Warriors fifth at Mission Hills Varsity Tournament

Twenty-eight high school wrestling teams competed at the Mission Hills Varsity Tournament, and Fallbrook High School placed ninth as a team while five Warriors were among the top six in their weight class and one other Fallbrook grappler won a consolation championship.

This year the Mission Hills Varsity tournament was held Jan. 4.

“We’ve kind of avoided it in the past because of where it fell,” Fallbrook head coach Cristian Vera said.

The tournament took place three days after New Year’s Day, so the Fallbrook students had not yet returned to school.

“It’s always tough to gather up enough guys to make the expense of the tournament worth going,” Vera said.

Fallbrook had eight scored wrestlers; a school may enter more than one grappler in the same weight class although only one of those is scored for team point purposes.

“We still managed to crack the top 10,” Vera said. “For us to have done that with a small squad I think is pretty impressive.”

The Warriors accumulated 95 points. Valhalla High School had 106 points for fourth place, Ramona High School took fifth as a team with 102 1/2 points, San Pasqual High School had the sixth-place score of 101 1/2 points, El Camino High School totaled 98 1/2 points for seventh place and Torrey Pines High School placed eighth with 97 points.

Kevin Sanchez and Matthew Kendall were visiting family, Jan. 4, and did not compete, and Javier Montoya was ill. Vera believes that the Warriors could have achieved a top-five finish had one or more of those wrestlers been present.

The team also includes Frank Greenwood, who is out for the season with a shoulder injury.

“We were right there,” Vera said. “A two- or three-point difference is normally one extra win.”

Due to the lack of practice caused by the holiday along with holiday activities including food, a two-pound weight allowance was granted for each class.

“That definitely did help a lot of our guys be able to make their weight class,” Vera said.

Ethen Ellefsen took second place in the 115-pound division.

“I think this was one of his strongest showings,” Vera said.

Ellefsen was seeded sixth in the weight class. In the second round, Ellefsen defeated second-seeded Domenic Ramer of Guajome Park and in the semifinals, he defeated third-seeded Randy Patros of Valhalla to advance to the final.

Ellefsen is a sophomore.

“I’m happy to see him get to that point,” Vera said.

In the championship match Mitchell Hallmark of Scripps Ranch pinned Ellefsen 1:11 into the third period.

“It was a tough match for him,” Vera said. “He had a phenomenal tournament. He just fell a little short.”

Carlos Hernandez reached the championship final of the 195-pound division. Three victories to start the tournament placed the senior into the final against Guajome Park senior Nick Pira.

The match was the third of the season between Hernandez and Pira. Pira defeated Hernandez by a 5-4 decision at the Jimmy Hamada Classic tournament Dec. 6-7 and pinned Hernandez in the semifinals of the Dec. 13-14 El Cajon Invitational tournament.

“They keep running into each other on a regular basis,” Vera said.

Pira defeated Hernandez by a 10-5 decision to win the Mission Hills Varsity Tournament championship.

“That kid from Guajome Park is a better technical wrestler,” Vera said.

Hernandez began wrestling as a junior, so this is his second season in the sport.

“I think it speaks volumes for his capability and his willingness to learn,” Vera said of Hernandez reaching the final. “I’m proud of him. He has accomplished so much.”

Ethan Aguila wrestled in the 154-pound division, and the sophomore took fourth place. Aguila was undefeated until he lost to Orange Glen’s Eddie Lopez in the semifinals. Aguila faced Aaron Lopez of Valhalla in the third-place match, and Lopez won a 9-2 decision to take third place and relegate Aguila to fourth.

“That Valhalla kid is a very tough guy to beat,” Vera said.

Both of Aguila’s losses were by decision.

“He kept from getting pinned,” Vera said. “He had a very strong showing.”

Angel Leon placed fifth in the 108-pound division.

“Angel had a formidable tournament,” Vera said.

Jacob Jones of Rancho Bernardo was the top seed in the 108-pound bracket and would win the division's championship. Leon, who is a sophomore in his first year of wrestling, advanced to the semifinals before losing to Jones. That loss placed Leon in the consolation semifinal against Ivan Arriaga of San Pasqual, who won that match.

The tournament had a double elimination format, although the consolation semifinals losers competed for fifth and sixth place and in some classes the consolation quarterfinals losers had a bout for seventh and eighth place. Ian Janetzke of Rancho Bernardo High School would have wrestled Leon in the fifth-place match, but the CIF limits wrestlers to five matches in one day and Janetzke had reached his limit. Leon was thus given fifth place while Janetzke received sixth-place honors.

Uriel Juarez was the sixth-place 140-pound wrestler. The junior lost to Sunniboy Motas of Rancho Bernardo in the quarterfinals but then won his next two matches. In the fifth-place match Blaise Hunt of El Capitan High School won a 5-4 decision over Juarez.

The Mission Hills Varsity Tournament had consolation championships for wrestlers who lost early and were deprived of participation in the medal rounds by the CIF limit of five matches in one day. The 122-pound division had a 32-man bracket including byes, so those who lost in the first or second round went to the consolation bracket which included championships but no medals. Fallbrook sophomore Christopher Beltran won the consolation championship for those who lost in the first round.

“Definitely very proud of Chris,” Vera said. “He was able to return.”

Beltran only wrestled four matches but won his final three.

“All three of his wins were pretty dominant,” Vera said.

Beltran pinned Ahmed Sohail Ameer Hussain of El Cajon Valley 52 seconds into the consolation championship match.

Johnny Bermudez lost in the placing round of the 222-pound bracket; the junior won his first match but then lost his next two.

“A couple of critical mistakes cost him,” Vera said.

A wrestler can compete in the next-highest weight division but cannot compete below his weight class. The absence of Sanchez led Vera to place senior Marco Alejandre in the 134-pound division, which is one level above Alejandre’s normal class. Alejandre won one match and lost two.

The Warriors did not field wrestlers in the 128-pound, 147-pound, 162-pound, 172-pound or 184-pound classes.

“The guys that went did very well,” Vera said. “As long as we keep this up, I think we’re looking very good.”