Santa Barbara High and Dos Pueblos wrestling each competed in separate tournaments this weekend in Lompoc and Anaheim, respectively.
The Dons had six different wrestlers place at the Lompoc Battle by the Sea Tournament, while the Chargers had six wrestlers make it to the medal round to place ninth out of 30 teams at the Dr. D Memorial Invite.
Santa Barbara High
Lucas Blessing turned in the strongest showing of any local wrestler over the weekend, rattling off three straight pins to capture first place in the 215-pound weight class.
Meanwhile, Kaleab Lorigo took fourth place at 132 pounds and Nick Egan placed sixth at 157 pounds. Sammy Ramirez Navas and Yahir Dorado rounded out the top performers with fifth-place showings at 138 and 175 pounds, respectively.
“We had a really good day of wrestling,” Santa Barbara High head coach Chris Hamman said. “Every wrestler improved from one match to the next and Lucas was really on a roll, pinning every opponent.
“The coaching staff at SBHS is really impressed with this group’s commitment to learning and to one another.”
Dos Pueblos
The Chargers’ ninth-place performance was led by strong showings from Seamus Fergus and Ethan Ono. Fergus went 3-1 and took second place at 150 pounds, while Ono went 5-1 for third place at 215 pounds.
“This was a great tournament for the wrestlers to try out new techniques they have been working on and to really solidify their match prep heading into some bigger tournaments this season and the post-season run to states,” Dos Pueblos head coach Matt Bernard said.
David Estrada (165 lbs.) and Patrick Sullivan (138 lbs.) put together similar weekends, each going 3-3 and earning sixth place in their respective weight classes.
Max Mazin recovered from an early loss to win the consolation bracket championship at 190 pounds, and Jayden Garcia finished as the 157-pound consolation runner-up.
“We had some very exciting matches from Max Mazin and newcomer, Jayden Garcia, both proving to themselves they have what it takes to compete at this level against any opponent,” Bernard said. “Veterans Seamus and Ethan worked through their brackets with precision and maturity, reinforcing why they are team leaders.
“It was a great day of wrestling from the team, and we look forward to taking lessons learned back to the room.”
Dos Pueblos will host Rio Mesa on Wednesday for Alumni Night.