minor decision. Bell improved to 30-3 on the season with a 3-1 tourney record that included a pin and a pair of 10-point major decisions.

Bell was seeded third and advanced to the semifinals with a pair of convincing victories (a 13-3 major decision over San Pasqual’s Martin Polanco and a 5:19 fall against Mt. Miguel’s Lebrian Mays) to match up against Gilbert’s Kaylon Hamlett, the second-seeded wrestler in the weight class.

Bell defeated Hamlett by a 14-4 major decision to make his personal statement.

Lopez, who missed the last half of the football season and the opening two weeks of the wrestling season because of an injury, had a chance to display his sheer strength on the mat at last weekend’s Monte Vista tournament. Lopez (10-2) advanced to the finals against Poway senior Ian Daube with pins of 3:40 (Santana’s Travis Flandro), 2:02 (Monte Vista’s Alex Rossell) and 1:14 (Helix’s E.J. Perkins).

Daube, who is ranked third in the state, pinned Lopez in 1:52 but the Baron matster had already left his mark in the weight class. Rossell and Perkins both won their weight classes at the season-opening Battle by the Beach tournament at Mar Vista High School.

Daube earned honors as the tournament’s outstanding upper weight wrestler with two pins and two technical falls.

Poway senior Henry Yorba, ranked fourth in the state, was named the tournament’s outstanding lower weight wrestler after finishing the day with four pins in his 135-pound division. Yorba scored three sub-minute falls — 29, 32 and 57 seconds — and won by a 1:16 pin in his championship match against Escondido’s Adon Perez.

Bonita Vista’s other medal-winners included Nick Barnes (fourth, 160 pounds), Steve Johnston (fifth, 103), Ricky Haynes (fifth, 119) and Carlos Ayala (fifth, 125).

Barnes (29-5) advanced to the semifinals with pins against University of Irvine’s Anthony Gonzalez (3:23) and Torrey Pines’ Keegan McAllister (4:24) before losing an 11-3 major decision to Poway junior Ian Roy, ranked sixth in the state. Barnes defeated Mt. Miguel’s Vincent Stewart by a 10-2 major decision in the consolation semifinals but lost by a 4:30 fall in a rematch against McAllister in the third-place bout.

In winning their fifth-place matches, Johnston (22-5) pinned Granite Hills’ Eddie Valencia in 4:25 while Haynes (18-9) pinned Grossmont’s Jacob McDaniel in 3:15 and Ayala (23-7) decisioned Scripps Ranch’s Cody Gratas 4-1.

Both Haynes and Ayala qualified for the semifinals but lost two successive matches to drop into battles for fifth-place in the tournament. Ayala dropped a 14-3 major decision to Poway freshman Jesse Taylor, a state triple crown winner as an eighth-grader last year, but the final score was deceiving.

McDaniel placed second in his weight class at the season-opening Carlsbad Invitational.

The Barons could have had eight medalists but Andrew Humiston (16-8) lost his fifth-place bout to El Cajon Valley’s Masud Hasan at 135 pounds.

The Barons could have had eight medalists but Andrew Humiston (16-8) lost his fifth-place bout to El Cajon Valley’s Masud Hasan at 135 pounds.

A total of five South County teams participated in this year's Monte Vista Invitational. Hilltop (eighth) had three medalists and one finalist while Eastlake (12th) had four medalists. Sweetwater (22nd) and Castle Park (26th) each had one medalist.

Hilltop junior Anthony Salinas made it four Metro mat men in the finals by placing second at 112 pounds while Matt Reyes finished fourth at 135 pounds (dropping a tight 2-1 decision to Sweetwater’s Cesar Chavez). Ricardo Aceves was fifth at 125 pounds after stopping Mira Mesa’s Ulysses Savage by a 5-2 decision.

Salinas was seeded second in his weight class and advanced to meet Poway junior Gabe Brown in the championship match on the strength of three consecutive pins. Salinas pinned University City’s Joshua Najera in 1:17 in his first match and dispatched El Capitan’s Todd Clarke by a 1:53 fall in the quarterfinals. Salinas pinned Granite Hills’ Zach McClanahan in 5:53 in the semifinals.

Brown improved to 20-2 by scoring a 9-3 finals win against Salinas (18-3). Salinas placed seventh at the ECI tournament while Brown won the El Dorado tournament and finished fourth at national-draw Reno Tournament of Champions.

Reyes advanced to the semifinals after pulling off a pair of upsets, including an opening-round 16-9 win over second-seeded Hasan of ECV. Reyes upended Morse’s Joseph Carrillo, 12-10, in the quarterfinals before having his run through the championship bracket halted by a 9-3 loss to Escondido’s Perez.

