Leviathan Wrestlers Place at State Folkstyle Tournament

Leviathan wrestling club sent four of its athletes to the California USA Wrestling Kids' Folkstyle State Championship in Fresno last weekend. Over 1200 of the best wrestlers in the state from San Diego to Ukiah competed on 23 mats in Selland Arena and Valdez Hall. Every Leviathan wrestler placed at this event.

Celeste Grabowski competed at Novice level, 75 pounds. If Celeste were a boy, she would have been able to compete in a younger age group, but for girls, the Novice level is comprised of 4th-6th graders. Weighing in at 71.6 pounds, Celeste was both the youngest and lightest in her bracket. She lost her first round to Valerie Glenn of Dos Palos 2-0, and fought back to the 3rd place match in the consolation bracket. Celeste beat Mia Gonzalez of Beat the Streets Tigers (Los Angeles) 5-2 and Alexandra Cortez of Scott's Valley by pin in the 2nd period. Celeste faced Glenn again in the 3rd place match, and Glenn got the best of her. Celeste finished with a 4th place medal in the largest bracket she has ever competed in.

Taylor Micallef of El Granada competed at Novice level at 102lbs. Taylor won her first round 5-3 against Samantha Pina of Porterville. Her next match was against a national champion, Lilliana Freitas from Pittman. Taylor put up a good fight, but she lost to Freitas who went on to win not jut the novice girls title but the boys title as well. In the battle for 3rd, Taylor faced Michelle Vargas from Salinas and beat her by pin in the first period to take home the 3rd place bear trophy.

Teammate, Phoebe Grabowski competed at Novice 118+lbs. Phoebe, who is a starting defensive and offensive lineman for her Pop Warner football team, got to compete against girls for the first time this year. In her first round against Samantha Calkins from Delta Wrestling, Phoebe put in a half Nelson after a powerful takedown but just couldn't get the pin settled before the first period ended. Calkins pinned her after a reversal in the second period. Phoebe pinned her next opponent, Summer Jimenez from Easton, in 36 seconds. Her last match was against Alyssa Arana of Santa Maria. Phoebe utilized a firm headlock and snapdown to wear her opponent down, but in the end, she drew on her judo background to throw and pin Arana at 1:51. Phoebe took home a 2nd place bear trophy.

Caspian Grabowski competed at Middle School 195lbs. At almost 6ft tall, Caspian is not built like a heavyweight wrestler, but he competed as one of the lighter athletes in the 176-195lb division. Coming off a nasty cold, Caspian suffered a serious asthma attack in his first match and lost on points to the boy who went on to win the competition. In his final match, Caspian faced Jacob Servin from Hollister and beat him 12-0 by doing something very few heavyweights do – he shot at the legs over and over again scoring takedown after takedown. Caspian finished with a 7th place medal. He plans to wrestle for Terra Nova next year.

The kids were coached matside by former Terra Nova wrestler, Leo Grabowski, who gave up his spring break to coach his Leviathan teammates. Leviathan Wrestling Club accepts youth members from K-8th grade. They meet Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in the Terra Nova matroom from 6-8PM and are coached by former SF State wrestlers, Felipe Flores and Paul Healy; Oregon State wrestler, Brad Wahrlich; Jake Blackner, Natalia Ruiz, Marian Mejia, and Padma Armstrong. Freestyle and Greco season starts in April.