LAKE COUNTY — Ups and downs are part of every athlete’s life as former Upper Lake High School wrestling stars Junior Fernandez and Adriana Lopez found out Saturday while competing for their new teams — Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo for Fernandez and Campbellsville University in Kentucky for Lopez.
Fernandez, a fifth-place state medalist for the Cougars last season, participated in his first home dual, an event held outdoors at O’Neill Green on the SLO campus against visiting San Francisco State University. Competing on a raised stage and with a large crowd looking on, Fernandez went head to head with Nathan Cervantes, a senior. Cervantes caught Fernandez in a head-and-arm move and pinned him 1 minutes and 37 seconds into the first round of their 133-pound match.
“It was really cool to see Junior on a Division 1 wrestling stage with the team getting ready,” said Joe Fernandez, Junior’s dad and coach during his four years at Upper Lake. “It was a pretty awesome experience for us.”
Fernandez is now 4-3 on the season.
The Mustangs return to action Saturday and Sunday against Buffalo at the Roadrunner Open in Bakersfield.
Lopez
Competing for the first time this season for Campbellsville at the Missouri Valley Open in Marshall, Missouri, Lopez went 2-2 with a bye. After losing to Makayla Welch of King University by fall in her collegiate debut, Lopez bounced back to pin Payton Stroud of McKendree University and Cora Johnson of Central Methodist University in her next two matches. In her final match, Lopez lost by 10-0 technical fall to Marissa Gallegos of Colorado Mesa University and suffered a mild concussion in the process.
“This is a huge tournament for college women,” Fernandez said of his daughter’s first collegiate competition. “She had 41 women in the 123-pound bracket.”
Campbellsville placed 15th out of 34 teams.
Lopez won the 121-pound state championship for Upper Lake during her senior season, the first Lake County athlete to bring home a state title in any CIF-sponsored sport.
Campbellsville University returns to action Friday against University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky, and is on the road again Saturday to take on Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon, Georgia.
