LAKE COUNTY >> Three of Lake County’s most decorated high school wrestlers are keeping plenty busy in the long offseason.
All juniors, Junior Fernandez and Adriana Lopez of Upper Lake High School and Jasmin Clarke of Kelseyville High School recently competed against some top-notch competition — Fernandez at the 2018 Junior Greco World Duals in Concord, Lopez at the Body Bar/Women’s World Team Trials in Texas, and Clarke at the Women’s Freestyle Nationals, also in Texas.
Fernandez
Fernandez, the North Coast Section runner-up at 126 pounds and a state tournament qualifier two years running, competed for Team California during the Junior Greco World Duals and help his squad finish 3-3. Wrestling at 130 pounds, Fernandez went 5-0 in duals competition before advancing to the individual semifinals where he pinned Ali Andic of Sweden in the first round. He followed that up with another first-round pin in the finals against Hunter Sparks of Oregon.
Prior to the tournament, Fernandez also participated in a clinic put on by Olympian Robbie Smith and USA Greco Nationals coach Gary Mayabb.
Fernandez is off to Fresno this weekend for the Association Duals. He also received a high honor earlier this week when he was informed that he had been selected to train at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center on July 1-6. During his week-long stay, he’ll be trained by USA national team coaches and Olympians. Fernandez is one of only 90 wrestlers selected to attend.
Lopez
Lopez, the North Coast Section champion at 121 pounds and a third-place medalist at the CIF State Championships earlier this year, competed at 125 pounds during the Body Bar/Women’s World Team Trials, going 2-2 in four matches.
After falling 8-6 in her first match, Lopez bounced back with a pair of victories but then lost to Payton Stroud, the third-ranked wrestler in the nation, in the blood round. Although Lopez beat Stroud last month at the Reno Worlds, this time it was Stroud emerging with a victory by technical fall.
Clarke
Clarke, the reigning North Coast Section champion at 189 pounds and a fourth-place state medalist this past season, competed in the Cadet 171-pound division at the Women’s Freestyle Nationals. After a first-round bye, she pinned Iman Thomas from Texas in the quarterfinals, then won by technical fall over Wilma Mason of Washington state in the semifinals.
In the finals against Elisa Robinson of Kansas, Clarke got caught in a body lock and was hit by a big throw as Robinson went on to win the match.
