Young wrestlers help Warriors win initial meet

Two sophomores, three juniors, and two seniors on the Fallbrook High School wrestling team accounted for four victories by pin, two wins by forfeit, and a win by major decision in the Warriors' 40-33 victory Dec. 3 at home against San Pasqual which began Fallbrook's 2015-16 season.

"It's always fun to start with a 'w'," said Fallbrook coach Cristian Vera. "It was just really exciting because we had a lot of really young guys."

Scoring in high school wrestling involves both points within a match and team points based on the results of each match. The scoring within each match gives two or three points for a near fall, depending on the time the other wrestler was on his back, two points for a takedown or a reversal, one point for an escape, one point for a first-offense penalty, and two points for a second-offense penalty.

The winner of each match provides the school with three points for a decision, four points for a major decision (at least an eight-point margin), five points for a technical fall (ahead by 15 points), and six points for a fall (also called a pin) or a forfeit (which is usually for failure to field a wrestler in the weight class rather than for behavior on the mat). The school with the most points after all 14 weight classes are contested wins the dual meet.

Neither the Warriors nor the Golden Eagles put a 106-pound wrestler on the mat, creating a double forfeit with neither team receiving points. San Pasqual also forfeited the 113-pound weight class, which gave Fallbrook sophomore Christian Lyntton the victory.

San Pasqual overcame that six-point deficit when Fallbrook did not field a 120-pound wrestler. In the first actual match, Fallbrook sophomore Steven Tausan pinned his opponent 24 seconds into the second two-minute round.

Tausan did not wrestle as a freshman. "For him to have his first match ever be a varsity match and to win was pretty exciting," Vera said.

Fallbrook junior Christian Romero won the 132-pound match by forfeit, and senior Guillermo Juarez then pinned his 138-pound counterpart 1:14 into the second round.

Fallbrook's 145-pound wrestler, sophomore Dylan Livingston, lost a 10-1 major decision. An injury default by senior Mark MacDermot provided San Pasqual with six points for the 152-pound bout.

The next three Fallbrook wrestlers were junior Carlos Castro in the 160-pound weight class, senior Jon Magallanes in the 170-pound contest, and junior Victor Leon in the 182-pound divisions. "We dominated those three matches," Vera said.

Castro took a 15-2 major decision; Magallanes pinned his opponent 1:55 into the first round, and Leon won by pin 1:45 into the match. "That was enough to get us the win," Vera said.

Fallbrook's only loss by fall was in the heavyweight class; sophomore Christopher Galindo, who wrestled because heavyweight Drew Backe was not yet ready for competition, was pinned 1:02 into the match. The Warriors forfeited the 195-pound class and sophomore John Eastom lost a 12-11 decision to his 220-pound opponent.

"It was a good way to start the season, and it really got everyone excited for what is to come," Vera said.