Windsor wrestlers make their mark in prestigious tourney
Windsor High School wrestlers wrapped up a tremendous winter campaign at the prestigious California Interscholastic Federation State Wrestling Championships on Feb. 27-29, the final meet of the high school season.
Held at Mechanic’s Bank Arena in Bakersfield, the three-day pressure cooker featured boys and girls tournaments running simultaneously, with the championship rounds contested before a packed house on Saturday.
Representing the Windsor boys were 160-pound senior NBL and NCS champion Trent Silva, and 108-pound league and NCS champion Jon Fredrickson.
Silva navigated his way through his bracket with wins in his first two matches by fall on Thursday to move into Friday’s quarterfinals. There he scored another pin to reach the championship rounds on Saturday. The magic ran out, as Silva lost to the No. 2 seeded wrestler, then was eliminated in the consolation round by a wrestler he’d beaten on Friday to claim a sixth place medal. It is the second highest state finish ever by a Windsor wrestler.
In his first state appearance, Fredrickson went 2-2, bouncing back from an early loss to score a pair of pins in the Consolation bracket, including one in just 12 seconds. He was eliminated in a 6-2 decision in his third Consolation bout.
Ladies score wins
The NBL champion Windsor girls teams was also represented by a pair of wrestlers, including 108-pound sophomore Carmen Perez and 162-pound freshman Jolette Torres.
Seeded third, Perez bounced back from a first-round 5-4 upset loss with a pair of Consolation wins, one by a 4-2 decision and the second by pin. Perez scored a tough, 2-1 decision in her third Consolation match to reach the “blood round” against the No. 7 ranked wrestler, but was eliminated in a second round pin to finish the tournament at 3-2.
“Carmen has been that ultimate lady wrestler, giving her all for the love of the sport,” WHS coach Rich Dixon reflected. “She doesn’t make excuses and learns different ways to grow and blossom as a student-athlete. She is great for women’s wrestling.”
Torres entered the tournament unseeded in the 162-pound weight class, going 1-2, including a win by fall in her first state appearance.
“Once she finds that true confidence and game plan, she will be dangerous at the state level,” Dixon noted. “But she also knows much work needs to be done in the off-season during club.”
