Stallions outwrestle Coyotes for second straight year

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune

Madera South 195-pounder Angel Castel works Madera’s Carson Brunolli over to receive near fall points. He opened Tuesday’s dual with a victory to help the Stallions to a team win over the Coyotes.

The Madera South Stallions wrestling team shut down any thought of a comeback victory by winning the last six matches for a 45-24 dual meet victory over the Madera Coyotes.

The Coyotes, who had their nine-year County/Metro Athletic Conference title streak end last season, only won one of eight matches contested in the loss.

“It is what it is,” head coach Joe Romine said. “We got shut down a couple of times. You get a little momentum and then lose it. You can’t take anything away from a team that outwrestles you.

“One thing I really liked is how many freshmen we have. In a normal year. You don’t have that many freshmen in your line-up. They are learning the hard way. What an opportunity they are getting. That’s good for them. Of all the years to learn, this is a great learning opportunity for them.”

Despite heavyweight Sergio Rios getting a pin, the Coyotes couldn’t muster another victory. Michael Pedro at 115 pounds, Nathan Galica at 122 pounds and Isaiah Pinto at 222 pounds, each received forfeit victories.

After a run of four matches that received forfeits, the Stallions closed the evening with five straight victories, three by pin.

“It continues to set the tone,” head coach Sal Gonzalez said. “They did it last year and did it again this year. Especially with the team that we had. It was hard to put them all together. I told them this is all we had. There’s 14 of us and there’s no one coming to help us. We had a couple of guys that weren’t in the line-up today that could have helped us, but we found a way. These kids all found a way today, starting with our 195-pounder. He didn’t want to wrestle. He was feeling sick. He went out there and competed to set the tone how the dual went.”

Noel Garcia, Joseph Irezlan, Bryce Walters and Isaiah Garza all recorded pins for the Stallions. Diego Jaimes (134 pounds) and Andrew Barajas (140 pounds) each received forfeit wins.

“This is huge,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a stepping stone. We have an offseason. Our goal next year is to in a Div. II Valley Championship. It starts now. I believe these guys can do it. They are starting to believe it. They have to put in the time and work into it. This is a stepping stone to bring that first Valley Championship to Madera South.”

In the 195-pound weight class to start the dual meet, Angel Castel, despite not feeling well, didn’t allow Carson Brunoli to earn a point in a 4-0 victory.

Madera’s Rios was pulled down in a takedown by Madera South’s Robert Navarro. Rios immediately turned it around to put Navarro’s back to the mat for a takedown and a near fall. In the second period, Rios recorded a reversal and then pinned Navarro with 57.9 seconds left in the second period.

Madera South’s Garcia didn’t let up against Jesus Larios at 108 pounds. He immediately recorded a takedown and earned five near fall points. He pinned Larios with 20.7 seconds left in the first period.

Irezlan took a 4-1 lead over Ayden Maciel at 145 pounds after earning a takedown with 5.2 seconds left in the first period. Irezlan immediately got a reversal in the second period and recorded a pin with 1:22 left in the period.

Jackson Smith jumped out to a 3-1 second period lead against Madera’s Julian Hernandez at 152 pounds. Hernandez recorded an escape with 10 seconds left in the second and another 25 seconds into the third period. Smith held off Hernandez for the rest of the period for a 3-2 match win.

Walters was in control of his 160-pound match against Julio Garcia. He recorded a takedown 11 seconds into the match and got a three-point near fall 20 seconds later. Walters finally recorded his pin with 18 seconds left in the first period.

At 170 pounds, Madera South’s German Flores had to look up to Niko Guaglianone, his Madera opponent. Flores got the best of Guaglianone. He led 2-0 after the first period and 4-1 after the second. He recorded two takedowns in the third period for an 8-3 match win.

To close out the night, Garza led Rafael Paz 2-1 at the end of the first period. In the second period, Garza recorded a reversal 16 seconds in. Paz escaped the hold with about a minute left, but Garza got a takedown and quickly got Paz into a pinning position. Garza got the pin with 20 seconds left in the second period.