The following is a recap of the wrestling tournament hosted by Pittsburg High School. Coach Guardiola supplied the story details, and we thank him for his time.
We left the school at 6 am on Saturday and headed to Pittsburg high for our first double-elimination tournament. We had 13 boys make the trip for their first-ever JV-level tournament. We arrived at 7:30 am, weighed in, and started wrestling around 9:30. In all, 560 wrestlers were in attendance for the Queen of the Mat (girl only) tournament and the Pittsburg JV/frosh-soph tournament.
The tournament was a little challenging to follow, and there were plenty of instances where the flow of the contests seemed to stop, which made for a long day. The tournament continued until around 7:30 pm, and we got home at 8:45 pm. However, out of 13 WR wrestlers, five walked away with a medal.
Maddox Lo – Took 1st place for 106 pounds. He was disappointed with the lack of wrestlers in his weight class and is hungry for his next match.
Myron Smith – Wrestled two matches at 138. He was pinned in both matches but didn’t give up and fought till the end. Myron improved leaps and bounds from his first tournament.
Israel Nelson – Took 3rd place. After a win, a loss, and a forfeit. He is looking forward to the next tournament.
Yovan Soberanis – Took 2nd place at 160. He was undefeated all day, but his last match was rough. After a wild back and forth, he finally expended all of his energy, and Yovan fell in the 3rd round.
Jason Chavez – Took 2nd place at 170. Jason wrestled out of his usual weight class, but due to the Thanksgiving weekend, he was bumped up for being a couple of ounces over. He was undefeated for most of the tournament, but his final match was another rough one. He faced off against another strong opponent. Jason fought hard but was overpowered and lost. Nevertheless, he walked away with second place.
Angelo Ornelas – Angelo entered the 182-pound weight class. He fought two rounds and lost both. That being said, Angelo is starting to improve. He is beginning to find his fighting spirit.
Ethan Ornelas – Ethan was in the 182-pound weight class as well. A first-timer walked in and was surprised at the level at which these guys compete. Unfortunately, he lost his first two matches. However, he fought hard and eagerly awaits the next tournament.
Daniel Lopez – His first tournament, so he was nervous about many things. Daniel was still trying to find his rhythm but never gave up. He lost both matches but is learning what to expect going forward.
Daniel Nieto – 1st place in 195 pounds division. Daniel was a powerhouse at the tournament. He was undefeated all day and walked away with the gold medal. He wrestled his heart out in every match, and it paid off.
Ulises Rodriguez – A first-time wrestler, Ulises is a wrestler that I have to admit I was waiting to see wrestle. He is strong, quick to pick up the skills, and doesn’t quit. He lost by a pin in his first match, but he didn’t fall again once he found his rhythm. He finished the day taking 5th place after pinning the rest of his opponents.
Gurshawn Sandhu – This was Gurshawn’s first tournament. He was getting the feeling for the matches and had the first-time jitters. He started to really get into it during his second match but unfortunately, he was bested.
Harmeet Sidhu – Another first-timer. Being our 220-pound wrestler, he had to face some big guys. He lost by points in his first match and lost by a pin during his second. But he fought hard till the end.
Michaelangelo Valenzuela – our heavyweight. This was his first tournament. He was nervous but didn’t quit. Michaelangelo now better understands what needs to happen for him to improve.
