EUREKA >> The Lower Lake High School wrestling team placed fourth at the North Coast Classic on Saturday in Eureka while the Upper Lake and Middletown boys squads were in action at the King of the Mat tournament in Windsor.
Among the county’s girls contingent, Upper Lake’s Christina Wilson and Adriana Lopez scored another round of high finishes during the Lady Eagle Invitational at Del Oro High School in Loomis while Middletown’s Kylie Dredge turned in a strong showing at the Lady Jaguars Tournament in Vallejo.
North Coast Classic
It was Lower Lake’s first trip to Eureka in five years and coach Ed Fuchs said he remembers the last visit because the Trojans came up short of a team trophy, which are awarded to the top five squads.
“They have custom-carved redwood trophies,” Fuchs said. “The last time we were there I thought it would be nice to bring home one of those.”
Lower Lake didn’t miss this time, placing the highest among North Coast Section (NCS) teams in the field.
Winning individual medals, which go to the top six wrestlers in each weight class, were 222-pound champion Peerliss Brooke, 108-pound runner-up Mario Cuellar, heavyweight runner-up Michael Jamison, 160-pound fourth-place finisher Carlos Avelar, and 154-pound sixth-place finisher Jordan Lott.
Brooke pinned three of his four opponents at 222 pounds while allowing a grand total of two points – both for escapes – during the tournament.
“He went out there with a mentality that he was going to dominate,” Fuchs said.
Brooke isn’t only Trojan on a pretty good run of late. With a fair chunk of the season still ahead, Cuellar, the Trojans’ outstanding freshman, has already secured a spot on Lower Lake’s 10-20-30 club (at least 10 pins, 20 or more wins and 30 or make takedowns in a season). He’s currently at 11-20-57 and has a shot at breaking the school record for most victories by a freshman, according to Fuchs.
King of the Mat
Upper Lake’s Junior Fernandez was the No. 2 seed at 134 pounds and he lived up to the advance billing by reaching the finals against No. 1 Angelo Martinoni of Folsom High School. Martinoni prevailed 12-2.
Fernandez pinned all three of his opponents leading up to the finals.
Middletown had three wrestlers – Cameron Ketchum, Quentin Crayne and Jared Pyzer – bring home medals with top-eight finishes. Ketchum led the way with a fifth-place finish at 220 pounds. His only loss was to a Northgate High School wrestler who is ranked in the top five in the North Coast Section. Crayne came in sixth at 145 pounds and Pyzer was seventh at 170 pounds.
“The King of the Mat is one of the toughest tournaments in the NCS,” Middletown coach Brian Hunt said. “This was a good showing by our team, and we hope to continue this kind of success throughout the rest of the season.”
In the Prince of the Mat tournament held Friday for junior varsity wrestlers at Windsor, Middletown’s A.J. Leggitt came in second at 220 pounds while third-place medals went to Issac Rascon at 106 pounds and Joziah Pyzer at 120 pounds. Hagan Cadwalleder went 2-1 but didn’t medal because he lost his first match.
Lady Eagles
Upper Lake’s Wilson dominated the 133-pound class, going 3-0, while teammate Lopez went 3-1 at 123 pounds, taking second.
Lady Jaguars
Middletown’s Dredge finished third at 150 pounds, her only loss coming to the reigning section champion.
