Duals spotlight

EastlakeTitans are building momentum on the mat

Posted Feb. 4, 2010
The 2010 Metro Conference wrestling championships are scheduled Friday, Feb. 12, at Olympian High School. The results of this Saturday’s inaugural South Bay Invitational at Otay Ranch High School should provide a preview of the upcoming league finals.

At this point of the season, the Eastlake Titans appear to have emerged front and center among the South Bay’s collection of mat squads.

The Titans recorded a third-place finish at last weekend’s Holtville Invitational, finishing 41.5 points behind team champion Rancho Bernardo and 26 points behind runner-up Brawley.

Eastlake also took a big step toward securing sole rights to this year’s Mesa League dual championship by defeating Hilltop and Bonita Vista in back-to-back duals. The Titans edged host Hilltop, 31-29, on Jan. 21 and then topped the defending league champion Barons by a 40-27 score on Jan. 28 in front of a full house at EHS.

Eastlake tuned up for the heavyweight dual encounters by capturing the team title at the Mater Dei Duals on Jan. 16. The Titans went 5-0, winning their closest contest by 37 points against Olympian. Nine wrestlers finished undefeated.

Eastlake recorded seven place-winners and one weight class champion at the Holtville Invitational. David McCluggage, a San Diego Section Division II champion in 2008-09, won the 135-pound weight class while five teammates finished fourth: Anthony Alviz (125), Ryan Gobeil (130), Gabriel Nelson (160), Barron Hinojosa (215) and Matthew Gaughan (285). Abraham Sanchez finished fifth in his 140-pound division.
McCluggage, Sanchez and Gaughan all entered the tournament sporting team-leading 22-6 records.

The Titans won eight of the 14 matches contested against Bonita Vista, which entered the teams’ showcase encounter with a 10-1 dual record and one returning state qualifier (Frank Bell). The Barons were coming off a good showing at the celebrated Five Counties Invitational, placing 50th out of 114 teams in the regional-draw tourney.

But the dual against Eastlake favored the Titans’ strength in the upper weights to start and the hosts built an imposing 25-3 lead with victories in five of the opening six match-ups, including three by pin and another by major decision. McCluggage (140), Nelson (160) and Chris Fryxell (171) each recorded falls while Juan Inumerable captured a 10-2 decision at 152 pounds.

The Barons rebounded with pins by Cody Lopez at 189 pounds and Bell at 215 pounds to close within 25-15 on the scoreboard. However, key victories at the opposite end of the weight spectrum by Gaughan (pin at heavyweight) and Tyler Bashinski (pin at 103 pounds) made it extremely difficult for the visitors to pull out one of their trademark cardiac wins. Down 37-15, the Barons needed to win the final four matches to score a dramatic come-from-behind win. When Michael Jaimes recorded a pin at 112 pounds, Bonita Vista looked to get some hope. Stevie Johnston edged Mauricio Alinio by a 4-3 decision at 119 pounds to narrow the EHS lead to 37-24 with two matches left.

Mumamen Deiranieh’s 5-2 win at 125 pounds put the Barons 10 points back — but it wasn’t enough. Bonita Vista won three of the final four matches but the lack of pins (only one) killed any heroic comeback bid.

Bashinki’s upset pin at 103 pounds proved to be the swing match the Titans needed.
“Our borderline guys won it for us,” EHS coach Dean Tropp said.

Fryxell recorded the fastest pin of the dual in 39 seconds.

Bonita Vista coach Gabe Ruz termed his team’s performance “very disappointing.”

Mendillo, Alviz, Ryan Gobeil, Riley Gobeil, McCluggage, Inumerable, Hinojosa and Gaughan, along with Jeremiah Deinla (103), all finished 5-0 at the Mater Dei Duals. Sanchez, Nelson and Fryxell all finished 4-1 with silver medals.

Holtville Invitational
Hilltop advanced four wrestlers to the championship round: David Ramirez (first, 160), Anthony Salinas (second, 119), Joseph Kent (second, 135) and Roman Flores (second, 152).

