Leviathan Wrestlers Place at State Greco Tournament

Pacifica wrestlers of all ages competed at the California USA Wrestling State Championships in two different styles on April 16-17. High school athletes competed in Freestyle while the elementary school kids competed in Greco-Roman wrestling. This tournament is one of the qualifiers for high school students to make the state team for Nationals in Fargo, ND. The younger kids compete for seeding at the Western Regional Championships in Pocatello, ID.

Both of these styles are the types of wrestling you will see on TV during the Olympic games. They are international styles and differ from Folkstyle - the type of wrestling done during the high school season - in a variety of ways. The biggest difference between Folkstyle and Freestyle is that in Freestyle, points are awarded for rolling your opponent to expose their back to the mat in a limited time frame while folkstyle awards points for holding an opponent with their back exposed to the mat for sustained time periods. Clasping is also allowed, and throws that are illegal in folkstyle can earn a wrestler 2,4, or 5 points in freestyle depending on amplitude and how the opponent lands. The Olympic styles are fast paced and exciting.

High school wrestlers competed in two age brackets, representing Coastside Grapplers unless otherwise noted: Cadet (14-16 year olds) and Junior (17-18+). Two Pacifica girls placed in Cadet freestyle. Returning All-American, Vicky Borrego defeated a broad field of competitors to take home the 1st place trophy at 108 lbs and qualify for Nationals. Marlene Salinas, a returning All-American at 154lbs, placed 4th and will be in excellent position to petition onto the California State team. Jared Abellera competed in the Cadet boys division and fell short of placing in a very tough weight class.

At the Senior level, Sandeep Singh placed 8th at 113 lbs. Brian Alvarez of FCFC Wrestling Club, also competed at 138lbs. In the girls competition, several Pacifica athletes made it to the podium. Returning All-American, Sydnie Theisen, injury-defaulted to place 6th at 172lbs. Minnah Adam placed 5th at 159lbs; Marlene Salinas placed 4th at 148lbs, and Jessa Mae Huerta placed 8th at 125lbs. Vicky Borrego was the only girl to qualify for Nationals at the junior level by placing 3rd at 105lbs. There are two more opportunities for the girls to qualify for Freestyle Nationals - Body Bar in Texas and Regionals in Nevada.

While the high schoolers were competing in Freestyle, the kids were competing in Greco-Roman wrestling. Greco is the oldest form of wrestling for which we know the rules, and it was part of the ancient Greek Olympics that began in 776 BC. While the scoring system is the same and has the same goals as Freestyle wrestling, Greco differs significantly from both Freestyle and Folkstyle wrestling. In Greco, there are no leg attacks - it is illegal to shoot on the legs, to trip, to lace, or to hold with the legs. It’s a chess match where athletes pummel for advantageous position from which to throw their opponents using only upper body strength. For this reason, it has long been assumed that women are not suitable competitors. That stance was once thought to be the case for all of wrestling, and yet girls wrestling is now the fastest growing sport in America. Nevertheless, there are no girls’ brackets in Greco at this time, and girls compete with the boys.

Leviathan wrestling club sent 4 competitors to Greco State, and all of them placed. Celeste and Roman Grabowski - twins - wrestled in the Intermediate 80lb bracket, Celeste placed 6th and Roman placed 8th. Phoebe Grabowski placed 2nd in Novice 140+lbs, and Caspian Grabowski placed 3rd at School Boy 190lbs. Both Phoebe and Caspian qualified for seeding at Western Regionals. Brandon Bigler, who represents SF Elite Wrestling Club, placed 8th at School Boy 91lbs. Every Pacifica kid who competed at Greco State stood on the podium, a testament to the growth of the sport at the youth level in our area.