NOVATO >> Junior Fernandez didn’t let a little thing such as being seeded No. 2 stand in his way on Saturday as the Upper Lake High School sophomore won the 132-pound weight class in the Green and Gold Tournament at San Marin High School.
Fernandez pinned his first opponent in 38 seconds, won a 7-4 decision in the semifinals and beat No. 1 seed Tai White from Acalanes High School of Lafayette by 16-0 tech fall in the championship match. He not only received a first-place medal but was voted outstanding lightweight of the tournament.
The victory over White was a sweet one for Fernandez, who lost to the same wrestler by 9-7 decision in the third-place match at the 2016 North Coast Section Championships.
Dante Bassignani also won a medal for the Cougars, taking third with a 3-1 record at 160 pounds.
In other wrestling action involving Lake County teams on Saturday:
Clear Lake
At American Canyon, 111-pounder Mavis Pyorre and 189-pounder Ashley Vasquez secured first-place medals while leading Clear Lake to a third-place team finish in the girls division of the American Canyon Tournament.
Second-place medals went to Mia Miller at 126 pounds, Madi Ferguson at 131 pounds and Kally Winson at 235 pounds.
Among the Clear Lake boys, Isaac Lewis pinned two opponents while placing third at 170 pounds. At 152 pounds, Justin Cantrell placed sixth, also pinning two opponents, and all three of Roman Uribe’s wins were by pin as he finished seventh at 113 pounds.
“There is no quit in any of them,” Clear Lake coach Aiden Pierson said.
Lower Lake
At Concord, the Lower Lake Trojans took 10 wrestlers — six junior varsity boys and four girls — to the Clayton Valley Shootout and came away with nine medals.
“It was a long trip home but that was fun … a real fun day,” Lower Lake coach Ed Fuchs said.
Among the JV boys, longtime Punishers wrestler Tristan Day, now a freshman, made his high school debut in style as he went 4-0 with three pins and one tech fall to win the 120-pound division.
“Man, he looked good,” Fuchs said.
Kyle Lynn came away with a second-place medal at 132 pounds after going 3-1 with two pins.
Third-place medals went to Jacob Klein, who was 2-2 with one pin at 132 pounds; Jacob Billings, who was 2-2 with one pin at 152 pounds; and David Burke, who was 1-1 at 113 pounds.
For the Lower Lake girls, Mikelynn Rowe won all three of her matches by pin to capture the 133-pound division while Krystal Lockwood won the 101-pound division with a 1-1 record and one pin. Lily Wetmore added a second-place medal at 126 pounds with a 3-1 record and three pins, and Jasmine Lippincott claimed the third-place medal at 126 pounds with a 2-2 record and one pin.
Middletown
Middletown sent wrestlers to three tournament on Saturday. The girls visited San Leandro and Alixe Olson brought home a fourth-place medal with a 3-2 record at 160 pounds. Both of her losses were to returning state qualifiers, including the top-ranked 160-pounder in the state this season.
“She was seeded fifth, so finishing fourth is a step up,” Middletown coach Brian Hunt said. “San Leandro is one of the three or four toughest tournaments in our section.”
Rachel Harvey, unseeded at 150 pounds, finished fifth after knocking off the third and fourth seeds.
“She had a really good day,” Hunt said.
Three of Middletown’s varsity boys traveled to the American Canyon Tournament where Jake Kelly finished third with a 2-1 record at 132 pounds, Cameron Ketchum placed fourth with a 1-2 record at 220 pounds, and Quentin Crayne took fifth with a 3-1 record at 145 pounds.
Middletown’s JV wrestlers participated in the Elsie Allen Tournament in Santa Rosa. James Hernandez finished first at 187 pounds with a 3-1 record while Evan Dodd (152 pounds) and Jared Pyzer (160 pounds) came in second with 3-1 records.
“All of our guys got between three and five matches and it was a really good showing,” Hunt said.
