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JANUARY 29, 2015
Fallbrook/Bonsall Village News TheVillageNews.com
Sports Five Warrior wrestlers at La Costa Canyon Classic Hamada Memorial advance to second day Joe Naiman Village News Correspondent F a l l b r o o k H i g h S c h o o l ’s wrestling team took nine grapplers to the La Costa Canyon Classic Hamada Memorial tournament held Dec. 12-13 at La Costa Canyon High School, and five of those advanced far enough to return to the mat on the tournament’s second day. “That tournament is arguably one of the toughest tournaments in San Diego County,” said Fallbrook varsity coach Cristian Vera. “They understood what their goals were, and they did an excellent job.” Although the level of competition caused Vera not to enter his less experienced wrestlers at the La Costa Canyon Classic Hamada Memorial, the full team preceded the tournament with a Dec. 11 dual meet at San Pasqual High School. The Warriors defeated the Golden Eagles by a 60-23 score; Fallbrook won 10 of the 14 matches and all 10 victories were by pin. “To do it in such an outstanding fashion was a big step forward for us,” Vera said. The Warriors finished 29th as a team at the La Costa Canyon Classic Hamada Memorial, which placed Fallbrook in the top half of all entries, despite not fielding matmen in all 14 weight classes. Fallbrook’s highlights included a fourth-place finish by Nick Perillo in the 182-pound division. “Nick beat some really good kids,” Vera said. “He was able to do stuff he had struggled with in the past.” Perillo reached the quarterfinals after 68 seconds of mat time. He had a first-round bye, pinned Madison’s Tanner Murphy 35 seconds into the first period, and pinned San Marcos grappler Hector Decena 33 seconds into that match. In the quarterfinals, Perillo faced Chasen Blair of Rancho Bernardo. Blair, who would end the tournament with the division championship, won a 10-2 decision over Perillo. Perillo went to the losers’ bracket of the doubleelimination tournament. Brian Fonseca of Ramona High School won his first two losers’ bracket matches to earn a match against Perillo with the winner being guaranteed a position in the top eight. The two wrestlers who will likely face each other in the Feb. 5 Valley League match at Fallbrook competed for 2:28 before Perillo pinned Fonseca. Josh Jeetan of Carlsbad High School was Perillo’s next opponent. Nine seconds into the third two-minute period Perillo pinned Jeetan, who settled for seventh place in the division. Perillo’s next match lasted 55 seconds, which was how long it
Warrior Guillermo Juarez holds an Oceanside High Pirate opponent to the mat during a match at Fallbrook High School on Jan. 22. took him to pin Brian Hissong of La Costa Canyon. “To beat a La Costa Canyon boy at their own tournament is a big deal,” Vera said. In the third-place match, Angel Verduzco of El Dorado High School (Placentia) decisioned Perillo by a 7-3 margin. The loss gave Perillo fourth place. Mario Beltran represented Fallbrook in the 138-pound division. He followed a first-round bye with a 12-6 victory over Alex Castanon of Ayala High School (Chino Hills). Beltran then won a 10-5 decision over Justin Rekrut of Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) High School. In the quarterfinal match, Escondido High School grappler Andrew Villanueva, who would place second in the tournament, sent Beltran to the losers’ bracket but only by three points in the 6-3 decision. Beltran then lost a 3-2 decision to Erik Salcido of Rancho Bernardo in the match to determine the final eight. Fallbrook’s 160-pound wrestler was Jonathan Magallanes, who had a first-round bye but was pinned in his next match by Oceanside’s Esteban Susa in the first period. Susa would eventually take fifth place in the weight class. Magallanes began competition in the losers’ bracket with a pin of El Modena High School (Orange) wrestler Jimmy Medina, which gave Magallanes a match against Madison’s Luke
Fallbrook’s Nick Perillo locks an Oceanside High opponent’s arm during the 182 lb. weight class match on Jan. 22. Perillo won the match by pinning the opponent, extending his dual meet unbeaten streak to 12 matches over the two seasons. He also picked up his 20th pin of the season so far (dual meets and tournaments).
Shane Gibson photos Warrior Drew Backe works at getting a Pirate opponent pinned. With Fallbrook down by four points, Backe got the pin in the final match of the night, earning the Fallbrook team six points for the win. Final score 38-36. Needham. Needham advanced to the final 12 by pinning Magallanes 30 seconds into the match. In the 195-pound weight class Fallbrook senior Cy Calloway had a first-round bye and opened competition against eventual champion Daniel DeLeon of Ayala High School. DeLeon, who pinned all of his opponents other than in the championship match, sent Calloway to the losers’ bracket 29 seconds into the third period. In his first losers’ bracket match, Calloway pinned Patrick Henry’s Sean McKenney 33 seconds into the match. Calloway then took an 11-4 decision over Noah McDermott of Esperanza High School (Anaheim) to advance to the final 16. A 13-2 decision victory for Anthony Smith of Rim
of the World High School (Lake Arrowhead) ended Calloway’s weekend activity on the mat. Drew Backe had a first-round bye in the heavyweight class and then lost a 6-5 decision to Vista’s Chris Crawford. In his first losers’ bracket match, Backe pinned Great Oak’s Coy Thrasher 24 seconds into the second period. Joran Raymond of Westview High School pinned Backe with seven seconds left in the second period to end Backe’s participation in the tournament. Guillermo Juarez was eliminated during the first day but won two 126-pound matches including one by default. Juarez began competition with a pin of Helix grappler Jose Lopez. Oak Hills (Hesperia) wrestler Simeon
Cooper pinned Juarez in the first period of their second-round match to send Juarez into the losers’ bracket. Juarez advanced by default due to an injury to La Costa Canyon’s Ben Berreth before Rim of the World matman Micah Horan pinned Juarez in the next match. The three other Fallbrook wrestlers all lost both of their matches. Christian Romero wrestled in the 132-pound division; Mark MacDermot was in the 145-pound class; and Christopher Franklin competed in the 220-pound bracket. To comment on this story online, visit www.thevillagenews.com.
Warrior Bacilio Gaspar faces off against an Oceanside High Pirate during Fallbrook’s home match Jan. 22.