UNION CITY >> The only two Lake County wrestlers to make it through the first day of the North Coast Section Championships unscathed are both seeded in the same weight class.
No. 6 seed Nick Kranich of Upper Lake and No. 7 seed William Isaacs of Lower Lake each pinned their first two opponents to reach today’s quarterfinals. If they can finish third or higher today they will advance to next week’s CIF State Championships in Bakersfield.
Kranich beat Isaacs 11-5 in the championship match of last weekend’s Coastal Mountain Conference championships in Upper Lake. If both win today in the quarterfinals they’ll meet again in the semifinals.
Only two other Lake County wrestlers survived the day one cut and both are in the consolation bracket where they still can finish as high as third place and earn a berth into the state tournament.
Luis Garcia of Kelseyville is 2-1 at 113 pounds and Zachary Sneathen of Upper Lake is 2-1 at 132 pounds.
Championship bracket
Kranich pinned Blake Nelson of Drake in 23 seconds in a first-round match, then came back later in the day to pin Jose Martinez of Concord in the second round. Isaacs also dominated the opposition in the early going, pinning Jorge Toro of Castro Valley with just a second remaining in their first-round match, and pinning Genavo Estrada of American in only 37 seconds.
In today’s quarterfinals, Kranich draws No. 3 Andres Guzman of Mount Eden while Isaacs faces No. 2 seed Rangel Lowery of Freedom.
“Seeding is just seeding,” Lower Lake coach Ed Fuchs said when asked Kranich’s and Isaacs’ chances. “You still have to go out there and wrestle.”
Isaacs and Lowery aren’t strangers. Isaacs beat Lowery 5-2 in early January and lost to him 1-0 earlier this month. Today’s match is by far the most important of their season series.
“He’s in a good position,” Fuchs said of Isaacs, who tied Lower Lake’s record for most career pins (82), originally set by Justin Harrison.
Isaacs is trying to win a section medal for the second year in a row after finishing third in 2014.
Consolation bracket
Celebrating his 36th birthday on Friday, Fuchs said he was hoping to get all eight of his wrestlers through to the second day of the section tournament. Four other Trojans came close but fell short, one agonizingly so. Competing at 120 pounds, Isaiah Klein won his first-round match by 18-2 technical fall before losing to the No. 1 seed by first-round pin. In the consolation bracket, Klein won 11-7 in his first match and was tied 6-6 in his final match of the day. He scored what he and Fuchs though was a winning takedown in the final seconds of regulation, but the officials ruled it came just after time had expired in the third round.
In overtime, Klein lost 8-6 on a takedown, ending his day and season.
“It can be brutal down here,” Fuchs said of the competition at the sectional tournament. “It’s hard to make it to the second day let alone win a medal.”
Peerliss Brooke, a Lower Lake freshman, opened his day with a 12-9 win but then lost by first-round pin to the No. 1 seed. Needing a victory to stay alive in the consolation bracket, he took a 5-3 lead into the third round and was tied 5-5 late in the third round before losing on a last-second pin.
Lower Lake 154-pound Brendan Maninger was in the same situation as Brooke after winning his first match and losing his second. Tied 4-4 late in the third round of his consolation match, his was pinned with only seconds remaining.
“All eight of my guys won at least one match, so it was a good day,” Fuchs said.
Sneathen wrestled three close matches at 132 pounds, winning two. He opened with a 5-3 overtime decision over Jeff Caldwell of Los Lomas High School before dropping a 9-7 decision to Tyler Bennett of Freedom High School in the second round. With his season on the line, Sneathen scored a 3-2 win over Cole Zanarini of Liberty in the consolaiton bracket.
Garcia had the unenviable task of facing No. 3 seed Auston Wilson of Windsor in the first round and Wilson scored an 11-1 major decision. The Kelseyville senior fought back in the consolation bracket, eliminating Marcus Henderson of Del Norte 4-2 and Upper Lake’s Alex Sanchez 8-1.
“He’s feeling good,” Kelseyville coach Rob Brown said. “Opening against the No. 3 seed is a tough way to start your day.”
Garcia needs wins in each of his first matches today to reach the medal round, according to Brown. The top eight in each weight class receive medals.
