The San Marcos High wrestling team won its first-ever postseason match at the CIF-SS Division 3 Team Duals, beating Ramona, 60-24, at Victor Valley High over the weekend.
The Royals lost in the quarterfinals to state-ranked Chaminade, 60-14, to end their historic season.
“The boys gave it everything,” said coach Daniel Sifuentes, who has taken San Marcos to back-to-back Channel League titles for the first time in program history. “Unfortunately, we lost the match (against Chaminade) and ended our season as a team. The boys were bummed, but also very proud of what we have done. We can’t overlook the momentous achievement in our school history.
“We will obviously be back and plan on getting deeper in the playoffs. We did place in the top eight, so we are very proud of that — another school record.
Against Ramona freshman Jacob Murillo pinned his opponent in the first at 126 pounds to get the Royals going.
“I am so proud of Jacob Murrillo, he’s only been wrestling for about four weeks,” said Sifuentes. ‘This kid is super talented and as long as he stays with it, he’s going to be a force in the upcoming years. He learns everything so quickly, he’s just an athlete.”
Jesus Pulet dominated his opponent and grabbed a quick six points.
“Jesus is just a machine,” Sifuentes raved.
State-ranked Juan Torres pinned his opponent inside 30 seconds.
Ambrose Partee kept the momentum rolling with another six points and Manny Munoz also picked up six points.
Jake Carroll pinned his opponent.
“Jake is such a monster,” said Sifuentes. “He keeps getting better every day. It’s mind boggling where he was last year compared to now. His attitude and whole mindset is exactly where it needs to be this late in season. He’s ready for any battle that comes his way.”
Jacob Dominguez, Levi Cooper, Braydon Severson and Angel Riviera also got their hands raised.
“The boys were wrestling with their hearts,” said Sifuentes. “This match is something special to my team and our school. It’s the first playoff win we’ve ever had in CIF Wrestling Team Duals. I made sure the boys were ready physically and mentally before the match, as I always do. We really wanted to make history and we did once again.”
He added: “It’s been such a challenging year trying to keep the team together with Covid and other unforeseen situations, but the boys committed and gave me their heart, as I gave them mine. This is a very special team.”
San Marcos will host the Channel League Individual Championships on Saturday at the Thunderhut. The finals are expected to start around 2 p.m.