San Marcos captain Jorge Huerta’s 20-second pin at 195 pounds clinched a 39-34 win over reigning champion Dos Pueblos and give the Royals the Channel League team championship for the first time in 50 years at the Thunderhut on Wednesday night.
“We’ve been working our butts off to get to this level and we were just so close so many other times. We finally did it,” said San Marcos coach Daniel Sifuentes. “League champs, first time in 50 years, first time we’ve beaten Dos Pueblos in 50 years, so history all the way around.”
Levi Cooper got things going for San Marcos with a pin in the third round at 126 pounds and “Russian” Rim Nenakhov had a pin in the first round of his match at 145 pounds.
“Levi came in and got a big six (points) for us and Rim went ahead and set the tone and got another tough pin for us. This kid is amazing” said Sifuentes.
Dos Pueblos’ Justin Leyva came out strong and earned a pin in the first round of his 120-pound bout. Teammate Samuel Ramos also pinned his opponent at 132 pounds to get the Chargers back in the match.
Royals captain Juan Torres continued his dominant season, pinning his opponent at 152 pounds.
“He’s been tearing it up for us,” said Sifuentes. “Last year, he was a JV kid. We hit the gym so hard and he’s a whole other kid, 4-0 this year in league. He’s going to be my leader for next year.”
After a 7-4 decision win by the Royals’ Matthew Garcia at 182 pounds, Huerta came pinned his opponent within 20 seconds of the first round, securing the victory and title.
“He’s the heart and soul of my team,” said Sifuentes of Huerta. “He needed six to secure the league championship. He just showed his leadership and everything he’s been doing all year, leading the team and all the extra workouts when no one’s watching.”
Nicholas Bitar had a strong first-round pin for Dos Pueblos at 220 pounds and Cody Pierce scored a 3-1 decision win at 113 pounds in the first match-up of the night. Teammates Anthony Cuevas and Ivan Medina added wins at 170 pounds and heavyweight, respectively.
San Marcos honored Huerta and Nenakhov on Senior Night.