Dos Pueblos started with an 18-0 advantage thanks to three forfeits on Tuesday and managed to hold off San Marcos 39-34 in a crosstown wrestling showdown at Sovine Gym.
The victory ends the Channel League season with the Chargers alone in second place, and defending CIF champion Ventura and DP are still the only two programs in the league to have ever made the CIF playoffs.
“For the most part I felt the kids wrestled really well,” said Chargers coach Anthony Califano.
San Marcos senior Louis Giroux gets on top of Dos Pueblos' Justin Russo in their 171-pound bout.
DP got big wins from Mario Elias at 132 pounds and Max Ross at 137. Senior Shannon Dixon picked up a 21-4 major decision at 114 pounds, and Harrison Solomon picked up a pin at 121 pounds. San Marcos won the seven heaviest divisions, benefitting from an injury default at 217 pounds which actually helped put them ahead late in the match before a final forfeit decided the final score.
Charger standout Raul Yescas was facing San Marcos’ Edgar Montiel in the 217-pound bout, and Yescas slammed Montiel in the opening moments. It was ruled an illegal maneuver, and Montiel was unable to continue. That earned the Royals six points, the same as a pin. Califano called the potential 12-point swing a “disaster factor.”
Dixon is one of many wrestlers from the match with hopes for a Channel League individual title this weekend.
“I felt good about my match tonight. I worked hard and executed the moves I needed to, I just didn’t get the pin,” he said.
San Marcos freshman Michael Orosco made a big statement with a pin of DP senior Jose Sanabria at 152 pounds in the third period. Sanabria is a first-year wrestler for DP, but came up huge a couple of weeks ago by winning the deciding bout against Buena’s Carlos Penazola in a neck-and-neck battle with Buena. Orosco has now beaten Sanabria and Penazola in successive matches.
“I felt like we just didn’t take care of business tonight. In some of our wins we had them on their backs but we couldn’t get the pin and the six points,” said San Marcos coach Tony Becerra, who said it’s always been a struggle for the Royals to get enough wrestlers to come out. The program started with just nine this year, then went up to 42 an is now back down to 28. He said being an off-campus coach makes it tougher to attract more kids to the team.
Malerie Fleischman, the only female competitor on Tuesday, wrestled up a weight class and was pinned at 121-pounds, but Becerra said she is the strongest female competitor of the handful he’s coached at San Marcos over the last decade.
Fleischman was one match out of placing at the girls state meet last week, which was dubbed the largest female wrestling tournament in the world.
Despite San Marcos’ individual highlights, the Chargers proved themselves as the best team in the city once again. Califano said that he has less experience this year than normal, but that he has the best group of freshmen he’s had in 13 years at DP.
The Channel League Championships will take place at Dos Pueblos on Saturday.
DOS PUEBLOS 39, SAN MARCOS 34
103 — Chad Lampe, DP, won by forfeit
112 — Shannon Dixon, DP, def. Mikey Martins, 21-4
121 — Harrison Solomon, DP, pinned Malerie Fleischman
127 — Metehan Ortzen, DP, won by forfeit
132 — Mario Elias, DP, def. David Billesbach 10-1
137 — Max Ross, DP, pinned Blake Rogers
142 — Chuy Lopez, DP, won by forfeit
147 — Connor Pfefferle, SM, def. Sam Sarmiento 14-9
154 — Michael Orosco, SM, pinned Jose Sanabria
162 — Tim Wallis, def. Abraham Lizama 6-2
173 — Louis Giroux, SM, pinned Justin Russo
191 — Julian Lake, SM, def. Jon Espinosa 12-2
217 — Edgar Montiel, SM, def. Raul Yescas by injury default
Heavyweight — Jonathan Galicia wins by forfeit
