It was a hectic couple of days at Escalon High School, even though school wasn’t yet back in session from the long holiday break.
Friday and Saturday, Jan. 2 and 3, featured the annual Lloyd C. Engel Wrestling Tournament, with a dozen Cougar grapplers taking part, several earning top five finishes.
Head coach Derek Scott said he was pleased with the tournament overall, especially the number of local families that volunteered to help keep it running smoothly, along with the students that assisted with timekeeping and scoring.
“We had 32 teams there and we were done by 4, 4:30 p.m. each day,” Scott said, noting that he couldn’t have pulled off such a successful event without the core group of volunteers that were there to assist.
On the mats, there were several different pools, with Pool A being the toughest.
For Escalon, Houston Sizuela took third place in Pool A at 126 pounds, going 6-1 over the two days.
“He found ways to win some very tough matches,” Scott said.
Conner McDowell went 3-2 for Escalon at 132 pounds in Pool A and did not place
Earning a second place finish for Escalon at 144 pounds in Pool A was Luca Cerasi, going 5-1.
“He lost a really good match in the finals, it was two ranked guys,” Scott said of Cerasi and his opponent in the championship round, Gabriel Champagne of Grace Davis.
At heavyweight, in his first varsity tournament, freshman Trey Herrera went 3-2 in Pool A, winning his first three matches of the tournament. He did not place.
In Pool B, Jimmy McDowell took first place at 113 pounds, going 5-1, while Jacob Morales also took first place in Pool B at 120 pounds, going 5-1.
“It is the best he has wrestled this year,” Scott said of Morales.
Fourth place in Pool B at 126 pounds went to Johnny Van Dyk, going 4-3.
Earning second place honors in Pool B was Logan Wentzell at 165 pounds, going 4-2.
“It was the best by far he has looked so far this season,” said Scott.
Cole McDowell went 3-3 at 175 pounds for Escalon in Pool B while Leo Carillo went 5-1 for first place honors in Pool B at 175 pounds.
Josiah Becerra saw his first varsity action, wrestling at 138 pounds in Pool C, taking fourth place with a 3-4 record.
At 150 pounds in Pool C, Daniel Murrillo went 2-4 and did not place.
“I’m happy with him,” Scott said. “He shows up every day and works hard.”
The coach said he was also happy to see the large turnout of Escalon Lady Cougar wrestlers, who assisted in a variety of ways at the tournament, since they were not wrestling.
Earlier, the teams opened up Trans-Valley League action by hosting Orestimba on Dec. 17. The JV boys “had an exciting back and forth match,” said Scott, ultimately coming back for a 33-22 win.
The girls won the match by a 47-6 decision, primarily on forfeits, with only three matches wrestled and the Lady Cougars winning two of the three, with victories by Yahaira Munoz and Miroslava Torres.
The varsity boys shut out Orestimba 65-0 but with just four matches wrestled. Houston Sizuela, Luca Cerasi, Preston Sizuela and Cole McDowell got the wins.
On Dec. 19, the varsity boys attended the Hughson Duals, falling to Central Valley by a 41-37 final, defeating Linden 52-18, taking a 48-28 loss to defending Section champion Golden Valley and then defeating Summerville, 53-30, to go 2-2 during the competition.
On Saturday, Dec. 20, several members of the JV boys team and the varsity girls went to Pacheco High School. Seven JV boys wrestled and six earned medals, with Jimmy McDowell, Matt Fiori, Josiah Becerra and Kevin Rocha taking second place; Daniel Murrillo and Trey Herrera earning championships.
Six girls competed, with four taking home first place medals. They were Angeline Mills, Miroslava Torres, Sofia Duran and Melanie Carrillo.
“Seven of the girls have legitimate chances of making it to state,” Scott said of the way the varsity team is improving. “I’m very excited for them.”
