FOLSOM – It was a tough day Saturday for local wrestlers Saturday in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championships as Vista del Lago High.
It took a top-four finish to advance to the SJS Masters Championships next Friday, and after a come-from-behind pin to make it to the second day of Divisionals on Saturday, Manteca’s Tyler Welch (152 pounds) found himself down 14-5 in the consolation quarterfinals to Yuba City’s Erik Palmquist in the consolation semifinals and needed a win make it into the top four.
He got it.
Welch reached into his bag of tricks to pin Palmquist and the Buffaloes senior eventually finished fourth.
“I have my own little move,” Welch said. “Coach Varnum does not like me doing it but coach told me I had to stick him because I was not going to be able to win by points so I did that.”
Out of 20 Manteca-area wrestlers to advance to Divisionals, only seven will be going to Masters.
“It’s cool getting to go another week,” Welch said. “A lot of kids here are not getting to go that extra week, especially from the Manteca area. And no school on Friday.”
East Union’s Jaysen Reindel (285) made it to the championship match with River Valley’s Jack Farley and appeared to have Farley pinned. Reindel did not get the call and Farley came back to get a pin which gave Reindel a silver medal.
“Today was not a good day,” Lancers coach A.J. Reindel said. “We had eight guys coming back today and this morning we lost a couple and the round to move on did not go well for us. It wasn’t a good day all the way around.
“The final round did not go well for us either and we only have three moving on. Joe Luna is a freshman moving on and that is exciting.”
Joining Jaysen Reindel and Luna (fourth, 138) from East Union on Friday will be Isaac Huffman (220, fourth).
Sierra’s Jackson Rusconi (113) was taken to overtime in his third-place match with Vista del Lago’s Dylan Duncan and took Duncan to the mat in the first overtime period for a 7-5 win.
“I was wrestling badly,” Rusconi said. “I felt really slow and sluggish but I got him in the end.
“In overtime I just wanted to be done with it. He was just standing straight up so I knew I could take him down.”
Sierra’s Vincent Marquez (126) defeated Inderkum’s Andrew Naraja 9-4 for third place after losing to Naraja 4-2 on Friday.
“I wrestled him Friday and I didn’t do so well,” Marquez said. “So I came into this match with a different mindset and had to come back and take him out.”
Sierra’s Branden Rullan (132) was pinned in the third round of his championship bout with Oakdale’s Ricky Torres.
“There were a lot of upsets today,” Timberwolves coach Alberto Loaiza said. “It seems like our division is getting tougher and tougher every year.”
Division V
SACRAMENTO – Four Ripon wrestlers will advance to the SJS Masters Championships after qualifying in the Divisionals at Natomas on Saturday.
Donny Fontillas (120 pounds) finished second for the Indians while Andrew Huynh (106), Diego Moreno (160) and Jacob Rhodes (195) finished third.
The two-day Masters begin Friday at the Stockton Arena at 9 a.m.
Girls Masters
STOCKTON – Ripon’s Victoria White and Alayna Swilley finished in the top four Saturday in the Masters Championships at McNair High School.
White (162) lost in the championship match to Alyvia Fiske, the returning state champion who has been undefeated for two years and has not been scored on this year.
“Tori is a senior who finally punched her ticket to the state tournament,” said Ripon coach Eric Barriga. “Her dad, Glen White is the Ripon boys head coach has his daughter following in his footsteps as went to state in Washington.”
Swilley (113) finished fourth.
“Swilley lost a tough match after she had bounced her head off the mat,” Barriga said. As a second-year wrestler Alayna has really found her rhythm and has started to excel.
“As long as she continues to develop she will be a formidable opponent at state as well as for the rest of her career.”
White and Swilley advance to the two-day state championships in Visalia on Friday.
