A busy Saturday of in Hughson saw Escalon’s varsity Cougars take second place honors in Trans-valley League tournament, along with having four individual TVL champions.
The JV boys and the varsity girls also had the chance to compete in the tournament and did well, said head coach Derek Scott, with the JV boys finishing their season as undefeated league champions.
“We took 12 wrestlers and had six champions,” Scott said.
Earning league titles for the JV team were Casey Vassallo at 145 pounds; Manuel Diaz, 160; Roman Gonzalez, 182; Sebastian Snow, 195; David Camacho, 220; and Dylan Dugo, heavyweight.
“He finished up his career,” Scott said of Dugo earning a championship in his final competition.
Second place honors at the TVL tourney were earned by Pietro Orlando, 138 pounds; Cameron Loureiro, 160; Nathan Miranda, 182; and Aiden Freitas, 195 pounds. At 132 pounds, Austin Roberts finished in third place and at 106 pounds, Ryan Trick brought home fourth place honors.
For the girls, Kaitlyn Ruiz finished in second place at 150 pounds, with Kaylee Freeseha taking second at 103. Julia Casillas was a league champion at 121 pounds for the girls and Mikayla Vega claimed a league title at 111 pounds, along with earning the Most Outstanding Wrestler honors. The girls team took third overall in league.
Girls coaches Johnathon Costa and Erica Lopez were named as the league’s Most Outstanding Coaches.
Escalon’s varsity wrestlers had a solid showing at the league tournament as well and will send a dozen wrestlers on to the Divisionals on Friday and Saturday at Calaveras.
“As a team, we took second, we had a great last round against Livingston, we went 9-3 to finish second,” Scott explained.
Hilmar took first place.
For Escalon, there were four TVL championships earned as part of the day, along with several second, third and fourth place finishes.
Izaac Sipma took fifth place at 152 pounds and qualified to Divisionals as an alternate. First through fourth place finishers y move on.
In fourth place on the day was Donnie Smith, wrestling at 195 pounds for Escalon.
Third place went to Luis Garcia at 106 pounds.
“It was his best tournament,” Scott said.
Aidan Krieger also finished strong, battling to a third place showing at 126 pounds. Older brother Ethan moved up a weight class and took third at 170 pounds while Zac Freeseha took third at 220 pounds.
Julian Gutierrez took second place at 182 pounds, losing in a close match to decide the championship, with heavyweight Sean Vassallo also battling hard throughout the day, taking second.
“We had four TVL champions, they were all 3-0, including Alex Jimenez, all his wins were by fall,” Scott said of the 132-pounder. “This was his third TVL title and he was voted the Most Outstanding Wrestler.”
Miguel Souza avenged a couple of earlier season losses in taking the TVL title at 138 pounds. Garrett Nash “was dominant” in his 145-pound weight class, said Scott, and Brad Hagglund came back strong to capture the title at 160 pounds.
All the varsity wrestlers will travel to Calaveras for the Divisionals; the top four in each weight class there continue on to the Masters Meet in Stockton the following weekend. For the girls, the top eight in each weight class move on to Masters.
