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02/22/08-02/23/08 – NCS Championships

Mission has two wrestlers who extended their season another week and will compete in the CIF State Championships held at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, CA. Ricky McFerrin, who bumped back up to 114 lbs., placed 3^rd at the North Coast Section Championships over the weekend with a combined 5-1 record, including two technical falls and a major decision. Ricky’s only loss over the weekend came in the semifinal round against MarkJay Acosta of San Leandro high, ranked #2 in California.

Dan Stoops also compiled a 5-1 record over the weekend, including four wins by fall. Wrestling as the #2 seed, Dan was upset in the semifinal round by #3 seed Bud Guinn of Rancho Cotate High, losing a tough 3-2 decision. However, Dan was able to bounce back and recorded pins in his next two matches to take 3^rd place and earned himself a spot in next week’s state championships.

Junior Jose Ruvalcaba was Mission’s third wrestler to medal over the weekend. Jose improved on last year’s 8^th place finish with a 5^th place medal. Jose opened up Friday with wins by fall and technical fall before dropping a tough 6-3 decision to 3^rd seeded Nick Hernandez of Granada. After winning his next two matches in the consolation bracket by technical fall, Jose then dropped another tough decision to the 4^th seed Drew Bush of College Park, which dropped him into the 5^th place match where he defeated Robbie Avery of Upper Lake in a 4-2 overtime decision.

Also, at the NCS Girls Championships, held Saturday at Kennedy High School, Rebecca Suen and Siwen Dickstein combined to take 8^th place in the final team standings with 2^nd and 4^th place finishes respectively. Suen defeated Heather Moore of Montgomery with a 10-7 decision, but lost in the final to Courtney Madson of Novato. This is Rebecca’s second straight year being an NCS finalist. Siwen Dickstein, a freshman for the Warriors, compiled a 4-2 overall record to claim a 4^th place finish that included two wins by way of fall. In the 3^rd place match, Siwen lost to Brianna Romero of Pittsburgh High.

 

For complete brackets of the NCS Boy’s Tournament, click here.

For complete brackets of the NCS Girl’s Tournament, click here.

For photos taken at NCS, click here. (Courtesy of Tech-Fall.com)

 

 

MSJ's McFerrin Opening Eyes

No. 3 seed in semifinals despite moving up to tougher weight class

By Steve R. Waterhouse, STAFF WRITER

Article Created: 02/23/2008 02:34:18 AM PST

NEWARK — The 112-pound weight class is considered one of the toughest classes of the North Coast Section Wrestling Championships.

There's top-seeded David Klingsheim of Liberty, the defending NCS champion, and then there's Markjay Acosta of San Leandro, ranked No. 2 in the state behind Gilroy's Jesse Delgado.

So when Mission San Jose's Ricky McFerrin, three weeks removed from a second-place finish at the Mission San Jose Invitational at 103, decided to bump up to 112, a lot of people couldn't figure out why.

"There were times this year when I was at 103, and I was fine the first day, but on the second day I lost some strength," McFerrin said. "I had to consider how I was going to feel the second day here."

So far, so good. No. 3-seeded McFerrin went 3-0 in the two-day tournament that began Friday at Newark Memorial High. And now he finds himself in a tough position — a semifinal match against Acosta.

"I know the competition is tougher, there's a higher caliber of guys," McFerrin said. "I know I have to be more careful."

McFerrin is one of two Mission wrestlers to reach the finals. The other is heavyweight Dan Stoops, a senior seeded No.2. Stoops looked impressive in his three wins — two pins in less than a minute, and a 9-3 victory over Siua Taufa of Ygnacio Valley in the quarterfinals.

In all, the Mission Valley Athletic League will have six wrestlers in today's semifinals. The tournament resumes today at 9:30 a.m. with third-round consolation matches. The semifinals are slated for 11:30 a.m., and the finals will be at 6:15 p.m.

