LAKEPORT — Two weeks after placing third in the Dennis Jensen Invitational in Middletown despite not fielding a full team, the Lower Lake Trojans found themselves in the same situation Saturday during the eighth annual Michael Kroppmann Memorial Tournament in Lakeport.
No matter. The Trojans, missing six varsity wrestlers, still walked out of the Clear Lake High School gym with the first-place trophy.
Lower Lake edged out runner-up Clear Lake by 4 ½ points while Ukiah came in third in boys team scoring. Upper Lake took the girls championship in front of Clear Lake and Windsor.
Lower Lake
Ed Fuchs, the veteran head coach of the Trojans, had a number of his top wrestlers competing in the ultra-competitive Tim Brown Invitational, which opened Friday in Sacramento. Neither Gilberto Orozco at 147 pounds or Quenten Vilmenay at 115 pounds qualified for Saturday’s final rounds, so they made the trip back to Lake County in time to compete with their teammates at the Michael Kroppmann.
Vilmenay not only wont his weight class in Lakeport, but he took home the tournament’s outstanding lightweight award after going 2-0 with two pins.
“He learned from his mistakes (at Tim Brown) and put that to use,” Fuchs said. “He dominated. He’s looking good.”
Orozco ended up with a second-place medal at 154 pounds, his only lost a 6-4 decision to a Terra Linda wrestler in the finals.
Two other Trojans joined Vilmenay as Kroppmann weight division champions. Troyman Cheng won the round-robin 184-pound division while Jacob Billings pinned all three of his opponents at 197 pounds.
Lower Lake second-place medalists were Orozco, Dominic Perez (134), Jose Medina (140) and Adam Viramontes (162).
“The team scoring was close all day,” Fuchs said. “I challenged them to win even though we didn’t have all of our people. That added to the excitement.”
Jonathan Chadwick’s third-place medal at 172 pounds turned out to be a difference maker in the battle for the team title, according to Fuchs. The freshman is a 162-pounder, but is behind Viramontes on the Lower Lake depth chart.
“So he volunteered to bump up to 172 pounds and he went 3-1 and takes third,” Fuchs said. “He was giving up 10 pounds and he showed a lot of guts. If he doesn’t take one for the team and move up, we don’t score all those points and Lakeport wins it.”
Joseph Boyd added another third-place finish in the heavyweight division while Lower Lake’s Donovan Garcia (122) and Kevin Atrisco (134) came in fourth.
Clear Lake
The Cardinals entered 26 wrestlers (22 boys, four girls) and finished with 21 medals.
“The 2020 Michael Kroppmann Memorial tournament was a smashing success,” Clear Lake head coach Nathan Powers said. “Bringing in over 175 boy and girl wrestlers from 11 different schools, it was a day full of fierce competition while celebrating the culture of wrestling and honoring the memory of Michael Kroppmann.”
Nicholas Williamson was one of three Clear Lake weight division winners as he pinned all four of his opponents at 135 pounds. Elijah Alvarez went 3-0 with two pins at 141 pounds, and Anthony Gersalia went 2-0 with one pin at 170 pounds.
Reaching their respective weight class final but finishing second were Nathan “Bubba” Pyorre (109), 4-1 with four pins; and Axel Alvarez (185), 1-1 with one pin.
Third-place medals went to Hernan Romero (129), who was 4-1 with four points; Hayden Fowler (135), 3-1 with one pin; Vincent Ortego (141) , 3-1 with one pin; Christopher Krack (198), 2-1 with one pin; and Raymond Gonzales-Shoaf (223), 2-2 with one pin.
Asher Reese (116) and Dominic Legendre (heavyweight) captured fourth-place medals, Luis Aguilar (116), Mohammad Akbari (123) and Ayden Williamson (129) secured fifth-place meals, and Victor Romero (109) and Liam Davis (148) placed sixth.
Upper Lake
Bradley Sneathen, the 220-pound champion, won the tournament’s outstanding heavyweight award as the Cougars claimed fifth in the boys standings.
The Cougars also came away with four second-place medals — Dylan Slater (115), Donovan Fernandez (122), Rene Diaz (128) and Adrian Cervantes (heavyweight).
“Another great day of wrestling by our Upper Lake Cougars boys at the Michael Kroppman tournament in Lakeport,” Upper Lake head coach Joe Fernandex said. “These boys are always giving it their all and it shows.”
Richard Perez added a fifth-place medal.
Middletown
Joziah Pyzer’s third-place medal at 145 pounds was the best individual finish by a Middletown wrestler in the tournament. Parker Boden (126), Johnny Reyes (170) and Donny Turknett (220) added fourth-place medals while Sam Bomberry (160) and Joseph Cortez (113) finished sixth.
Middletown’s top two boys — 113-pounder Xander Romero and 195-pound Jared Pyzer — competed in the Granada Tournament (see related story).
Girls
Upper Lake High School’s girls team, led by weight division winners Dena Loans Arrow, Mallory Henry and Tatum Salas, edged out tournament host Clear Lake for the Kroppmann championship.
Jessica Lee added a third-place medal.
“Outstanding job today by our Lady Cougars,” Fernandez said. “They placed first as a team with only four wrestlers.”
For Clear Lake, Mavis Pyorre finished second at 123 pounds with a 3-1 record and two pins, and Tara Wong was the runner-up at 104 pounds.
Ashley Pyorre finished third at 109 pounds, and Ximena Soto placed fourth at 123 pounds.
Lower Lake wrestlers Stacy Lopez (152) and Alyisa Caruso (172) took home second-place medals.
Upcoming
Lake County teams open their Coastal Mountain Conference dual seasons on Wednesday. Middletown hosts Cloverdale and Fort Bragg, Upper Lake hosts Kelseyville, and both Clear Lake and Lower Lake hit the road for Willits.
“We look forward to starting our league campaign in the upcoming week as we continue to sharpen our skills and abilities,” Powers said. “I am so proud how these young men and women showcase the best of both worlds in wrestling; intensity on the mat and integrity in all arenas.”
