Womens wrestling news

Photos by Chuck Kirman / Star staff Pacifica High's Sabrina Gonzales, top, wrestles against Pioneer Valley's Julia Veglia in a 103-pound match at Pacifica High on Wednesday night. Gonzales, a senior co-captain, won her match in the dual meet against the school from Santa Maria.

Jasmine Duron is used to eliciting cheers as a varsity cheerleader at Pacific High, but nothing raises her spirits like success atop the wrestling mat.

"There's no feeling that compares to having the referee raise your hand at the end of the match," says the senior co-captain for the Pacifica girls' wrestling team.

Duron got another rush on Wednesday night, and helped make history in the process, when she registered a pin during the Tritons' dual meet with Santa Maria-Pioneer Valley at the Pacifica High gymnasium.

The fall, at 2:24 of her match against Jen Velasquez, couldn't deter the outcome. Pioneer Valley rallied with pins in the final three bouts to score a 33-26 victory over its host.

In the end, the verdict was overshadowed by the event.

By hosting a three-way dual meet competition that included Santa Maria-Righetti High, the Tritons rang up a county first. The three dual meets were the first ever conducted in Ventura County featuring all-girls' high school wrestling teams.

"It's a first for the county and a big deal for our wrestling program," said head coach Darren Hatch. "It's an indication of how much our sport has grown."

In this county, Pacifica is at the vanguard of girls' wrestling.

The Tritons boast 28 female wrestlers on their team in a region where one or two girls out for the sport is a rarity. Indeed Pacifica and Pioneer Valley, with 30 girls on its first-year program, rank among the largest girls' wrestling teams in the entire CIF-Southern Section.

The Tritons' program had no less than 40 girls try out for the team this season, with 28 surviving the final cut.

"I think it's because we make the sport fun," said senior co-captain Sabrina Gonzales. "We're trying to win, for sure, and we're putting in a lot of hard work. But we don't put a lot of pressure on our athletes, and we want everyone to have fun."

Duron said the team grew on reputation.

"We started out with a few girls, and everyone recruited their friends," she said. "Once you come out and try the sport, it's hard to give it up."

Pacifica plays an eight-event schedule, mostly individual tournaments, that culminate in the second CIF-SS girls' wrestling championships set for Channel Islands High on Jan. 18-19.

"We really think we've got a great chance to win the whole thing this year," said Hatch. "It would be a great accomplishment for this program and this school."

Pacifica is fueled by athletes like Gonzales, who wrestles at 103 pounds and placed sixth in the CIF-SS championships last year, and Duron, who wrestles at 138 pounds.

Gonzales, also a standout softball player, said the sport offers different kinds of enjoyment.

"It lets you get your aggression out, and it's all legal," she said with a grin.

Tiffany Leon, who wrestles at 146 pounds, is a former varsity cheerleader who gave up that specialty to focus on wrestling. In a typical day, she practices with the girls' wrestling team from 3 to 5 p.m., joins the JV boys' wrestling team for practice, then heads to the gym to work out.

"My goal is to win the state championship, and the only way to do that is through hard work."

Duron, whose brother Ray was a former standout on the Pacifica boys' wrestling team, said she appreciates the opportunity to test her skills against other girls.

"Boys are just stronger, so this is more fair," she said. "But if I had to, I'd wrestle the boys too. Whatever I have to do to keep wrestling."

After handling Righetti, 66-15, Pacifica settled in to a tough matchup with Pioneer Valley.

Gonzales won a 9-2 decision over Julia Veglia at 103 pounds, and Pacifica jumped out to an 18-0 lead by winning the first five bouts.

Leon's 5-0 decision over Desiree Ionata at 146 pounds upped the lead to 27-15. But Pioneer Valley controlled the match late by winning the final four bouts.

"It was a great match," said Hatch. "And very exciting. That's all we could ask for."

Half Moon Bay rebuilding wrestling team

Rebecka Joshua is one of the handful of wrestlers back for another season.

The Half Moon Bay High wrestling team is in something of a rebuilding mode as the new season begins. The Cougars start Saturday, hosting the Peninsula Invitational Tournament.

The Cougars have no varsity returnees who placed at last year's Peninsula Athletic League tournament.

Junior Corwin Learned, a league champion as a freshmen, didn't participate in the tournament last year due to an injury. He's back now.

Mark Cowart, who finished third at 119 pounds in the JV tournament last year, is back.

