Grappling with success

Mater Dei Catholic High School senior Mateo Olmos recorded a fourth-place finish in his 160-pound weight class at last weekend’s Doc Buchanan tournament in Clovis, one of the top-rated tournaments on the West Coast.

Olmos (13-4) dropped a semifinal match to returning state medalist Brandon Martino (Clovis High School) and finished fourth after an ensuing loss to Mark Caldwell (Monache High School).

Olmos entered the tournament ranked fourth in the state in his weight class. Next up for the Crusader grappler as an appearance in the equally celebrated Five Counties tournament this weekend at Fountain Valley High School

In Metro Conference dual meets on Jan. 5, Bonita Vista defeated host Mater Dei Catholic 51-30 while Olympian defeated Eastlake 42-24.

On Dec. 10, Mater Dei Catholic hosted its ninth annual Crusader JV team tournament. Ten teams competed with each team receiving five matches. Valhalla captured the team title, followed by Serra (second place) and Bonita Vista (third place).

Mater Dei Catholic coach Scott Ullsperger dedicated the tournament to the late Jerry Matsumoto, a former assistant coach at MDCHS and former head coach at Marian High School. “Jerry brought this tournament to MDCHS when he came to help me coach,” Ullsperger said. “After seeing the devotion to the sport that was a large portion of Jerry’s being, I knew that I would dedicate this tournament to him. Since his passing, I will henceforth name this tournament the Jerry Matsumoto Memorial JV Team Tournament.”

Individual wrestlers at the December tournament earned medals based on their records.

“For the vast majority of the wrestlers, this tournament represented their first legitimate matches,” Ullsperger said. “By all accounts, these wrestlers enjoyed their experience… just as Jerry wanted them to.”

Girls wrestling rankings taking shape

The San Pasqual Lady Eagles tournament on Jan. x attrated 160 wrestlers from 31 schools. Brawley captured the team tournament title with 197 points, followed by Westview with 155 points and Eastlake with 147 points. Host San Pasqual finished fourth with 125.5 pionts, followed by Rancho Buena Vista with 105 points. Olympian placed ninth with 59.5 points while Montgomery was 12th with 45.5 points.

High Tech High Chula Vista, Castle Park and Mar Vista also competed from the South County area.

Weight Class Standings

101 Pounds
1. Ana Cuen (Brawley Union)
2. Symantha Pollington (Eastlake)
3. Yessenia Deguirre (Olympian)
3. Emily Sway (Torrey Pines)

106 Pounds

1. Leslie Magana (Rancho Buena Vista)
2. Alyssa Bravo (Brawley Union)
3. Alexis Gavaldon (Eastlake)
4. Alexis Peake (Foothills)

111 Pounds
1. Lyric Quinto (Weatview)
2. Sarina Kuninaga (High Tech Chula Vista)
3. Aileen Estrada (Brawley Union)
4. Corrina Swift (San Diego)

111 Novice
1. Laila Villegas (San Diego)
2. Lara Stettler (Sage Creek)
3. Elle Romero (Foothills)

116 Pounds
1. Patricia Miessner (Eastlake)
2. Nyah Smallwood (Brawley Union)
3. Victoria Bjork (Westview)
4. Katiana Carrillo (Eastlake)

116 Novice
1. Caniela Lopez (Rancho Buena Vista)
2. Xandra Edwards (Foothills)
3. Savannah Lawrence (San Pasqual)
4. Vanessa Santiago (Brawley Union)

121 Pounds
1. Kayla Santos (Westview)
2. Elizabeth Hafen (Eastlake)
3. Esmeralda Santiago (San Pasqual)
4. Sasha Barra (Brawley Union)

121 Novice
1. Moni Varin (Kearney)
2. Rianne Elyse Magbuhat (Olympian)
3. Kaloni Thammavongsa (San Pasqual)
4. Victoria Streeter (Clairemont)

126 Pounds

1. Erika Tolentino (Brawley Union)
2. Karamel Nunez-Martinez (Kearney)
3. Amber Hurtado (Foothills)
4. Luisa Sakatani (Clairemont)

126 Novice
1. Melanie Gonzales (Clairemont)
2. Lizet Gomez (San Marcos)
3. Amanda Gang (Foothills)
4. Isabella Schutz (San Pasqual)

131 Pounds
1. Phonisha Pruitt (Lincoln)
2. Caitlyn Lamouree (Poway)
3. Fiona Valenty (San Marcos)
3. Anne Marie Maskalenko (Clairemont)

131 Novice
1. Andrea Orosco (Steele Canyon)
2. Juliette Patricia Garcia (Olympian)
3. Jaqueline Mendoza Rosales (Lincoln)

137 Pounds

1. Claire Bjork (Westview)
2. Jasmine Stewart (Eastlake)
3. Kira Satnick (Westview)
4. Stephanie Neblina (Brawley Union)

143 Pounds

1. Cassandra Bravo (Rancho Buena Vista)
2. Grace Williams (Eastlake)
3. Jaelin Quinto (Westview)
4. Arianna Alvizar (Brawley Union)

150 Pounds
1. Barbara Martinez (Brawley Union)
2. Rana Willink (Point Loma)
3. Devin Bartlet (Westview)
4. Belen Merino (San Pasqual)

160 Pounds
1. Emma Urrutia (San Pasqual)
2. Vanessa Gonzales (Westview)
3. Jasmine Ballesteros (Montgomery)
3. Cleo Bennett (Brawley Union)

160 Novice

1. Olivia Poole (Point Loma)
2. Sofia Ambrossio (Rancho Buena Vista)
3. Jayden Keiser (San Pasqual)
3. Sakyla Oliver (Mount Miguel)

170 Pounds
1. Larissa Vasquez (Montogomery)
2. Sabrin Farha (Eastlake)
3. Dulce Patino (San Diego)
4. Reyes Benavente (Brawley Union)

189 Pounds
1. Francisca Diaz (Mission Bay)
2. Samantha Stephens (Castle Park)
3. Carolina Gonzales (Lakeside)
4. Stephanie Szumilas (Mount Miguel)

235 Pounds
1. Stephanie Maldonado (Clairemont)
2. Maddlyne Navarro (El Camino)
3. Rose Buel (Mountain Empire)
3. Kerri Gordon (Mount Miguel)

235 Novice
1. Jackie Valencia (San Pasqual)
2. Chloe Owens (Point Loma)
3. Norma Gonzalez (Mount Miguel)
4. Ashley Rodriguez (San Pasqual)