Bulldog wrestlers take second at CIF behind Brawley
All 14 head to Masters Meet this weekend
By Bill Tamburrino
Ramona High School’s wrestling team is the 2013 Division III CIF runner-up.
The Dawgs took second place last week after Brawley won its 13th consecutive championship to beat the Bulldogs for first place.
Eleven Bulldog wrestlers will advance to the Masters Meet on Friday and Saturday at Eastlake High School. Three Bulldogs will be alternates, so all 14 wrestlers will go to the Masters. Every Bulldog wrestler earned a medal at the CIF meet.
“I am disappointed for our seniors. They worked hard and it would have been great for them to go out as CIF champions. I am not disappointed with the effort that the entire team put forth at the CIF meet or during the entire season. They fought their butts off. We actually had 6 more points this year than we did last year when we won,” said coach Steve Koch.
“Brawley is a great team. I also want to thank our loyal fans. We had more fans at the meet than any other team. Several coaches came up to me and asked if they could wrestle us in a dual meet so that their fans could see how to support their wrestlers,” Koch said.
The Bulldog grapplers got off to a fast start in the opening round of the CIF Division III Championship Tournament. All 14 wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinal round.
Nine Bulldogs pinned their opponents in the first round, giving the Dawgs valuable team points. Logan White (115), Vince Adair (122), Martin Dowers (128), Jake Ohnysty (140), Isaiah Ilich (147), Raul Briseno (172), Noe Hernandez (184), Josh Allen (195), and Zach Berg (222) all recorded wins by fall.
Kevin Conroy (124) all but pinned his foe as he scored a 14-0 major decision. Troy Jordan (154) recorded a technical fall and a 17-2 win. Jacob Grybow (162) wrestled the most exciting bout as he hung in to win by a 2-1 score. Trae Rodriguez and Noah Lagoe advanced to round two by way of a bye.
In the quarterfinal round, Conroy, Ilich, Hernandez and Rodriguez all won by fall. Jordan won an 18-4 major decision. Adair won in overtime 6-4. Dowers, Ohnysty, and Berg all won by decision. Berg beat the No. 1 seed 7-2 for a major upset. White and Grybow lost decisions and Lagoe, Briseno, and Allen lost by fall. Nine Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals.
Jordan, Ohnysty, and Hernandez lost by decision. Adair, Dowers, and Rodriguez lost by fall. All six went into the consolation bracket to wrestle for medals and more team points.
All of the grapplers who lost in the quarterfinals bounced back in the consolation bracket to gain valuable team points. Lagoe, White, Briseno, and Allen all registered pins to advance to a medal round.
White, Briseno, and Allen won medals for finishing seventh. Lagoe and Grybow won sixth place medals. Jordan and Rodriguez took home fifth place medals. Adair and Ohnysty won fourth place medals. Dowers and Hernandez both took bronze medals for third place.
Conroy, Ilich, and Berg all won by decision in the semifinals and advanced to the championship round. They lost in the finals to win silver medals and a trip to the Masters Meet.