Titans win thriller from Lancers, vie for league title
It appears the Eastlake Titans will duel the defending Mesa League champion Bonita Vista Barons for the rights to this year’s league championship after dealing league heavyweight Hilltop a 31-29 defeat Jan. 21 in the Lancers’ gym. The visiting Titans owned a 10-0 lead through the opening three weight classes before Hilltop’s Joseph Kent (140) and Eastlake’s David McCluggage (145) traded wins to put the score 16-4 in the Titans' favor. Hilltop buckled down from there and slowly chipped away at the imposing Eastlake lead to tie the team score at 25-25 with two matches remaining. Marcus Mendillo gave the Titans an a 31-25 lead on a pin at 112 pounds with one match left. The Lancers needed to win the final match by pin to force a tie, but could only manage a victory by a major decision.

Eastlake will host Bonita Vita on Thursday, Jan. 28, at 5 p.m. for undisputed rights to sole possession of first place in the Mesa League standings.

Bonita Vista defeated Otay Ranch, 47-24, on Jan. 21. Eastlake topped the Mustangs, 39-21, in the teams’ season opener on Jan. 14.

The Titans tuned up by easily claiming the team title at the Mater Dei Duals Jan. 16. Nine Easdtlake wrestler s went undefeated.

Mater Dei Duals
Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 at Mater Dei High School, Chula Vista
Team Standings
1. Eastlake A
2. Canyon Crest Academy/Mt. Miguel (combined team)
3. Olympian
4. Eastlake B
5. El Capitan

Eastlake Titans 5-0
Eastlake 78 Mater Dei 0
Eastlake 63 Calexico 3
Eastlake 70 University City 5
Eastlake 55 Olympian 18
Eastlake 65 Canyon Crest/Mt. Miguel 7


Participating teams:
Eastlake, Mater Dei, Calexico, The Rock Academy, University City, Brawley, Sweetwater, Canyon Crest, Mt. Miguel, La Jolla, Fallbrook, Montgomery, El Capitan,
Palo Verde, Del Norte, Olympian, St. Augustine

Steele Canyon wrestlers continue to excel on the mat
Posted Jan. 11, 2010
The Steele Canyon High School wrestling team took a giant step toward capturing the first-ever Grossmont Hills League dual meet championship by defeating host Helix, 40-30, on Jan. 14. Steele Canyon gained the upper hand with five early pins but the outcome of the dual was decided in the final match when Beamon pinned Helix’s Vincent Richmond. Each team won seven matches.

Helix entered the mat encounter sporting a 13-3 dual record after going 7-0 in the recent Scripps Ranch tournament.

Girls wrestling takes spotlight at Mater Dei duals
Girls of Steele show dominance on the mat
Updated Dec. 28, 2009
History — or rather, herstory — was made Dec. 9 at Mater Dei Catholic High School when the San Diego Section’s first-ever all-girls high school wrestling dual meet took center mat. Twenty-seven girls from throughout the county assembled for a spine-tingling, as well as bone-jarring, experience. The Steele Canyon Cougars stole the spotlight.

There’s no question that girls wrestling has started to make headway in the San Diego region after lagging behind much of the state. Steele Canyon continues to carry the torch for the sport in the section and won both ends of the double dual against a collection of wrestlers from El Camino, San Pasqual, Mira Mesa, San Diego, Escondido and Mater Dei high schools.

The Cougars, who started their girls program three years ago with eight wrestlers and then upped that count to 12 last year, are fielding the equivalent of a full varsity and junior varsity lineup this season with 29 wrestlers. Fifteen girls were present Dec. 9 as Steele Canyon left its mark with dual victories by scores of 40-18 and 30-21.

“We’re going to claim the first couple CIF titles when it’s approved,” Cougar coach Trevor Keifer said with pride. “Most of my girls are freshmen and sophomores. My top girls are in show choir and didn’t even get to wrestle. Three of my girls wrestled in their first matches.”

Not counting forfeits, 20 matches were contested on the mat.

Vanessa Kellems recorded the first victory for Steele Canyon with a 17-second pin at 126 pounds, followed by a 1:36pin at 132 pounds by teammate Elizabeth Pedersen. Marky Simmons kept the Cougars’ momentum rolling with a 2:27 pin at 138 pounds. Three matches later, Tanzania Guest, also competing at 126 pounds, scored an 18-second pin in her first-round match.

