Warrior grapplers competitive at freshman wrestling championship meet

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

Although no Fallbrook High School wrestlers placed in the San Diego Freshman County Championships tournament Feb. 5 at Mount Carmel High School, the four Warriors who participated were competitive.

“I was very pleased with how the kids performed,” said Fallbrook coach Cristian Vera. “Unfortunately we didn’t have any places.”

Six wrestlers in each weight class received medals. Two of Fallbrook’s wrestlers were in the top eight and lost the match which would have given them one of the six highest positions. A third Fallbrook wrestler lost his match to place among the top eight.

“I’m really proud of all these guys,” Vera said. “Everybody did well on a match-to-match basis.”

The Fallbrook freshmen grapplers often wrestled against more experienced competition during the season, so the San Diego Freshman County Championships allowed them to compete against similar opponents. “It was nice to give them that opportunity,” Vera said. “They got the wins that had been eluding them all season.”

Benjamin Moreno was Fallbrook’s 115-pound representative. He defeated his first three opponents before losing in the quarterfinals to a Rancho Buena Vista wrestler. Moreno was winning his first consolation match. “He just made one crucial mistake that cost him the match and ended up getting pinned,” Vera said.

Had Moreno won his initial consolation bout he would have finished among the top eight and would have wrestled for a position in the top six.

Daniel Wilson was unseeded in the 122-pound bracket but had a first-round bye. Wilson’s first match was against the eventual champion from Poway, but he won subsequent consolation matches to advance to the final eight. The consolation quarterfinals winners were guaranteed a position among the top six. Wilson was ahead on points in the quarterfinal before making a mistake on the mat. “It cost him the match,” Vera said.

The 134-pound division included Jason Sorden. Sorden won his first match, lost his second competition, and won two matches to reach the consolation semifinals. A loss in his consolation semifinal deprived him of a medal. “He got close,” Vera said. “I couldn’t be happier with the way that Jacob wrestled and represented our team.”

Luis Lopez won two matches and lost two at the previous week’s junior varsity county championship meet. He lost both of his 222-pound bouts at the freshman tournament. “I really do think it was just the luck of the draw,” Vera said.