Tigers Take Down Competition at James Lick

Terra Nova’s varsity wrestlers competed in the Lynn Dyche Classic at James Lick High School in San Jose on December 20th. Although the team competed with less than half of a full varsity squad – 6 men out of 14 – they finished in 6th place out of the 24 in the tournament thanks to outstanding performances from each of the Tigers.

Freshman Yosef Mahmoud finished in 4th place at 113 pounds at his first varsity tournament. 152 pound senior, Ryan McGannon, began the tournament by taking down his opponent so hard that he knocked him out of his shoe. Ryan finished in 3rd place. His only loss of the day was to Barrett Bonfantini from Palma, who is ranked 2nd in CCS.

Danny Borrego, a 106 pound sophomore, continued his undefeated winning streak with a first place finish. Danny won his first match by pin and the next two on points, including the final round where he defeated Evan Flores, CCS rank 6th, from Silver Creek by technical fall. A technical fall means that a wrestler is 15 points or more ahead of his opponent. It’s wrestling’s mercy rule, and while it is incredibly rare for a varsity match to end in a tech, two other Tigers teched their opponents at this tournament.

Justin Pesino, a 120 pound senior, won his first match on points. His next match was his toughest of the day against Jordan Auen from Oak Grove, who is ranked 2nd in CCS. Pesino pinned Auen in the 2nd round; the only point Auen scored in the round was for escaping from referee’s position. In the final round, Pesino teched his opponent to finish in first place. Pesino gave up only two points the whole day.

Leo Grabowski, a 195 pound senior, pinned his first match opponent during the first round, employing Russian rolls from freestyle wrestling to disorient his challenger. He teched his opponent in the second match. In the final round, Grabowski had achieved a technical fall, but because the referees allow a pinning sequence to finish, Grabowski was able to win the match by pin in the second round. No one was able to score a point on him all day.

Wrestling season is just getting underway. The Tigers have home dual meets on January 15 against Capuchino and January 22 against Sequoia. Both meet start at 6PM in The Jungle. January 15 is ALUMNI NIGHT, and all former Tiger wrestlers are invited to attend.