Wrestlers finish second at CIF; eight advance to Masters Meet
By Bill Tamburrino
Coach David Tomaino’s Valley League championship wrestling team will advance eight wrestlers to the Masters Meet on Friday and Saturday at Mission Hills High School.
The Bulldogs finished second as a team in Division III behind Brawley High School of Imperial County, so technically the Bulldogs are the best Division III team in San Diego County.
“As a team I thought we competed very well,” said Tomaino. “We did our part in the head-to-head bouts with Brawley, pinning two of their wrestlers in the finals. We just didn’t get any help from the rest of the field. We are still hungry at this point, which is a good sign heading into the Masters.”
Four wrestlers from Ramona advanced to the championship round and three Bulldogs — Arturo Osario, Troy Jordan and Trae Rodriguez — won individual championships. All won by pinning their opponents in the finals.
Osario pinned Acuna from Brawley in the 138 championship bout in 2:54.
“Arturo is a gamer. He was ready for CIF. He is a senior and you can tell he is making the most of every wrestling match he has left this year,”said Tomaino.
Jordan beat Baeza from Brawley in the 152 championship bout by fall in 2:30.
“Troy came in as the No. 10 seed. We knew what he is capable of and now the rest of the county knows what he is capable of,” Tomaino said.
Trae Rodriguez, at 220 pounds, pinned Ballesteros of Montgomery High School in 4:42. Rodriguez was named Most Outstanding Heavyweight wrestler in the Division III meet.
“Trae has shed some pounds and is looking more quicker and more explosive each bout. He has the correct mind set at this point. He goes out expecting to dominate each opponent,” said Tomaino.
Raul Briseno entered the finals undefeated and lost a hard-fought bout to Eckman of Mt. Carmel, 8-7, to take home a silver medal for second place in the 197-pound weight class.
Alex Gomez lost in the semifinals and bounced back to win the bronze medal for third place in the 170-pound weight class. Leo Duron also advanced to the semifinal round and took fourth place in the 285-pound weight class.
Vince Adair (126) and Logan White (132) each won medals for finishing in fifth place. Jordan Castro (106) and Austin Koch (182) took home eighth place honors.
Osario, Jordan, Rodriguez, Briseno, Gomez, Adair, White and Duron all advance to the Masters Meet. The top wrestlers from the Masters will advance to the State Meet March 7 and 8 in Bakersfield.