Junior varsity wrestlers for Escalon had the chance to get on the mats for some solid work over the holiday break, taking on opponents in the Mel Focha JV Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 3.

The young Cougars saw one champion emerge from the tournament, in addition to several second and third place finishers.

“We had 11 kids wrestle, we were a little light on the JV side, with some sickness and injuries,” head coach Derek Scott said of hosting the one day tournament.

“We did have 25 teams there and everything went really smoothly, we had several parents running the snack bar and the different booths.”

Scott said the tournament was well run and couldn’t have been pulled off as smoothly without the help from the parents. Many Escalon alumni also helped with coaching the young wrestlers, offering advice and encouragement.

Jake Lawrence was Escalon’s first place finisher in the tournament, taking top honors in the 170-pound weight class.

Taking second were Caleb Aguilar at 195 pounds and, in the girls division, Adela Ley-Han was second at 101 pounds.

Finishing third were Livius Seung at 120 pounds, David Ryan at 160, Stephen Mendez at 170 and Justin Branco at heavyweight.

Trans-Valley League action for the JV and varsity starts tonight, Wednesday, Jan. 7 with a home match against Ripon.

“This will probably be our toughest dual of the year,” said Scott, noting his team will need to put together solid performances to take down the Indians.

This weekend, Escalon will host the annual Lloyd C. Engel Tournament, with action both Friday and Saturday, Jan. 9 and 10.