By all accounts, it was supposed to be a killer season for the Bonita Vista High School boys wrestling team, perhaps even topping last year’s history-making San Diego Section Division II championship season.
Then the injuries hit. Five major ones.
Still, there was no quitting.
Head coach Joe Marcotte drew up an alternate training plan and the Barons went on to find a good measure of success.
The team completed a perfect 8-0 dual meet campaign, winning its third consecutive Metro-Mesa League dual title with a 5-0 record.
That was just the beginning. Bonita Vista won its third consecutive Metro Conference title Saturday at Mater Dei Catholic High School by topping the 13-team field with 241.5 points — well ahead of runner-up Hilltop’s 153.5 points.
The Barons qualified nine wrestlers for the championship round, winning five individual titles.
“This year has been tough,” Marcotte admitted. “We’re missing some of the best wrestlers we’ve ever had. We’ve worked around a training schedule that has pushed us to our limits. Yet, everyone. — several underclassmen and newer wrestlers, included — stepped up and exceeded expectations. It’s been an amazing team effort.”
Bonita Vista’s Metro champions included Michael Sanchez (134 pounds), Adrian Tapia (140 pounds), Nathan Banaszek (146 pounds), Andre Lipford (177 pounds) and Jad Keddo (192 pounds).
Silver medalists included Matteo Arechiga (115), Edwin Flores (128), Conlon Merton (152) and Madden Poderick (167).
Banaszek, ranked fifth in the section in his weight class, earned honors at this year’s outstanding lower weight wrestler with a 27-7 record while Otay Ranch’s Isaiah Sary (24-7) captured the outstanding upper weight awardz
Both OW’s recorded three pins and a bye on the day.
The next step for the Barons is Saturday’s Division II tournament at Southwest El Centro High School in Imperial Valley.
“The goal has always been to qualify as many as possible for state.” Marcotte said.
Top-ranked wrestlers include Mar Vista’s Aaron Marcial (second at 165) and Ryder Barang (fourth at 106), Otay Ranch’s Anthony Hernandez (fourth at 106), Hilltop’s Ricardo De La Torre (fifth at 165), BV’s Keddo (fifth at 190), Flores (sixth at 126), Tapia (seventh at 138) and Poderick (eighth at 165), Olympian’s Nicholas Tuatoo (seventh at 113), Noah Soria (10th at 150), Michael Jorensen (10th at 190), and Tamin Bader (10th at 215), San Ysidro’s Frank Zambada (ninth at 126) and Southwest’s Uziel Diaz (10th at 120).
Notes & quotes
While the Barons captured their consecutive Metro-Mesa League dual championship, San Ysidiro finished 6-0 in Metro-South Bay League duals to claim its first league title in 11 years.
Mar Vista’s Ryder Bareng (28-8 at 108 pounds) has made strides since last year when he finished third at the Metro finals, second at the division finals and 4-2 in second day competition at the Masters with a final 25-10 record.
“I want to win the championship in CIF, make the Masters finals and be a state placer,” he said of this year’s goals. “I put in a lot of hard work, I dedicated myself to practice.”
BV’s Adrian Tapia (30-6) is another high achiever this season after finishing 12-8 in 2024-25. “My goal is to qualify for state,” the 140-pounder said. “I did not wrestle in the postseason last year. I’m excited I’m here and I want to dominate.”
He did just that with a dominating 4-0 showing at Saturday’s Metro finals with a 15-0 technical fall in his first match, a 1:30 pin in his second match, another 15-0 tech fall in the semifinals and a 20-4 tech in the championship round.
MV’s Marcial defended his top seed with a gritty 6-5 win over BV’s Madden Poderick, the No. 7 seed who pinned his way to the 167-ppund final with falls of 0:29 (first round), 3:42 (quarterfinals) and 1:03 (semifinals).
“I want to be in the Masters finals and be a state qualifier,” Marcial said. “I’m still going after my goals.”
San Ysidro’s Frank Zambada (25-3) used two first=period pins (50 seconds in the quarterfinals and 1;39 in the semifinals) to reach the 128-pound final after a first-round bye. He finished the highly productive day with a 19-7 major decision to take the top rung on the Metro medals stand.
The Cougar matster has higher ambitions. “I want to be on the state podium,” he said.
Bonita Vista’s Nathan Banaszek (27-7) made swift work of his opponents to win the conference’s 146-pound titles with pins of 40 seconds in the quarterfinals, 57 seconds in the semifinals and 2:50 in the championship round.
He finished 32-14 with a second-place finish at last year’s Division II tournament. He’s blunt about his goals for this season. “My goal is to win Masters,” he said. “I want to make it to state. I think I might have over-achieved a little, but I’m not finished.”
There were two sudden-victory matches at this year’s Metro finals. Montgomery’s Alan Jean defeated Bonita Vista’s Conlon Merton by a 7-4 score in the 152-pound final while Hilltop’s Erik Nealson edged Montgomery’s Aiden Avalos, 4-1, in the 287-pound bronze medal match.
“It was great to win,” said Jean, who improved to 20-3 on the season. “I knew the hard work I put in would pay off.”
Bonita Vista’s Andre Lipford is a first-time Metro champion. “Last year I went 0-2 and I’ve wanted to win it ever since then,” he said.