The top four finishers from the section finals advance to the CIF State Championships next week at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield.

In the team race, College Park is in first place with 841/2 points. Liberty and Livermore are tied for second with 791/2 points. Logan is in fifth with 71 points. Newark is in ninth with 57, and Mission is in 17th with 44.

One of the day's biggest surprises came at 112 pounds, as unseeded Eric Perez of James Logan advanced to the quarterfinals by going 3-0.

The junior posted an 8-3 decision over St. Patrick/St. Vincent's Reginald Ballesteros, who entered as the No. 5 seed, in the second round. In the quarterfinals, Perez outlasted Granada's Zach Waldren, seeded No. 4.

"For me, a seed is just a number next to your name," Perez said. "When I upset the No. 5 seed, I knew I can do this. Coming out of nowhere feels good. I wrestled my butt off."

A year ago, Perez had an injured left knee and missed the section tournament.

In the semis, Perez will face Klingsheim.

"It's good to come back and show what I can do," he said.

At 103 pounds, the MVAL has two representatives in the quarterfinals, Nguyen Truong of Newark Memorial and Lawrence Blanco of Logan. Both went 3-0.

Truong, who finished fourth in this tournament last year, looked strong in his victories — all pins.

Up next for No. 5 Truong is a semifinal match against top-seeded Paul Gomez of Liberty.

"This was great," Truong said. "I worked hard for this."

Joining Truong in the 103-pound semifinals will be Lawrence Blanco, who won the MVAL title last week over Truong.

Blanco, the No. 2 seed, looked impressive with a pin in 1:13 over Felipe Carlos Amezcua of Mt. Eden, a 15-0 technical fall over Felipe Jojola of Justin-Siena, and a 13-1 major-decision victory over Evan Murden of Sonoma.

Blanco will face No. 6 Tyler Hayes of Clear Lake in the semifinals.

 

 

 

Baca Takes Giant Step in Logan Career

Senior wrestler finally wins NCS title, focuses on states

By Steve R. Waterhouse, STAFF WRITER

Article Created: 02/24/2008 02:34:08 AM PST

NEWARK — It all came together at the perfect time for James Logan High wrestler Ruben Baca.

When the senior began wrestling at Logan four years ago, he set some lofty goals: Win a section title and place at state.

On Saturday at Newark Memorial, Baca accomplished the first one with a come-from-behind 7-6 victory over Dylan Phillipy of College Park in the 125-pound championship match of the North Coast Section tournament.

"I have so many emotions right now," Baca said. "I'm so happy. This has been my goal for the longest time. I'm so excited."

Last year, Baca finished fifth.

"This time, I was more prepared in my mind," the senior said.

The win earns Baca a trip to the state championship, which will be held Friday and Saturday at Bakersfield. The top four finishers from Saturday advance.

In the team race, Liberty took the title with 177 points. De La Salle finished second (1341/2), followed by College Park (134) and Logan (1311/2).

Baca got behind in the first period with 1 minute, 18 seconds left with a takedown by Phillipy, who went on to take a 4-0 lead into the second period.

But the second is when Baca made his move. He scored two points on a takedown with 1:35 left and then tied the match with another takedown with :40 left in the period.

In the third, things got dicey for Baca, who fell behind 6-4 with a takedown. An escape closed the gap to 6-5, and with :20 left in the match, Baca scored on a takedown for the victory.

"When I was down, all I kept thinking was pushing myself harder," Baca said. "I got some points and built some momentum."

Baca was one of two Logan wrestlers to win a section title. The other was Lawrence Blanco at 103 pounds.

The junior, who finished second last year after a 5-0 loss to Paul Gomez of Liberty in the finals, got his revenge with a 4-0 win for his first section crown.

"This feels great," Blanco said. "I got to avenge my loss from last year."

But Blanco has his sights on higher things: Placing at state (top 8).

"I'm putting this behind me and already looking forward to state," Blanco said.

