In an eventful CIF San Diego Section Division 1 Championship boys wrestling tournament on Saturday at San Marcos High School, powerhouse Poway ran away with the team title, as expected, and won 12 of the 14 individual weight classes.
The Titans, ranked first in the state and fourth nationally according to the InterMat wrestling rankings, won the team title with 415.5 points. Granite Hills came in second place with 293 points and Rancho Bernardo third with 215.5. points. It was the 44th year in a row that Poway has won the team boys’s San Diego CIF section that it has competed in.
“We are a stronger team this year than we have been in the last two years, with more number one and two ranked wrestlers in the state than our previous two teams,” Poway head coach John Meyers said. “We treat this tournament as a dress rehersal for the (San Diego) Master’s Championship and (California) State tournament.”
There were 182 total wrestlers from 18 Division I schools at the event. The top eight in each weight category move on to the Masters meet, held next weekend in El Centro. The top four finishers in each weight division from the Masters go on to the State championship in Bakersfield.
Winners for Poway included: Arseni Kikiniou (106 pounds), Edwin Sierra (113), Robert Jones (120), Billy Townson (126), Gavin Navida (132), Paul Kelly (138), Mario Carini (144), Laird Root (150), Jack Estevez (157), Angeki Posada (175), Dominic Dotson (190) and Robert Platt (215).
“I think this is the best team Poway has ever had,” said Rancho Bernardo coach Joe Eddie Terribilini. “Poway and Granite Hills are by far the best wrestling schools in the county.”
Granite Hills’ Colin Guffey, the No. 1 wrestler in the state, won the 165-pound division.
“All of Guffey’s hard work and dedication is paying off,” Granite Hills coach Jesse Sheard said.
Aiden Astronomo of Rancho Bernardo won the heavyweight (285-pound) division by forfeit after favored Adam Farha of Poway was pulled prior to the title bout. Farha picked up a misconduct during a heated confrontation between Meyers and Terriblini earlier in the match. Meyers said he didn’t want to risk Farha picking up a second misconduct, which would disqualify him for State.
RB’s Kenny Nguyen was taken to a local hospital with an apparent neck injury suffered during a consultation bracket match. Terriblini said the trip was precautionary, and that the wrestler should be fine.
Nguyen’s injury was just the start. As emergency crews entered the gym to treat Nguyen, an unruly fan tried to enter the gym from a nearby hallway. According to eyewitness accounts, the fan attempted to accost a fireman helping with the stretcher and ended up taking a swings at CIF Division I Tournament Director Dave Beamon and San Marcos Tournament Director Don Williams. Several coaches pinned the fan up against a wall, subduing him.
The fan disappeared before San Diego County Sheriff deputies arrived, according to Beamon and Williams. Much of the fracas was heard by the crowd of approximately 500 fans on a “hot” public address microphone. Nobody was hurt in the incident.
“This is the most exciting tournament I have ever run. I have never had this happen in 22 years of CIF service,” Beamon said. “It was a wild day.”
Boys wrestling
CIF San Diego Section Division 1 championships
At San Marcos High School
Team: Poway 415.5, Granite Hills 293, Rancho Bernardo 215.5, Carlsbad 153, Torrey Pines 138, San Marcos 100, Del Norte 90.5, Otah Ranch 87, Helix 78, Olympian 66.
Finals:
106- Arseni Kikiniou (Poway) d. Emilio Escobar (Granite Hills), Maj 13-5
113- Edwin Sierra (Poway) d. Abram Cline (GH), Dec 1-0
120- Robert Jones (Poway) d. Roman Zelenka (Carlsbad), Fall 3:45
126- Billy Towson (Poway) d. Jayson Suetos (GH), Fall 5:16
132- Gavin Navida (Poway) d. RJ Villegas (RB), Dec 7-0
138- Paul Kelly (Poway) d. Layronz Fraser (GH), forfeit
144- Maria Carini (Poway) d. Marcus Caro (RB), Dec 5-1
150- Laird Root (Poway) d. Sergio Porras (GH), TF 16-1
157- Jack Estevez (Poway) d. Ryan Carroll (GH), Dec 7-1
165- Collin Guffey (GH) d. Aliaksandr Kikiniou (Poway), Dec 7-0
175- Angelo Posada (Poway) d. Junior Bumanglag (GH), Fall 1:42
190- Dominic Dotson (Poway) d. Mason Walsh (Carlsbad), Dec 7-4
215- Robert Platt (Poway) d. Joseph Smith (GH), forfeit
285- Aiden Astronoma (RB) d. Adam Farha (Poway), forfeit
Third place:
106- Diego Cortes (RB) d. Hector Cahue (Calsbad), Dec 5-3
113- Joe Jeon (RB) d. Felipe Martinez (Del Norte), Dec 5-1
120- Damian Arreola (GH) d. Eliel Santiago (Mission Hills) , Maj 14-4
126- Aiden Caro (RB) d. Connor O’Balle (Carlsbad), Dec 3-2
132- Aiden Chur (GH) d. Jonathan Moedano (Mission Hills), Dec 7-0
138- Francisco Saroldi-Gonzalez (Patrick Henry) d. Steven Castaneda (Del Norte), Fall 5:05
144- Devon Wells (GH) d. Jake Sakofsky (Torrey Pines), Fall 0:51
150- Jase Gillespie (RB) d. Andres Gonzalez (Olympian), Dec 2-0
157- Chris Villegas (RB) d. Harrison Koenig (Carlsbad), Dec 4-2
165- Jacob Pe (RB) d. Brayden Zingano (Eastlake), Dec. 5-1
175- Mahiro Okazaki d. Ryder McMahan (El Camino), Dec 5-2
190- Ja’Kar Carter (Helix) d. Marko Dzodzo (Torrey Pines), Fall 1:34
215- Diego Camacho (Otay Ranch) d. Nyeem Jones (El Camino), Fall 5:32
285- Ricardo Spittler (Otay Ranch) d. Triston Savaiki (El Camino), Fall 1:47
