Update: Tritons' Wrestlers Headed to State Championships With Agendas

(Updated at 11:59 p.m.., March 4:  San Clemente wrestler Preston Quam won his first match, 20-4, over senior William Anderson of Granite Bay, and his second over senior Ben Gordon of Clayton Valley on Friday to advance to face senior Luke Sheridan from De La Salle in Saturday's semifinals of the CIF State Wrestling Championships at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield. Quam's teammate, Zach Fishman, lost his first match, 9-7, to Isiah Morfin of Selma but followed that with an 8-2 victory over Bryant Heagney of Poway and a 4-2 victory ver Brodie Chenowith of Ramona before falling, 2-1, to Coleman Hammond of Bakersfield. To follow the state meet, click on this link and go to bottom of the list.)

###

The very best wrestling talent in California will gather at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield Friday and Saturday for the CIF State Boys Wrestling Championship, a yearly gathering that is widely considered one of the most prestigious amateur wrestling events in the country.

Two San Clemente grapplers, seniors Preston Quam and Zach Fishman, will leave at noon on Thursday to travel to Bakersfield where both have some unfinished business to tend to.

Quam, who finished fifth at state a year ago and is currently rated the No. 3 wrestler in California at 189 pounds according to theCaliforniaWrestler.com, said that his goal is to place in the Top 2, and to beat Santa Ana Calvary Chapel's Morgan McIntosh, the No. 1 rated wrestler in the state at 189, who already has two state championships under his belt, including last year at 189 and two seasons ago at 171.

"He's slick," said Quam of McIntosh. "Fast and explosive. I know I'll have him in the finals."

Both Quam and Fishman have had productive weeks leading into the year's premiere event. Quam has spent a fair amount of time studying up on McIntosh, who has beaten him twice this season, including decisions of 21-6 and 13-4, the latter of which came last week in the CIF Southern Section Masters Tournament championship match.

"It went pretty well, a lot better than the first time I wrestled him this season," Quam said of the match. "I've watched the video a couple of times, and it's exposed some new information. I'll do a lot better at state."

Quam described himself at practice Wednesday as more of a technical wrestler than McIntosh, with far more throws and techniques to try and hit.

One reason he's feeling especially confident heading into state is the fact that he's been there, done that, and performed well on the big stage, and there won't be any bright eyes when he hits the mat this time around.

"I felt fine [last year], but when I got out onto the mat, I choked and I got teched," Quam said. "Then I came all the way back, and for fifth place I wrestled the kid that teched me [in the first round], and I beat him."

Quam has claimed gold at five tournaments this season, including the North Torrance TOC, the Jim Londos Memorial, the San Clemente Rotary, the South Coast League tournament, and the CIF Southern Section Central Division tournament prior to the Masters.

According to theCaliforniaWrestler.com, Quam has 11 notable head-to-head victories this season, including wins over Paul Yoo of Cypress, the No. 7 wrestler in the state, Ross Longnecker of Chico (No. 10) and Kaiser's Anthony Flores (No. 15).

Still, there's one huge name left to topple, and a victory over McIntosh on Saturday could mean a state championship.

"I'm feeling good, I've been training hard, so I feel confident," Quam said.

The same could be said for Fishman, who, like Quam, is looking for a bit of retribution Saturday after a pair of tough losses at the Masters tournament.

Although this will be the 145-pounder's first trip to state as a participant, Fishman has wrestled on some pretty big stages before, including the U.S. Nationals, where he won five matches.

"My goal is to place, and that would be great," Fishman said Wednesday. "I lost two matches [at Masters], one in overtime and one by one point, so I could have done a lot better."

Fishman said practice has been fairly easy this week, and that San Clemente coach Mark Calentino and the Tritons coaching staff have a plan in place for both wrestlers to peak, both physically and mentally, over the course of the weekend.

Currently rated the No. 18 wrestler in the state at 145 pounds according to the theCaliforniaWrestler.com, Fishman took second at North Torrance before winning both the Jim Londos and Rotary tournaments.

Fishman won gold at the South Cast League tournament and silver at divisionals before taking seventh last week, and has a number of notable head-to-head wins including victories over No. 12 Michael Gonzalez of Sultana, No. 21 Bryant Heagney of Poway and No. 30 Bryan Seefried of Dana Hills.

"I've been back to Nationals, and [the state tournament] is similar to that," he said. "And I've also been to state before to watch."

Both of those factors, Fishman says, should help him to stave off any jitters come Friday and give his best performance of the season.