Local teams crown three individual champs; qualify six to North Coast Section
It was an exciting day of action at the Sonoma County League Wrestling Championships hosted by Sonoma Valley on Feb. 18, with eight hours of competition ultimately deciding both team and individual championships.
The objective for all participants was a top-three finish in their respective weight class, good for advancement to the North Coast Section Championships on Feb. 24-25 at James Logan High School in Union City. A top-three finish at NCS will mean a ticket to the prestigious CIF State Championships in Bakersfield on Mar. 3-4.
Petaluma (235) narrowly edged Sonoma Valley (213) to capture the outright team title, their first in 15 years. Rounding out the league scoring were Healdsburg (170), El Molino (96), Elsie Allen (66.5), Analy (54) and Piner (28).
In all, Analy and El Molino teams combined to qualify six athletes to NCS on Saturday, including three league champions. Bringing home individual titles for El Molino were 162-pound senior Thomas Mitchell and 220-pound senior Travis Adams. In addition, 172-pound senior Sire Clark captured a third place medal and is headed to the NCS meet.
Also competing at the SCL Championships were a group of fourth-place finishers; 115-pound sophomore Wyatt Ayers, 154-pound freshman Deddy Coshnear, 134-pound freshman Nate Wheeler and 147-pound junior Angelica Schmeichel. All are NCS alternates.
Leading the charge for Analy was 115-pound junior Trevor Bagan, who scored a decision over three-time league champion Dominic Montanez of Healdsburg to capture his second league title.
Also moving on to NCS are 108-pound Preston Bagan (2nd place) and 128-pound Jimmy Carreras (3rd place). Another wrestler representing the Tigers at the SCL tourney was 132-pound JV call-up Ethan Moore (0-2).
For Trevor Bagan, his second individual title was the culmination of hard work and a winning strategy, taking the first step toward his postseason goals. “I’d beaten Montanez at the King of the Mat earlier in the season and just wanted to keep him in front of me and do what I do,” he said after the match. “My goal now is to get first place at NCS and move on to state.”