Reyes defeated BV’s Humiston in the consolation semifinals before closing out the tournament with a loss to SuHi’s Chavez in the third-place match.

Metro Conference Report:
Barons impress on the mat
Posted Jan. 8, 2009
Bonita Vista High School wrestling coach Gabe Ruz said there is "a lot to write" about this season's team. No kidding.

The Barons defeated longtime South County powers Hilltop and Eastlake at the second annual Olympian/Metro Conference dual tournament Dec. 20 and sport several wrestlers in their lineup with ridiculously lop-sided records at the midpoint of the 2008-09 mat campaign.

Frank Bell (189 pounds) is 27-2. Nick Barnes (171) is 26-3. Carlos Ayala (125) is 20-5. Steve Johnston (103) is 19-3. Hector Arambula (160) is 18-2. Dalton Randolph (130) is 16-5. Ricky Haynes (119) is 15-7. Andrew Humiston (135) is 14-6. Cody Lopez, wrestling at 215 pounds, is 7-1.

The Barons notched the highest place-finish among South County teams at the 2008 El Cajon Invitational, held Dec. 29-30 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Bonita Vista finished 20th out of more than 60 teams — seventh best among San Diego Section teams. Arambula placed seventh at 160 pounds while Bell placed eighth at 189 pounds.

Hilltop finished 30th in the team standings. The Lancers recorded one place-finisher in the national-draw tournament: Anthony Salinas placed seventh in his 112-pound weight class.
Eastlake finished 41st in the team standings while San Ysidro was 59th.

Poway, with nine medalists, three finalists and two champions, captured the team title. Lake Stevens (Washington), also with nine place-finishers, finished second — 25.5 points behind the Titans.

Liberty 140-pounder Greg Kappler, with two pins and two technical falls, captured the Outstanding Lower Weight award while Las Vegas 215-pounder Trey McElhaney, with five falls (four in the first period), was named the tournament's Outstanding Upper Weight wrestler.

Poway's Conrad Snell (135) and Ian Daube (189) were the San Diego Section's only weight class champions while Brawley's Arturo Carmona (103), Valhalla's Renzo Salazar (140) and Poway's Ian Roy (160) each earned runner-up finishers in their respective weights.

Seven San Diego Section teams managed to crack the top 20. Valhalla (17th) and Rancho Buena Vista (19th) also recorded top 20 team finishes along with Poway (first), Brawley (11th), Steele Canyon (12th), Westview (15th) and Bonita Vista (20th).

The Barons are scheduled to compete in Saturday's Monte Vista Invitational. Eastlake is also scheduled to participate.

LCC duals
Eastlake placed first in the Silver Bracket at the Jimmy Hamada Memorial Duals Dec. 13 at La Costa Canyon High School. The Titans finished 4-1 in competition, with a lone loss to Cheokee Trails from Colorado. Eastlake defeated El Cajon Valley, Olympian, Mission Hills and San Pasqual.

Olympian finished second in the Silver Bracket and El Cajon Valley third.

For the Titans, junior Keith Martin (125) was named to the All-Tournament Second Team after going 5-0 with two pins. Anthony Alviz, a junior 119-pounder, went 5-0 with three pins. Yet another junior, David McCluggage (140), was 4-0.

Marauder Invitational
Hilltop, with 183.5 points, finished fourth in the 29-team field, trailing Mt. Carmel (first place, 251 points), Poway B (second place, 220 points) and Washington Union (third place, 208.5 points). Hilltop's Anthony Salinas captured the 112-pound weight class.

Section rankings
Poway is ranked first among tournament teams, followed by Brawley, Mt. Carmel and Rancho Bernardo. Two Metro grapplers received nods among top individuals: Hilltop's Anthony Salinas (fourth at 112 pounds) and Chula Vista's Gustavo Ortiz (fifth at 160 pounds).

State rankings
Poway leads the section with five state-ranked mat men: Gabe Brown (third, 103), Ryan Nasseri (sixth, 112), Henry Yorba (second, 130), Ian Roy (eighth, 152) and Ian Daube (third, 171). The Titans are ranked fourth as a team behind Clovis (Central Section), Selma (Central Section) and Calvary Chapel-Santa Ana (Southern Section). Brawley's Alfonso Osuna was ranked fifth at 112 pounds. Honorable mention recipients include La Costa Canyon's Tim Randall (145) and T.J. Webb (152), Brawley's Arthur Carmona (103), Oscar Lizarraga (125) and Mitchell Maya (130), Carlsbad's Chase Eskam (189) and Escondido's Moises Chairez (215).

