SANTA ROSA — Beaten down by injuries and illness, the Middletown High School wrestling team could muster only four healthy bodies for the Puma Classic on Saturday at Maria Carrillo High School in Santa Rosa, but quantity isn’t everything.
Three of those wrestlers came away with medals in one of the area’s toughest tournaments.
“For as sick and beat up as we are, that’s pretty good,” Middletown head coach Brian Hunt said.
Xander Romero, the Mustangs’ talented 113-pounder, lived up to his No. 3 seeding by finishing third with a 4-1 record that included a pair of pins and a 17-5 major decision over Arcata’s Marley Harris in the third-place match.
His only loss came in the semifinals where he was pinned by eventual 113-pound champion Jose Sanchez of Maria Carrillo High School. Sanchez is No. 2 in the most recent North Coast Section rankings while Romero is No. 4 and Harris No. 7.
“He put on a clinic,” Hunt said of Romero’s major decision over Harris.
Anthony Nudi, the No. 7 seed at 160 pounds, ended up bringing home a fourth-place medal after going 3-2 in his five matches. He lost to the No. 2 seed by 5-4 decision the quarterfinals, but then bounced back to beat the No. 5 seed in his first consolation match.
“I was quite happy with his performance,” Hunt said.
One of the best comebacks of the day belonged to Filemon Sanchez at 126 pounds. After losing his first match to the eventual 126-pound champion and falling into the consolation bracket of the double-elimination tournament, he rallied with three straight wins. In his final match, he fell behind 7-1 midway through the second period before scoring 10 unanswered points for an 11-7 victory.
“He wrestled real well and listened real well,” Hunt said.
Middletown (3-1) hosts Willits (3-1) in a Coastal Mountain Conference dual on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
