LOWER LAKE >> Trailing 32-12 with five weight classes remaining, the Lower Lake Trojans were on the verge of watching their perfect dual meet season end against the Middletown Mustangs.
Only that’s not what happened.
Lower Lake roared back to beat Middletown 36-32 and close out the Coastal Mountain Conference dual-meet season at 8-0, the first time the Trojans have gone undefeated since 2000.
“It’s not over yet,” a happy Lower Lake head coach Ed Fuchs said after a Trojan squad dominated by underclassmen rallied to beat the Mustangs in the last of three matches on Wednesday night at Lower Lake High School where the St. Helena Saints also participated.
Lower Lake can clinch the outright CMC title by placing either first or second on Feb. 20 at the CMC Championships in Willits. A third-place finish would guarantee the Trojans no worse than a co-championship given that every other team in the conference lost at least twice during the dual-meet season.
But there is still no guarantee the Trojans will win a second straight conference title, according to Fuchs. “We could finish from first to fifth (at the CMC Championships),” Fuchs said. “We still have work to do. Everybody will be gunning for us.”
“It’s one of the most exciting duals I’ve had in a while,” Middletown coach Brian Hunt said. “I’m not disappointed in the kids’ performances. The kids wrestled real well.”
Middletown actually won six of the nine contested weight division but also gave up forfeits at 172 pounds, at heavyweights, and at 122 pounds, which proved to be the deciding weight class. There was a double-forfeit at 127 pounds even though Lower Lake had a wrestler ready to go just in case.
“The forfeits killed us,” Hunt said.
Lower Lake’s ability to avoid pins, which are worth six points, at 140 and 147 pounds also figured prominently in the outcome. While Middletown’s Jonathan Wilson beat Adam DeLeon 15-1 at 140 pounds, and Noah Williams defeated Lower Lake’s Carlos Avelar 14-0 at 147 pounds, those two major decisions netted the Mustangs only eight points instead of 12.
“I’m beyond excited that those guys were able to do that against more experienced wrestlers,” Fuchs said of DeLeon and Avelar. “They saved us four points and that’s huge.”
“We definitely needed pins,” Hunt said. “My hat’s off to Lower Lake. Even though they didn’t win those matches, those were little victories for them. Their kids did a good job staying off their back.”
After a 6-5 decision by Middletown’s Cameron Ketchum gave the Mustangs their biggest lead of the night at 32-12, Lower Lake’s comeback began with a forfeit in the heavyweight division followed by Blake Fredrickson’s first-round pin of Caden McDowell at 106 pounds. Krystal Lockwood then beat Carissa Forest by second-round pin to pull the Trojans to within 32-30.
When Lower Lake’s Dahsaan Booker took the mat for the 122-pound match and no Middletown wrestler came forward, the forfeit victory pushed the Trojans in front 36-32.
In earlier action, Isaiah Klein of Lower Lake pinned Quentin Crayne at 134 pounds. After picking up major decisions at 140 and 147 pounds, the Mustangs garnered another 12 points with Scott Kelly’s first-round pin at 154 pounds and Peter Sullivan’s second-round pin at 162 pounds.
The next contested match, and the match of the night, came at 195 pounds where Middletown’s Wyatt Jones and Lower Lake’s Peerless Brooke traded the lead back and forth before Jones won 8-6 with a reversal in the final seconds of the third round.
“What a great match,” Fuchs said. “Our sophomore battled their senior and did a great job. We were hoping it would go to overtime.”
Earlier in the evening Lower Lake beat St. Helena 18-7 and Middletown defeated the Saints 22-6.
