STOCKTON – It was a short day for the East Union wrestling team Saturday.

Competing in the Division III Team Duals at Lincoln High, the Lancers had just eight wrestlers and found themselves against powerhouse El Capitan of Merced. The Gauchos dispatched East Union 69-16.

“We didn’t have a full team,” Lancers coach A.J. Reindel said. “We had three first-year wrestlers along with injuries and illnesses, but no excuses.

“If we had our No. 1 100-percent team here, maybe we wouldn’t have been seeded eighth and we would have competed against someone else. But we got here, we got some matches and now we move on to league.”

Both of the East Union wins came via first-round pins, the first coming at 140 pounds by Anthony Salcido.

“He tried to shoot on me and I swirled,” Salcido said. “I hit a cradle and after that it was over.”

Like Salcido, Jorge Partida (195) got his pin in around 30 seconds.          

“It felt amazing,” Partida said. “It was the first pin in a while for me.

“I surprised myself because the guy was a lot stronger than me. I had been practicing on that for the last couple of weeks and it clicked at the end.”