11 grapplers advance to Masters
Ramona High School’s Bulldog wrestling team took third place in the Division III CIF Meet on Saturday. Eleven Bulldog grapplers qualified to advance to the Masters Meet.
Coach Steve Koch had never had a team that didn’t have a CIF champion. Going into the final three weight classes, Ramona had yet to have a champ. Brian Orr, Brett Germain and Marshal Thrasher came through for the Bulldogs.
Orr won the championship in the 191-pound division by beating Alex Rossell of Mar Vista 4-1.
Germain won the 217-pound bout by fall by beating Taylor Phipps of Valhalla.
Thrasher pulled off the upset of the day by winning the 285-pound heavyweight bout.
Thrasher, who is closer to a 173 than 285, beat Pedro Martinez of Mar Vista by fall.
“He beat the number two ranked wrestler in the county,” said Koch. “Marshall went into the tournament unranked.”
Orr and Germain, who have been wrestling partners since they started the sport in middle school, went into the finals together for the first time in their careers as seniors. Thrasher is a sophomore.
Spaso Ilich finished second and took the silver medal in the 119-pound class. Waldo Saldivar (130) and Jared Widner (140) both won bronze medals by placing third in the meet.
Sean Conroy (125) and Logan Pierce (171) took medals for fourth place. Brodie Chenowth (145) will advance to the masters by way of a fifth place finish. Eddie Delgado (112) and Connor Martin (152) both took sixth place in the CIF and will advance to the Masters Meet. Devin Rhodes will advance to the Masters as an alternate in the 160 pound class.
The Masters Meet will be held at Olympia High School in Chula Vista on Friday and Saturday. Wrestling will commence at noon on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday. The top three wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the State Meet in Bakersfield on March 6 and 7.
“We are a very young team and sending 11 wrestlers to the Masters is a big accomplishment,” said Koch. “The staff and wrestlers have worked very hard this season and that work is paying off.”