In the heart of California's hi-tech Silicon Valley, 20 Community College wrestling teams are looking forward to a low tech, old-fashioned rumble. You can bet this date is circled on a lot of calendars, as both wrestlers and coaches alike look to evaluate where they are now and begin to set their sights on the December championships.
With four tournaments in the books, the team race is starting to take shape. Fresno City College has taken the team title in all three tournaments they've entered this season. Head Coach, Paul Keysaw notes, "The Rams are looking forward to the competition this weekend. It will be a great test for the team and a chance to see where we stand among the top programs." Conceding little are the Dons of Santa Ana College, who took team honors at the Cerritos Tournament and 2nd place at their tournament. "With last Saturday's peek preview of what to see at West Valley, we are anxiously looking forward to another tough weekend. We showed our hand, and we'll do what we can � given what we have," says Head Coach Vince Silva. Head Coach Bill Kalivas of Bakersfield College adds, "This tournament will be a barometer for where teams will jockey their line-ups for the end of the year run. Fresno, Sierra and Santa Ana are the class of the field. Teams that can spoil it for the top 3 are Palomar, Cerritos, Bakersfield and Santa Rosa. The rest of the state has some excellent individuals that will make heads turn."
Weight class summaries based on performance-to-date.
125: Our first chance to see who is really committed to wrestling at 125. This weight class is six deep with possible champions. Ivan Sanchez, Santa Ana and Chauncey Phillips of Sierra College have both won tournaments this season. Sanchez bested Phillips 13-9 at the Santa Ana Tournament. Hard on their heels are returning All-American Jimmy Valdivia of Cerritos, Dominick Rucireta, Sacramento City, Kyle Crouch, Fresno City, and Jason Moorehouse, Skyline. If any of the contenders from 133 drop down to join this group, we will be in for a barn burner. This should be a very competitive set of quarter finals.
133: Carlos Alaniz, Cerritos and Mike Righi, Fresno are at the head of class in this group; and any other final pairing would be a surprise. The #3 ranked wrestler, Rolando Velasco of Modesto is out with an injury, and #4 Ron Blair from Palomar has a loss at the hands of Righi 20-7. Taylor McCorriston, Santa Rosa and Gabe Aguilar of Santa Ana have wrestled solidly and can contend. If someone else moves into this weight class, they could upset the apple cart�notably Cody Gibson, Bakersfield (ranked #6 at 141) who placed 2nd in Santa Ana at this weight.
141: After opening the season 6-0 at 149, Modesto's Jordan Keckler moved down to this weight class and kept rolling along, winning the Modesto Tournament. There is no shortage of quality wrestlers who are eager for this challenge. Jose Serratos of Santa Ana, Randy Tambare or Andrew Leveille of Sierra along with Ethan Hall of Palomar and Edgar Mercado, Fresno City will all be ready to make sure Keckler earns his berth in the finals. Be on the lookout for either Chris Alves from Shasta or Vlad Kochiev of Moorpark, who have both tested the waters at 141 and may find it to their liking.
149: Similar to 141, Alfonso Sanchez of Fresno City has three tournament titles and is the force to be reckoned with in this weight class. James Nelson, Sierra, Chris Alves, Shasta, John Daly, Sacramento City, Louie Desantis, Palomar, Vlad Kochiev, Moorpark and Jonathon Ronny from Chabot round out this very talented field. There's been a lot of shuffling in and out of this weight class. We will see who lines up to take on Sanchez.
157: Devin Velasquez of Santa Ana has a tight grip on this weight class and does not look to be letting go anytime soon. Matt Giffin from Sierra was the OW at the Sacramento City Tournament, but failed to place at Santa Ana. A very talented and tightly bunched group is poised to make a move, if either of the top two men loses focus. This pack includes JD Thrall, Sacramento City, Stuart Cole, Palomar, Randy Doherty, Bakersfield, Adrian Pachon, Moorpark, Jeff Bridges, Shasta, and Bayardo Sanchez of West Valley.
165: Paolmar's Glenn Shaw has taken on all comers and dispatched them. This past weekend at the Santa Ana Tournament, he was named the Outstanding Wrestler with 3-falls and a victory in the finals of 9-6 over Nick Bardsley from Fresno City, who has two tournament championships under his belt this season. Giving chase is a formidable group of wrestlers including Daniel Garay, Mt. San Antonio, Jaspreet Singh, Sierra, Jack Porter, Cerritos and Zac Johnson of Bakersfield.
174: It's conceivable that any of the top six wrestlers in this weight class can walk away with the crown. #1 ranked Tom Eaton of Santa Ana and #2 Mike Williams have been showing the way so far this season. Williams beat Eaton by decision 4-3 in the finals of last weekend's Santa Ana Tournament. But Kyle Griffin from Santa Rosa and Shaun Ceremello of Fresno have been right there with them at every turn. Chris Minafo from West Valley who turned heads with a strong 7-0 start, stumbled a bit at the Sacramento City Tournament, and is looking to show that he is a contender. Ryan Sughrue from Modesto has had some quality wins at this weight and must not be overlooked.
184: Returning State Champion Tim Hawkins of Mt. San Antonio has been flat out dominant this season. His nearest competitor is Jason Carasco of Bakersfield who lost to Hawkins in the Santa Ana Finals 12-8. It's a crowded field after that, including Travis Edwards, Cuesta, Louie Audelo, Cerritos, Cory Compton, Sacramento City and Greg Villalobos form Palomar.
197: A Clash of the Titans weight class headed by returning All-Americans Ryan Silvera, Mt. Sac and Jayson Collard, Santa Rosa. Both men will be pressed hard by newcomers Tyler Blair of Fresno City, Joe Ramirez, Modesto, Jake Bingham, Santa Rosa, Kellen Desmond, Palomar, and Norman Nail, West Hills. All have at least one loss at this weight � all to one another. This season's four tournaments have given us four-champions at 197. Certainly, a classic, last man standing battle.
Heavyweight: Eric Nye, Sierra and Josh Marquez, Bakersfield are the clear favorites. That being said, anything can happen when the big guys take over the mat. Tyler Porras, Santa Ana, Luis Leyva, Bakersfield, Matt Klimek, Palomar, and Robby Roman-Marin from West Hills have performed well and should be part of a very competitive semi-final. Nye has the advantage with 2-championship final decisions over Marquez. Look for their rivalry to continue from here to the North/South All Star Meet and right on through to the State Finals.
A comprehensive list of schedules and results can be found at www.caccwrestling.com
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