Sixteen senior wrestlers and members of their family were introduced on Senior Night before Dos Pueblos took on Buena in a Channel League dual match on Tuesday.
Then the seniors went to work on the mat, winning six bouts to lead the Chargers to a 40-24 victory over a young Bulldogs team at Sovine Gym.
Senior Jonathan Coronado recorded the match-clinching win with a pin over Brady Yarbrough with 31 seconds remaining in their 160-pound bout. Coronado was ahead 13-1 before he put Yarbrough on his back.
The Chargers also got pins from seniors Josh Murphy at 126 pounds, Cameron Cox at 138 pounds, and Patrick Konkol capped the celebratory evening with a pin at 195.
Murphy’s pin broke a 9-9 tie in the team score. He showed tremendous strength in the third period to put away Hassan Hawara
“He’s a very hard worker,” DP coach Anthony Califano said. “He’s been battling with (two-time Channel League champion) Cameron Cox and Cameron makes him tough. He’s a tough kid, he’s a senior and he’s been at it. He won a tournament a couple of weeks ago. He was out, he was sick and now he’s back and looking good.”
Blair Middleton, another senior, also had a big third period in his 9-2 decision over Moula Morkos at 132 pounds. Leading 4-2, Middleton made slick move to score a two-point reversal and added a three-point near fall to pull away and give DP an 18-8 lead against the defending league champions.
Cox was up next and he came at Buena freshman Eric Chacon like he was shot out of a cannon, scoring a takedown right away. He finished off Chacon with 40 seconds remaining in the first period, increasing DP’s advantage to 24-9.
It was a bit of a breather for Cox, who battled against some of the best wrestlers in Southern California over the weekend at the Tournament of Champions, where he placed fourth. He lost an tough 8-6 bout in the semifinals.
“We go to tough tournaments and I put these guys right in the middle of the best competition in Southern Section,” Califano said. “So we’re going to take some losses and we’re going to have some bruises but at the end of the year it makes us tough.”
The end of the wrestling season is going to be an exciting time at Dos Pueblos. The Chargers are hosting the league tournament and, for the first time, the CIF-SS duals.
After Cox’s demolition, senior Jeffy Uyesaka applied some devastating squeezes on Buena’s Mina Morkos for an 11-2 unanimous decision at 146 pounds.
Califano noted the win by sophomore heavyweight Will Fader. He prevailed 3-0 over Isaac Torres after Buena’s Anthony Ross started the match with a pin at 220 pounds. Fader scored on a couple of escape points from the down position on restarts and was awarded a penalty point.
“That was key,” Califano said. “(Buena’s) No. 1 guy was out, so we got a break there. Those were two sophomores battling and we got the win there. That was one of the matches I wasn’t sure about.”
Dos Pueblos is back home next Tuesday against arch-rival Ventura.
Dos Pueblos 40, Buena 24
106—Ryan Fidel, DP dec. Juan Gutierrez 8-2
113—Jose Murillo, DP, dec. d’Angelo Jones 6-0
120—Marquist Moreno, B, dec. Gama Perez 5-0
126—Joshua Murphy, DP, pinned Hasson Hawara, 3rd period
132—Blair Middleton, DP, dec. Boula Morkos 9-2
138—Cameron Cox, DP, pinned Eric Chacon, 1st period
146—Jeffy Uyesaka, DP, dec. Mina Morkos 11-2
152—Paul Munoz, B, pinned Jason Hu, 2nd period
160—Jonathan Coronado, DP, pinned Brady Yarbrough, 3rd period
170—Josh Mizrahi, B, dec. Diego Lopez, 9-5
182—Adam Andrade, B, pinned Matthew Schmidt, 2nd period
195—Patrick Konkol, DP, pinned Roberto Martinez, 1st period
220—Anthony Ross, B, pinned Damien Pennington, 1st period
HVY—Will Fader, DP, dec. Isaac Torres, 3-0
