OLIVEHURST — Clear Lake High School sent 20 wrestlers to the Jason White Memorial Wrestling Tournament last weekend at Lindhurst High School in Olivehurst.
Thirty-four teams participated, with most coming from the Sac Joaquin Section. Before it was over, Clear Lake placed 15 wrestlers in the top four of their respective weight classes, including five firsts.
“This week the Cardinals went to Lindhurst High School to honor Jason White, a former student who sacrificed his life in order to save others in a school shooting,” Clear Lake head coach Nathan Powers said. “It was a great day of wrestling. We had many breakthroughs with all of our wrestlers showing their growth and development over the season.”
Weight division championships went to Hernan Romero at 128 pounds, Liam Davis at 147 pounds, Hayden Fowler at 134 pounds, Ashley Pyorre at 108 pounds and Vicente Ortega at 140 pounds.
Romero, Ortega and Davis all went 3-0 with two pins while Fowler went 3-0 with a technical fall. Pyorre won both of her matches by pin.
“Hernan Romero continues to be a dominant force on the mat, always keeping the match on his terms,” Powers said. “When he shoots, he doesn’t stop ’til he gets his points
“Liam Davis showed excellent balance and intensity in a thrilling finals match. With an extensive background in grappling sports, he is exciting and unpredictable on the mat. He has a great grasp on how to control his opponents,” Powers added.
“Hayden Fowler showed great finesse and technique throughout the tournament. He was making moves look easy. In his finals match he had a close, exciting victory over his teammate and workout partner. It’s great to have partners that can push each other to get better together,” Powers said.
“Ashley Pyorre was a great show of dominance, toughness and sheer mental willpower by overcoming any and all obstacles in front of her. We are all very excited to see the waves she makes at NCS (sectional tournament),” Powers added.
“Vicente Ortega had an awesome day experiencing his first championship victory. As a first-year wrestler, he has shown accelerated growth in the sport. He is natural-born wrestler with still a lot to learn. I have high confidence he will have much more success as he continues to develop,” Powers said.
Second-place medals went to Ayden Williamson (128 pounds) and Nicholas Williamson (134), both 2-1 with two pins, and to Tara Wong (103), 1-1 with one pin.
Earning third-place medals were Mohammad Akbari (128), 3-1 with two pins and a technical fall; Elijah Alvarez (140), 3-1 with one pin; Christopher Krack (197); and Ximena Soto (128).
Placing fourth were Asher Reese (115), Raymond Gonzales-Shoaf (222) and Mavis Pyorre (128), who retired from the tournament early because of injury.
