Dos Pueblos’ Gama Perez gave the Chargers a lift with an overtime win over Ventura’s Joel Lopez.
Gama Perez provided the spark and his Dos Pueblos wrestling teammates followed with an electrifying performance to beat rival Ventura, 46-12, in a Channel League dual meet before a boisterous crowd at Sovine Gym on Tuesday night.
It was the Chargers’ first dual meet victory over the Cougars since 2006, and it puts them in the driver’s seat for the dual meet league title.
Perez gave DP a big lift right from the start. He came from behind in the first bout, forced an overtime period and scored a takedown to defeat Ventura’s Joel Lopez by a 6-4 decision at 120 pounds.
“That was the spark that carried us through,” DP coach Anthony Califano said.
Perez’s takedown for the winning points drew a huge roar from the crowd, which included 50 former DP wrestlers.
“It was alumni night,” Califano said. “I shook the bushes and I reached out to many alumni. We had 50 former wrestlers here and they were cheering loud. That was awesome.”
In several matches, the alums and DP fans chanted the name of the Charger wrestler on the mat. The Ventura fans got into the act, too, and chanted the names of their wrestlers. It created an electric atmosphere at the gym.
Cameron Cox said Perez’s victory provided huge boost for the team.
“It was a momentum changer for sure,” said the two-time league champion who recorded one of the Chargers’ five pins on the night.
Cameron Cox of DP puts the squeeze on Ventura’s Rudy Medina. Cox won the bout by pin. (Presidio Sports photo)
Cox had the quickest pin, putting Rudy Medina on his back with 48 seconds left in the first period of their 136-pound bout.
“It means a lot,” Cox said of beating Ventura. “We haven’t beaten them in a long time, so to come out her and beat them by that much is awesome. It feels great.”
Josh Murphy caught the electricity right away as he took the mat after Perez’ dramatic win. He worked over Ventura’s Jonathan Macias before pinning him in the third period.
At 132 pounds, Blair Middleton wrestled a strong match in a 3-0 loss against Luke Tada, one of Ventura’s top wrestlers.
“We neutralized their best guy at 132 and we got a win against their second best guy at 160,” said Califano.
Jonathan Coronado of the Chargers held off Brandon Hickle, 4-3, at 160 pounds to give them a 24-6 lead in the team score.
There were so many dramatic matches. At 145 pounds, Jeffy Uyesaka held a 7-5 lead against Ventura’s Justin Ledesma in the third period. With time running down, Ledesma got a 1-point escape and then charged Uyesaka to score a two-point takedown and win the match 8-7.
At 152 pounds, DP’s Jason Hu was in trouble against Diego Kress, falling behind 4-1. Hu, however, battled back and drove his body into Kress to score a pin with 14 seconds left in the first period.
“I came at him with a Peterson roll and I got on his back and stuck with it,” said Hu of the decisive move.
Cox was impressed with Hu’s comeback win. “No was really expecting that one to come out,” he said.
Diego Lopez scored a major decision (16-7) over Omar James at 170 pounds to put the Chargers ahead 28-6.
Ventura made a move, getting wins from Justin Yale at 182 and Angel Abundez at 195 to cut DP’s lead to 28-12
But the Chargers responded by winning the next four matches. Damien Pennington scored a 6-2 decision against CJ Alarcon at 220 pounds, Will Fader outlasted Taylor Gacha in triple overtime, 2-0, at 285, Ryan Fidel pinned Aaron Weissman at 106 and Jose Murillo pinned Joseph Alamillo at 113.
Fader scored a 2-point reversal in the final seconds to beat a CIF place-finisher from last year.
“We were ready, top to bottom,” Califano said. “Everybody did a good job and executed.”
Dos Pueblos 46, Ventura 12
120: Gama Perez (DP) dec. joel Lopez (VENT) 6-4 OT
126: Joshua Murphy (DP) pinned Johnathon Macias (VENT)
132: Luke Tada (VENT) dec. Blair Middleton (DP) 3-0
138: Cameron Cox (DP) pinned Rudy Medina (VENT)
145: justin Ledesma (VENT) dec Jeff Uyesaka (DP) 8-7
152: Jason Hu (DP) pinned Diego Kress (VENT)
160: Jonathan Coronado (DP) dec. Brandon Hckle (VENT) 4-3
170: Diego Lopez (DP) dec. Omar James (VENT) 16-6
182: Justin Yale (VENT) dec. Matthew Schmidt (DP) 8-4
195: Angel Abundez (VENT) dec. Patrick Konkol (DP) 7-6)
220: Damien Pennington (DP) over CJ Alarcon (VENT) 6-2
285: Will Fader (DP) over Tyler Gacha (VENT) 2-0, 3OT
106: Ryan Fidel (DP) pinned Aaron Weissman (VENT)
113: Jose Murillo (DP) pinned Joseph Alamillo (VENT)