The Baron grappler, seeded second, had to rely on perseverance to be a conference champions after winning tight matches in the quarterfinals (5-3 over Olympian’s Emiiano Perez) and the semifinals (19-16 over Otay Ranch’s Jaidon Castillo). Lipford made no mistake in the final with a 3:42 pin of Mater Dei Catholic’s Mikhail Cornejo.
Many observers called the semifinal match the most exciting of the tournament.
“I fought no matter what,” Lipford said.
Metro Conference Boys Wrestling Championship Tournament
Saturday, Feb. 7 at Mater Dei Catholic High School
Top Teams
Points: 1. Bonita Vista 241.5, 2. Hilltop 153.5, 3. Olympian 151, 4. San Ysidro 149.5, 5. Otay Ranch 141.5, 6. Mar Vista 89.5, 7. Mater Dei Catholic 84, 8. Chula Vista 75.5, 9. Montgomery 66.5, 10. Eastlake 66, 11. Southwest 52, 12. Sweetwater 34, 13. Castle Park 10
Top Individuals
108 Pounds
Championship: Ryder Bareng (Mar Vista) dec. Diego Herrera (Mater Dei Catholic) 7-3
Third place: Anthony Hernandez (Otay Ranch) major dec. Abiel Rangel (Eastlake) 19-9
115 Pounds
Championship: Jon Francis-Asuncion (Otay Ranch) pinned Matteo Arechiga (Bonita Vista) 1:51
Third place: Ayden Pendergraft (Mar Vista) major dec. Eric Garcia (San Ysidro) 16-6
122 Pounds
Championship: Nicholas Tuatoo (Olympian) dec. Uziel Diaz (Southwest) 8-5
Third place: Gustavo Aguilar (San Ysidro) dec. Sean Ramirez (Otay Ranch) 10-5
128 Pounds
Championship: Frank Zambada (San Ysidro) major dec. Edwin Flores (Bonita Vista) 19-7
Third place: Nathan Abalos (Olympian) dec. Alan Vasquez (Mater Dei Catholic) 10-4
134 Pounds
Championship: Michael Sanchez (Bonita Vista) pinned Salamon Santana-Valdez (San Ysidro) 4:00
Third place: Daniel Hernandez (Hilltop) pinned Cyrus Willie (Otay Ranch) 4:05
140 Pounds
Championship: Adrian Tapia (Bonita Vista) tech fall Joshua Panuco (Sweetwater) 20-4
Third place: Jonathan Avila (Chula Vista) tech fall Joaquin Hermonsura (Eastlake) 16-1
146 Pounds
Championship: Nathan Banaszek (Bonita Vista) pinned Ian Ramos (Olympian) 2:50
Third place: Alejandro Gonzalez (Chula Vista) pinned Christian Leal (Hilltop) 1:52
152 Pounds
Championship: Alan Jean (Montgomery) dec. Conlon Merton (Bonita Vista) 7-4 (OT)
Third place: Noah Soria (Olympian) dec. Elysian Bellaire (San Ysidro) 5-2
159 Pounds
Championship: Ron Pizarro (Mater Dei Catholic) pinned Angel Lopez (Hilltop) 3:12
Third place: Aiden Herrera (Chula Vista) tech fall Aiden Cortes (Bonita Vista) 15-0
167 Pounds
Championship: Aaron Marcial (Mar Vista) dec. Madden Poderick (Bonita Vista) 6-5
Third place: Ricardo De La Torre (Hilltop) pinned Michael Silva (Montgomery) 2:17
177 Pounds
Championship: Andre Lipford (Bonita Vista) pinned Mikhail Cornejo (Mater Dei Catholic) 3:42
Third place: Jaidon Castillo (Otay Ranch) pinned Micah Hopkins (Hilltop) 2:21
192 Pounds
Championship: Jad Keddo (Bonita Vista) def. Michael Jorgensen (Olympian), medical forfeit
Third place: Guy Knowles (Hilltop) pinned Noah Hudkins (Mar Vista) 1:47
217 Pounds
Championship: Jeyren Lopez (San Ysidro) dec. Michael Maddy (Hilltop) 9-8
Third place: Tamin Bader (Olympian) pinned Diego DeLa Vega (Eastlake) 1:12
287 Pounds
Championship: Isaiah Sary (Otay Ranch) pinned Nicolas Quintal (San Ysidro) 1:22
Third place: Erik Nealson (Hilltop) dec. Aiden Avalos (Montgomery) 4-1 (OT)
Dual Meet Champions
Metro-Mesa League: Bonita Vista Barons
Metro-South Bay League: San Ysidro Cougars
Top Records
Adrian Tapia (Bonita Vista) 30-6
Ryder Barang, Mar Vista, 106 pounds – 28-8
Nathan Banaszek, Bonita Vista, 146 pounds – 27-7
Frank Zambada, San Ysidro, 128 pounds – 25-3
Isiah Sary, Otay Ranch, 287 pounds – 24-7
Aaron Marcial, Mar Vista, 167 pounds, 23-5
Alan Jean, Montgomery, 152 pounds -20-3
Jeyren Lopez, San Ysidro, 217 pounds – 15-2
Jon Francis-Asuncion, Otay Ranch, 113 pounds, 12-11
Parade of Champions
Photos by Phillip Brents