In all, the Mission Valley Athletic League will send six wrestlers to the state tournament.

Joining Blanco and Baca from Logan will be Josh Laureta (140) and Eric Perez (112).

Laureta bounced back from a 6-3 quarterfinal loss to Dillon Cattalini of Healdsburg on Friday with an impressive showing Saturday. He reeled off four straight wins, including a pin over Jesse Baldazzo of Liberty in 3:17.

Perez finished fourth after a 4-2 loss to MVAL rival Ricky McFerrin of Mission San Jose.

McFerrin and heavyweight Dan Stoops become the first Mission wrestlers since twin brothers Nick and Mike Chen in 2003 to qualify for state.

That year, Nick Chen won the 135-pound title, beating Antioch's Nathan Bingham 5-2. Mike Chen finished second when he lost 5-2 to San Ramon Valley's David Christian.
 

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02/16/08 – MVAL Finals

The Mission San Jose Warriors concluded this year’s regular season in great fashion at the MVAL Finals, hosted by American High School. With a combination of senior leadership, a few surprise champions, and a great showing from our younger JV kids, our program seems to have a positive outlook for years to come.

The junior varsity wrestlers wrapped up their season Saturday, combining for two champions, five finalists, and three 3^rd place finishers and eleven overall place winners. Congratulations go out to Max Dornfest and Mike Chen, who finished out this season the best way they could - with a league championship.

The varsity squad managed to exceed our expectations for this weekend. With only 11 wrestlers competing at the varsity level, 9 kids qualified to the North Coast Section Championships next weekend, including 8 of which who advanced into the MVAL championship finals. Special congratulations go out to: Ricky McFerrin (114), Jose Ruvalcaba (137), David Wilson (147), Ben Liu (154) and Dan Stoops (287), all advancing to NCS as MVAL champions. Our five league champions, combined with the efforts of other MVAL finalists - Eric Fuhs (127), Bill Hararah (132), Joe Holland (142) – as well as freshman Wei Kuo (121) and Bardea Moghadam (162) all contributed to a 1^st place trophy in the team standings with 175.5 points, edging out James Logan and Newark Memorial.

Congratulations to all wrestlers for another successful season, and good luck to all wrestlers who advanced to NCS next weekend!! Come out and support your Warriors as they compete at Newark Memorial High School February 22^nd-23^rd.

 

 

 

 

 

Vikings' Tringali Wins Title

By Steve R. Waterhouse, STAFF WRITER

Article Created: 02/17/2008 02:31:45 AM PST

FREMONT — Irvington High wrestler Brittley Tringali has been on the cusp of a Mission Valley Athletic League championship for the last two years — finishing second each time.

But on Saturday, the 173-pound Tringali managed to reach the MVAL pinnacle with a 9-3 win over Washington's Kyle Wright at the MVAL championships hosted by American High.

"This is my senior year and the last time I wear this Irvington singlet," Tringali said. "That makes me want to do more."

Tringali becomes the first Irvington league champion since Tomas Becerra accomplished the feat in 2004.

The win gives top-seeded Tringali, who is ranked No.5 in the North Coast Section by http://www.thecaliforniawrestler.com, a spot in next week's NCS championships at Newark Memorial.

The top three finishers from the MVAL championships advance to the NCS championships.

And for Tringali, this season has been nothing short of spectacular. It's been so good that he decided wrestling will be in his future when he attends Chabot College next year.

"Everything I've experienced this year, all the fun I've had, has made me decide to go ahead and continue wrestling next year," Tringali said.

Tringali entered his match against Wright with a swagger, a confidence that you need when it comes to postseason matches.

He took a 2-1 lead into the second period with a takedown. An escape early in the second by Wright tied the match at 2. And then the

hammer came. Tringali scored two points for a takedown for a 4-2 lead. And in the third period, Tringali put the match away with an escape and two takedowns for a commanding 9-3 lead.

