SACRAMENTO >> Blake Fredrickson chewed up and spit out his first two opponents on Friday in the opening rounds of the Tim Brown Memorial Wrestling Tournament at Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento. The tournament runs through today.
Lower Lake High School’s 106-pound freshman, unseeded in the field, received a first-round bye before beating his first opponent with a 32-second pin. In the third round, Fredrickson scored a 21-6 technical fall over the No. 6 seed, earning him a spot in today’s quarterfinal round.
The top eight in each weight bracket medal and Fredrickson is well on his way, according to Lower Lake head coach Ed Fuchs.
“This tournament is as tough as they come in Northern California. It’s not the Doc Buchanan (held earlier this month in Clovis), but it’s the toughest tournament we have on our schedule, probably tougher than the sectionals.”
Fredrickson won the 106-pound title last weekend at the 12th annual Mat Classic at Granada High School in Livermore. Fuchs said the Tim Brown is a big step up from the Mat Classic, making Fredrickson’s two matches on Friday all the more amazing.
“By destroying the sixth seed the way he did, that’s kind of a statement,” Fuchs said of Fredrickson, who was one of four Lower Lake wrestlers competing on Friday but the only one to win a match.
An expected meeting with the No. 3 seed in the quarterfinals won’t happen because the third seed lost on Friday, dropping him into the consolation bracket of the double-elimination tournament.
Also for Lower Lake, Dahsaan Booker (120 pounds), Isaiah Klein (132) and Corey Parker (140) all went two and out on Friday. Booker landed on his head and was injured in his final match, earning him a trip to the UC Davis Medical Center.
“He appears to be OK, nothing serious,” Fuchs said. “He’ll have an MRI. It was a little scary.”
Klein had a 5-4 lead late in his second match but ended up being pinned.
While Fredrickson returns to action today in Sacramento, other Lower Lake wrestlers are entered in the Michael Kroppmann Memorial Tournament today in Lakeport. On Monday, Lower Lake’s girls are competing in the Martin Luther King Tournament in San Rafael.