Heavyweight Indya Stevens started the second rotation off with a 56-second pin for Steele Canyon, while teammate Pamela Feldman followed with a 48-second pin at 118 pounds. Marcella Schneider, also competing at 118 pounds, engineered one of the more thrilling comebacks in the dual by fighting off a pin attempt before finally recording a pin in 3:44 pin.

Schneider’s teammates on the Cougars bench rose to their feet in unison as the referee slapped his hand on the mat to signal the pin.

Guest scored a 27-second pin in her second match to claim dominance on the mat.

Two highly-ranked girls did not compete for Steele Canyon in the Mater Dei duals: Irene Esquibel and Reyna Reyes. Esquibel is ranked sixth in the nation and second in the state in her 138-pound weight class while Reyes is ranked among the top 12 wrestlers in Southern California in her division.

Many of the girls at the history-making dual meet already had a few matches to their credit after competing in two early season tournaments in the Greater Los Angeles Area. Steele Canyon placed sixth at the Rebels Clash at Savanna High School in Anaheim on Nov. 28. The Cougars took 11 girls to a non-scoring tournament in Thousand Oaks on Dec. 5, with eight Steele Canyon girls returning home with medals. The Rebels Clash attracted the top five teams from the Southern Section.

A season-ending San Diego County girls tournament is scheduled Jan. 18 at El Camino High School.

“I was excited to be a part of this,” Mater Dei head coach Scott Ullsperger said. “It’s a wonderful start to girls wrestling in San Diego. We’d like to host the first official CIF championship.”

Ullsperger credited assistant coach Jerry Matsumoto with setting up the event. “We wanted to expose girls wrestling (to other student-athletes),” Matsumoto said. “It was great for the girls who competed.”

Girls of Steele
Steele Canyon hosted a high profile eight-way dual tournament on Dec. 19. The eight teams — six from outside San Diego County — were divided into two pools, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the Cardinal Division and the bottom two teams from each pool advancing to the Navy Division. Every team received five matches, facing both teams from opposite pools in their division to close out the day.

Steele Canyon finished first in Pool B with dual victories against West Covina, Savanna and Santa Paula while Pacifica finished first in Pool A with dual wins against Northview, Baldwin Park and San Pasqual. West Covina (2-1) finished runner-up in Pool B while Northview (2-1) finished runner-up in Pool A.

The Cardinal Division was thus comprised of Pacifica, Steele Canyon, West Covina and Northview and the teams finished in that order after two ensuing duals.

The final order finish in the Navy Division was Baldwin Park, Savanna, Santa Paula and San Pasqual.

Two Steele Canyon wrestlers were named to the all-tournament team: Reyes and Esquibel.

Rounding out the all-tournament team were the following wrestlers: Katey Chavez (Savanna), Zuli Marquez (Pacifica), Justine Stewart (West Covina), Nicole Freeman (Savanna), Maria Morales (Pacifica), Alex Perez (Pacifica), Katie Black (Santa Paula), Soibahn Esquera (West Covina), Ceci Andrade (Northview), Alexandra Savage (Mira Mesa), Justine Jue (Santa Paula), Brazel Marquez (Northview), Sam Ortiz (West Covina), Alyssa Luna (West Covina), Rocio Cortez (Western), Johanna Navarro (Northview), Belen Reyes (Baldwin Park), Xochitl Perez (Baldwin Park), Holly Tinnell (Pacifica), Ashley Gueraro (Savanna), Karen Perez (Savanna), Alex Gonzlaez (Pacifica), Brenda Gonzalez (West Covina), Malinda Gomez (Baldwin Park), Lisette Tenorio (Santa Ana) and Veronica Hernandez (Northview).

Go green
The Helix Highlanders kept their early season momentum rolling by capturing the championship title of the Scripps Ranch dual tournament the weekend prior to Christmas. Helix edged Morse, 37-34, in the championship dual to finish 7-0 in the tournament. The Highlanders own a convincing 12-3 dual record this season, including a tie-breaker victory over longtime East County power Monte Vista and a 74-6 drubbing of Mt. Miguel.