Santino Alvaro captured a CIF-CS individual title and Santa Ynez boys wrestling turned in a strong showing at the CIF-CS Div. 3 Championships over the weekend.
The Pirates had 11 wrestlers compete in the tournament and four will be moving on to the Masters Tournament next weekend.
Alvaro, a 128-pounder, went 4-0 with all four wins coming by way of falls to earn an individual CIF championship.
“We are proud of all that [Alvaro] has accomplished and looking forward to what lies ahead for him,” Santa Ynez coach Raul Sandoval said. “Santino has really come into his own this season and demonstrates maturity and consistency in both his effort and attitude, standing out as one of the hardest workers in the room.”
Also punching their tickets to the Masters Tournament with Alvaro were Ben Flores (146), Hayden Pahler (159) and Jonathan Hansen (197). Fernando Nunez (167) qualified as an alternate.
“Ben is a three-sport athlete and it is impressive to see him be so competitive among other top-level wrestlers,” Sandoval said. “Hayden has continued progressing and impressing us all… achieving this as a freshman is a huge leap for Hayden and we look forward to what’s next.”
Flores impressed in his matchups, rattling off a record of 3-1 and falling only in the title matchup. Meanwhile, Hansen went 4-2 to earn fifth place and Pahler went 3-3 to secure a sixth-place finish.
“Jonathan has been a great addition to our team helping us win a team league title this season,” Sandoval said. “We are thrilled to see him moving on to the next level and qualifying for Masters. Jonathan is an inspiration to all and a truly outstanding leader role model.”
Nunez went 2-3 on the weekend and was slotted into eighth place.
Andrew Badger, Neal Cunningham, Adrian Garcia, Kaj Kretzschmer, Tomas Rodrigues and Jack DeLaCruz all wrestled for the Pirates as well.
