Perez, Au-Yeung and Allee punch tickets to Bakersfield
The Windsor High School wrestling team logged an historic weekend of competition at the North Coast Section Championships on Feb. 24-25, the last stop for athletes with state aspirations.
The goal for most NCS participants was a top-three finish in their respective weight division, good for advancement to the prestigious CIF State Championships this Friday and Saturday (Mar. 4-5) at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield.
In all the Jaguars’ 10-man contingent collected four NCS medals and qualified three athletes to state, the 12th straight season that Windsor has had at least one state qualifier, the longest active streak in the Redwood Empire.
“I was very pleased with how our kids wrestled, everyone represented themselves well,” veteran coach Rich Carnation said. “We qualified three kids to state and came very close to having five, and our young guys got a lot of experience which will be helpful down the road.”
Leading the charge for the Jaguars was junior Perez D. Perez, who breezed through his weight bracket with a 5-0 record to capture the154-pound title. It is the second straight year Perez has qualified for state.
“Perez has been the #1 ranked NCS wrestler in his weight class all season so it wasn’t a big surprise to see him win,” Carnation noted. “It turned out exactly how I thought it would.”
Also making their first trips to the state meet are 147-pound senior Luke Au-Yeung (4-1, 2nd place) and 162-pound Steven Allee (5-1, 3rd place).
“Luke has battled a dislocated shoulder all season and wrestled really well,” Carnation said. “Steven was all smiles when he walked off the mat after winning his third place match.”
Falling just short of a state bid was 197-pound senior Aiden Henry who went 5-2, losing a heartbreaking 8-7 decision in the battle for third place to settle for a fourth-place medal.
Also just missing on a state bid was 220-pound senior Kevin Correa, who narrowly lost in overtime to his Ukiah opponent in a match that would have put him in medal contention before finishing with a mark of 4-2.
Other notable efforts were had by 134-pound sophomore Brennan Brown (3-2), 142-pound freshman Trent Silva (3-2), 108-pound Brennan Tamayo (2-2), 122-pound Connor Brown (1-2) and heavyweight Austin Jacobs (2-2).
The Jaguars were the top scoring team from the Redwood Empire with a fourth place finish, two spots ahead of NBL champion Ukiah.
