"Christian won 5-1 in the finals, Charlie pinned everybody he wrestled, Thomas pinned everyone, they all did really well," coach Derek Scott said of the trio.

Escalon hosted the two-day tournament, which featured 20 teams from around the region.

"There was also a big tournament in Stockton so that cut down on our teams," Scott said. "Next year we're going to move weekends so that will bring our numbers back up."

There were two pools, A and B, and Escalon had a couple of championships in the Pool B bracket as well.

Martin Castillo went 5-1 at 119 pounds for first place in Pool B, Andrew Baroni went 6-1 at 160 pounds for first place in Pool B, Shane Silveira went 5-1, first place in Pool B at 171 pounds.

For Scott, however, a highlight of the tournament was the effort of junior Brandon Williams at 189 pounds. He went 7-1, good for a second place showing in Pool A.

"We were really, really impressed with how much improvement Brandon Williams has shown," Scott explained. "He won several close matches and he has really worked hard to make himself a good wrestler."

Third place honors for the Cougars included Max Yang, 103 pounds, 3-3, Pool B; Jason Gutierrez, 132, 5-3, Pool A; Anthony Munoz, 135, 5-2, Pool B; Joseph Antonacci, 3-3, 140, Pool B; David Gonzales, 6-1, 140 pounds, Pool A; Victor Carrillo, 3-4, 160, Pool B.

Also taking the mats for Escalon at the tournament but not placing were Dylan Furtado, 3-3 at 125 pounds; Tyler Gonzales, 5-2, 152; Cody Hodgson, 2-4, 152; Colin Keener, 5-3, 160; Mikey Simoes, 2-3, 160; Mike Gutierrez, 4-2, 189; and Josh Messersmith, 215, who went 3-1 before having to pull out due to injury, breaking an elbow.

"I really want to thank all the parents and the supporters that worked all weekend and helped us out," Scott said. "Also, Cami Franks for running the snack bar."

Tournament sponsors earning recognition were Allen Baroni of Baroni Farms, DaSilva Dairy, Tom McCoy of Quality Service and Bob Toy of Big Boy Market.

The weekend tournament followed Escalon's first Trans-Valley League meet of the season, a trip to Waterford on Wednesday, Jan. 7. There, the JV and varsity squads both took convincing wins in what Scott expected to be their toughest dual meet of the season.

For the JV wrestlers, it was a 48-17 victory.

Winners by pin were Martin Castillo, 125; Joey Camara, 140; Adrian Cortes, 145; Cody Hodgson, 152 and Victor Carrillo, 160.

Losses were at 103 pounds, Robbie McLaughlin and 135, Cordeiro Bryand. Other wins for Escalon came via forfeit.

"Our varsity wrestled really well," Scott said of the 46-15 Cougar victory over the host Waterford team.

At 103 pounds, Max Yeng won by pin, as did Christian Franks at 112.

At 119, Kenneth Ring lost a 14-12 decision, Dylan Furtado lost 8-5 at 125 pounds and Jason Gutierrez won by pin at 130. Anthony Munoz won by pin at 135, Joseph Antonacci took a 9-5 loss at 140, David Gonzales won 16-9 at 145 pounds and Tyler Gonzales won 9-1 at 152.

At 160 pounds, Colin Keener won by pin, as did Charlie McDonald at 171, Mike Gutierrez at 189 pounds. Thomas Martin won by forfeit at 215 and Josh Messersmith earned a 5-3 win at heavyweight.

This week, league action continues with a trip to Riverbank on Wednesday, Jan. 14 for a 6:30 p.m. match and then the Mel Focha JV Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 17.