Cardinal wrestlers compete in final tournament of the season
Sports
Published: February 01, 2013
Santa Paula wrestlers took the mat for the last tournament of the 2013 season last weekend at the Best in the Valley Tournament held at Chaminade high school.
Santa Paula came out strong in the first two rounds, winning all but four matches and at one point had nine wins in a row. That put them in 3rd place overall early in the 32 team tournament. Over the next two rounds of consolation and championship they suffered losses at 145lb, 152lb, and 170lb but kept the momentum going.
By the semi finals they had five undefeated wrestlers, 106lb Emilio Diego, 120lb Robert Castillo, 138lb Scott Black, 182lb Alejandro Banuelos, and 285lb Daniel Cano. And five more wrestlers, 126lb Matthew Ramirez, 152lb Austin Blaskey, 160lb Ivan Abarca, and 220lb Pedro Rodriguez still left in the consolation round. Three wrestlers on the team had been eliminated at this point, 132lb Jose Perez, 145lb Robert Tamayo, and 170lb Andy Vasquez.
The team was still holding strong at 4th place with only two rounds to go. During the semi finals they suffered three losses at 138lb, 182lb, and 285lbs, but 106lb Diego and 120lb Castillo made it to the finals. The final round was the medal matches and this is where Santa Paula had to make their stand if they wanted to go home with a team trophy as well as individual medals. Their two finalists both suffered losses. In the consolation finals, 138lb Black had the toughest weight class in the tournament with four outstanding matches, two of which ended in double overtime and triple overtime. He never gave up in any of his matches no matter what the situation or score was. He had a heartbreaker loss in the triple overtime match in the semi finals that led to a 2-1 decision. He came back to win his match for 3rd place 5-3 against another good wrestler from Sylmar. 285lb Daniel Cano pinned his opponent from San Marcos to also get 3rd place. 182lb Alejandro Banuelos was pinned in the 3rd period and took 4th place. 160lb Ivan Abarca lost 3-1 and took 6th place.
The surprise of the day came at the end when the team points and trophies were announced. Santa Paula had a129 points, which gave them 5th place overall. It was a great day for the team and the parents who stayed and watched the end results, said Coach Robert Hastie. I think we finished the season on a positive note. Im proud of this years team and hope we continue this momentum into CIF.