Metro Conference Report:
Lancers lead Metro teams at Battle by the Beach
Hilltop’s Salinas, Chula Vista’s Ortiz win individual weight class titles

Posted Dec. 9, 2008
The 2008-09 high school wrestling season faced off on a favorable note, in particular, for the Hilltop Lancers. Hilltop moves to the Mesa League this season and look to extend their string of league championships from their long stay in the South Bay League.

The fourth-place team finish at last Saturday's Battle by the Beach tournament at Mar Vista High School definitely puts the rest of the Mesa League on notice. Bonita Vista and Eastlake — two of the Mesa’s stronger teams — did not compete at the MVHS tourney.

Hilltop advanced three grapplers to the championship round, finishing with one champion (Anthony Salinas at 112 pounds) and two runner-ups (Michael Reyes at 130 pounds and Rory Hernandez at 160 pounds). Overall, the Lancers placed eight mat men on the medal podium, finishing with three third-place and two fifth-place medalists besides the three finalists.

Hernandez captured the fastest-pin award with a fall in seven seconds.

Hilltop finished just six points behind third place Rancho Bernardo and 12.5 points behind second place Monte Vista.

Brawley, with seven weight class champions, captured the team title with a 53-point bulge on the Monarchs. Monte Vista (Division III) and Brawley (Division III) are contenders to win San Diego Section division titles this season.

Salinas pinned his way to the finals and made it four consecutive tourney falls by pinning his championship opponent, Jonathan Sandoval of Brawley, in 1:44.

Third-place medalists for Hilltop included Elijah Eaves (119), Roman Flores (145) and David Cinco (171).

Ricardo Aceves (125) and David Ramirez (152) both placed fifth in their respective weights. Ramirez advanced to the semifinals.

The eight Metro teams present at the tournament showed well in their season debut. Chula Vista qualified two wrestlers for the finals, with Gustavo Ortiz winning the 160-pound class and teammate Roman Molina finishing runner-up at 189 pounds.

Ortiz (6-0) defeated Hilltop’s Hernandez by a 10-4 decision while Molina (4-1) lost by a 17-3 major decision to Helix’s E.J. Perkins.

Mar Vista, with four medalists, finished seventh in the team standings — two points behind sixth-place West Hills. San Ysidro, with one medalist, finished 10th, followed by Chula Vista (with two medalists) in 11th place, Sweetwater (with two medalists) in 15th place, Olympian (with one medalist) in 18th place, Castle Park in 22nd place and Southwest (with one medalist) in 24th place.

A total of 26 teams competed at the tournament.

West Hills heavyweight Endhyr Meza captured individual awards for most pins in least mat time (four falls in 6:22) while also earning honors as the Outstanding Upper Weight wrestler. Brawley 119-pounder Alfonso Osuna was named the tourney’s Outstanding Lower Weight wrestler while Wildcats teammate Anthony Carmona received the Outstanding Middle Weight award.

Mar Vista garnered three third-place medalists: Danny Medrano (135), Carter Barnett (152) and Joe Rilatt (160). All three were semifinalists.

Sweetwater’s Alvaro Castillo (215) advanced to the semifinals. He went on to finish third.


Metro notepad
San Ysidro opened the season with a 3-0 record in a quad meet Dec. 4 at Mater Dei, defeating University City (39-36), Clairemont (37-35) and the host Crusaders (68-6).

Cougars coach Ulises Hernandez lists three wrestlers who should impact the section weight class rankings this season: Carlos Portillo (103), Joey Alvarez (112) and Brandon Gregory (135). Portillo placed second at last season's divisionals and is 5-2 this season at 112 pound with five pins. He is expected to drop to 103 pounds for Saturday's Marauder Invitational at Mira Mesa High School.

Alvarez placed third at 119 pounds at this year's Battle by the Beach tournament to improve to 6-1 on the young season. He lost in double overtime to Rancho Bernardo's Wesley Abbey (runner-up in the weight class) and finished strong with two pins and a 9-0 major decision. He is cleared to compete at 112 pounds on Dec. 26.

Gregory is currently 5-2 but may drop to 130 pounds where he is expected to do well this season, Hernandez said.

Olympian hopes to improve its 2-3 South Bay League record last season and place among the top three league teams this season. Coaches Aramis Vera and D.J. Mancillas hope to mold the team — mostly sophomores and juniors — into a championship contender next season.

The Eagles opened the season with a 42-39 non-league dual meet victory against Otay Ranch on Dec. 3. Top wrestlers include Victor Viesca (third at CIF last season), 140-pounder Jor-el Andres (fifth at CIF last season), 160-pounder Jake Seibel (fourth at CIF last season) and 130-pounder John Bautista.

Viesca placed third at this year's Battle by the Beach tourney.