The hard work that the Dos Pueblos wrestling team put in over the holidays paid dividends Wednesday in its Channel League dual meet against San Marcos.
Cody Pearce recorded a key win at 120 pounds to ignite a Chargers’ comeback that ended in a 45-26 victory over their crosstown rivals at the Thunderhut.
With San Marcos leading 21-12, Pearce decisioned Jacob Dominguez in battle of defending Channel League champions. His 12-5 victory, which was highlighted by a near fall in the third period, sparked DP to four straight wins (including a forfeit) and a 33-21 advantage.
After Levi Cooper won on a 15-0 technical fall for the Royals at 145 pounds, Samuel Ramos clinched the meet win with a pin over Antonio Yurraide at 1:16 of the first period of their 152-pound bout.
Tyler Bryce of the Chargers finished the night, fighting off a take down against Jorge Rocha and scoring a second-period pin in their 160-pound match.
DP’s performance showed that it is much improved team since its last dual match, a loss against Santa Barbara High on Dec. 14.
“We had morning practice every single day over break except for Christmas Eve and Christmas, as well as New Year’s,” said Pearce, the league’s 115-pound champion last year. “Everyone that was there did really well, and the people that weren’t there you could tell they weren’t there. So, my message to all wrestlers out there is get to practice. It’s worth it.”
Dominguez, last year’s champion at 108 pounds, took Pearce to the mat early for a 2-1 lead.
“He was really, really fast because he’s at a lower weight class than me, and lower weight classes tend to be faster,” said Pearce, who also plays water polo. But I had both weight a strength on him, and I have a lot of stamina.”
Pearce earned a two-point takedown after an intense battle near the end of the period to take a 4-2 lead. He built the lead to 9-3 before Dominguez scored a two-point reversal to stay in the bout.
Pearce took control in the third period and clinched the victory when he flipped Dominguez and nearly pinned him.
“I just tired him out in the first quarter. From the first quarter on, I just kind of pushed the pace and kept pushing the pace,” said Pearce.
“(San Marcos) bumped up their best guy and they thought they could knock off Cody,” said DP coach Jesse Plowman. “But Cody is a monster. He’s a beast.”
Plowman was excited with the overall performance of his team.
“We trained really hard at the break and that really set us up to the next level,” he said.
He credited assistant coaches Matthew Bernard and Grant Swanson for their work in improving the wrestlers.
“The team wouldn’t be anywhere near what it is today without those guys,” he said.
The evening started with a good match between defending league champion Ambrose Partee of San Marcos against Silas Penniman at 170 pounds. Partee scored a two-point reversal and showed good patience in recording a two-point takedown to build a 7-1 lead in the second period.
Penimann came back strong in the third period, scoring a takedown to make it 8-4. But he couldn’t turn Partee on his back and the San Marcos senior earned an escape point and a takedown to win 11-4.
“It was a great match,” said Plowman. “Penniman is a junior and he was able to keep it close. That’s exactly what we were looking for. He did a great job.”
Dos Pueblos won the next two matches on pins by Jacob Rubio at 182 pounds and Damian Martinez at 195, to take a 12-3 lead.
San Marcos scored the next 18 points, getting two forfeits and decisions by heavyweight Emanuel Olvera and Angel Estrada at 113 pounds.
Pearce’s win got DP going, and the Chargers rode the momentum to the end. Ryan Risdall (126 pounds), Shaun Vague (132), Samuel Ramos (152) and Tyler Bryce (160) all pinned their opponents to cap the evening.
“We have some wrestlers that can improve,” said first-year San Marcos Eric Flores. “Basically, taking shots. We kind of lacked in that area. The aggressiveness was there.”
“We’re a young team mixed in with an older team, so we’re still trying to work out the kinks.”
He praised Dominguez for wrestling up a couple of weight classes.
“Jacob is one of our star athletes and he’s our captain,” said Flores. “His nickname is ‘The Professional.’ He goes out there and puts on a show. Today, it just didn’t work out for him.”