Girls' champions Rebecka Joshua (a sophomore) and Cody Davis (a senior) are also back, along with third-place finisher, junior Morgan Davis.

The 32-person roster, including five girls, consists of just four seniors and 10 juniors.

"We are a very young team with a lot of talent," coach John Rhodes said.

Senior Dylan Johnson and sophomore Chris Richards are new to the school. Johnson was a standout on the water polo team. Meanwhile, Richards is a transfer from Colorado.

As practice continues, Rhodes and his coaching staff are starting to figure who could wrestle where.

Learned could wrestle at either 112 pounds or 119 pounds. If he participates at 119, Cowart could move up to 125. If he's there, Richards might go up to 130.

Meanwhile, Johnson could wrestle at either 160 or 171 pounds. Senior Bobby Tamez is battling for a spot in that area as well.

Junior Alfredo Lopez and senior Zachary Meyers are contending for the starting spot at 215 pounds.

Junior Max Marsall could go at either 171 or 189 pounds.

Senior Billy Harper and juniors Robert Edwards, Riley Evans, Jesse Gaytan, Sumit Kataruka and Gaspar Mendoza are hoping to find spots in the starting line-up.

The remaining freshmen and sophomores will wrestle at the junior varsity level.

For now, Rhodes anticipates just Learned, Richards, Marsall and Edwards participating in varsity tournaments, with everyone else going to JV tournaments.

That could change.

"If someone wins at a JV tournament, they will be moving up to the varsity," Rhodes said.

The Peninsula Tournament will be the first of six tournaments for Half Moon Bay. The Cougars will be in the Coast Classic next weekend, the Bianchini Memorial in Cupertino, Jim Root at West Valley College, the Mid-Cals in Gilroy, all next month, and the Mission-San Jose in February.

Half Moon Bay begins league action on Jan. 10, visiting Terra Nova.

"Terra Nova and El Camino are the teams that have the fullest lineups," Rhodes said. "South San Francisco has a lot of talent as well."

It could mean an interesting season for the Cougars.

"If we can fill our lineup, we will be able to hold our own," Rhodes said.

By Hector del Castillo
Wallowa County Chieftain 12/5/07

It's the rare tournament in which up-and-coming wrestlers compete in divisions with titles like midget, novice and bantam.

But that was the case Saturday, Dec. 1, at Quinn Court in Enterprise, where the Wallowa Mountain Wrestling Tournament drew 76 youngsters. In addition to the locals, there were many attendees from nearby Elgin and La Grande, and others rode long car trips from Baker City and North Powder. The families drove across snow-covered highways and roads to crowd the gym and cheer on their favorites.

Gary and Cathy Maben, who run the Northeast Oregon Wrestling Club (NEOWC) in Wallowa County, organized the tournament. Dozens of volunteers, including some wrestlers and coaches from the Enterprise and Joseph high school programs, helped. They set up mats, refereed matches, recorded results and sold concessions to raise money for Wallowa Valley football, among other tasks.

Throughout the day, there were as many as eight matches at the same time. The two mats were divided, with blue tape marking the smaller boundaries.

One of the matches was the latest bout in the long-time rivalry between Dylan Steel, 13, of North Powder, and Sam Pearson, 14, of Baker. After three rounds in the Novice 120-pound weight class, Pearson scored a 20-5 win. Steel estimated it was their 40th confrontation over the last five years.

"We've been going at it since I was in the fourth grade," he said. "I won (at the Wallowa Mountain Tournament) last year. He used to beat me all the time, but then something clicked when I was in the seventh grade. Since then, I think I've won about 10 times."

Even though so many matches have helped the duo build respect for each other, Steel admitted they are prone to needle one another.

"He has to make the long ride from Baker, so before our match, he's like, 'Let's hurry it up so I can get home,'" Steel said. "Once he says that, I try to draw it out as long as possible."

Wrestlers at the tournament included Shannon Michaels, 11, the only girl in the NEOWC. She lost both of her matches, the first by pin and the latter by points against Heith Browne, 11, of Powder Valley. She joined the club last year after moving here from Eureka, Calif. The club was established five years ago, and Michaels has been the only girl.

At one tournament during the first season, a girl named Sidney, with a club in Hermiston, dominated NEOWC. Maben recalled her pinning all of the local boys.

After the Dec. 1 event at Enterprise, the season will continue this Saturday when the NEOWC attends a tournament in Milton-Freewater.

Pacifica High hosts first all-girls' wrestling meet in county history

Half Moon Bay rebuilding wrestling team