"I feel like this year it all started to click," Tringali said. "I've had a little more one-on-one coaching (with Jay Jackson), and he's familiar with my style of wrestling. (Winning the MVAL title) gives me a lot more confidence going into NCS than in past years."

Tringali was this year's lone champion from Irvington. Mission San Jose had the most league champions — five. James Logan and Newark Memorial each had four.

Mission's Jose Ruvalcaba, a junior, won his second straight league crown, with a 6-4 decision over Khai Tran of Logan in the 137-pound class.

"I can appreciate this," said Ruvalcaba, who is ranked No.5 in the section. "I'm going against good wrestlers."

Logan's Lawrence Blanco, who has wrestled most of the year at 112 pounds, dropped down to 105, and he claimed his second straight league title when he pinned Newark's Nguyen Truong in 1 minute, 46 seconds.

It's probably a good move for Blanco, the top-ranked wrestler in the section at 105 pounds, because at 114 are two beasts, in Liberty's David Klingsheim and San Leandro's Markjay Acosta — both of whom figure to be in the running for the state crown.

And dropping down to 105, gives Blanco an advantage.

"The wrestlers are a lot stronger at 114 compared to 105," Blanco said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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02/6/08 – Newark Memorial Dual

The Mission San Jose wrestling team wrapped up the dual season with the most exciting dual they had in recent years, while visiting Newark Memorial High School Wednesday night. With both teams suffering losses to James Logan in previous weeks, tonight’s dual set up a battle for 2^nd place in MVAL.  An injury to sophomore Joe Holland, suffered at the MSJ Invitational last weekend, forced the team to mix up the line-up, moving guys up in weight class and filling in others with freshmen.

The dual began with Newark’s Albert Young bumping up to 127 lbs. to defeat Eric Fuhs by a 14-3 major decision to put Newark ahead 4-0. Holland’s injury forced Bill Hararah to bump up to 137 lbs. and Jose Ruvalcaba up to 142 lbs. After a slow first round, Bill unleashed a flurry of offense, turning his opponent four straight times for a 15-0 technical fall. With a second round pin over Garcia, Jose put Mission ahead for the first time 11-10. David Wilson (147) and Ben Liu (154) recorded back-to-back decisions to extend Mission’s lead to 17-10. But after a narrow loss at 162 lbs., giving up a pin at 173 lbs. and forfeiting the 191 and 217 lb. weight classes, Mission suddenly trailed 31-17. Senior Dan Stoops (287) did all he could to shift the momentum away from Newark and back to Mission with a pin over Josh Akre at the 23 second mark of the 2^nd round, closing Newark’s lead to 31-23. Coming back around to 105 pounds, Arnold Hwa faced one of the top 105-pounders in NCS in Nguyen Troung, coming up on the short end of a 4-0 decision. Freshman Wei Kuo then stepped out on the mat to accept a forfeit in the 114-pound weight class to narrow Newark’s lead to 34-29, setting up the most exciting match of the evening. Trailing by 5 points, Senior Ricky McFerrin bumped up two weight classes to square off against Tu Pham at 121 pounds. Needing a technical fall to tie the dual, or a pin to win the dual, Ricky went right to work, scoring a takedown and 2-point near fall to end the first round up 4-0. In the 2^nd and 3^rd rounds, the Newark wrestler went into defensive mode, backing up in the neutral position and flattening to his belly when taken down. Without a single stalling warning issued from the referee, Ricky had no choice but to cut his opponent and take him down several times for the remainder of the match. Doing all he could to out-hustle and score on his opponent, Ricky ended the match the winner of a 14-3 major decision.

It’s tough to lose a close dual like that, but a lot of the kids should be proud of the way they wrestled on the mat that night. Now they can turn their focus onto the MVAL Championships as the junior varsity will conclude their season, and the varsity will just be getting their post-season underway. The MVAL Championships are next weekend, Saturday, February 16^th.