Terra Nova Varsity Wins Colt Invitational Tournament

On Saturday, February 7, the Terra Nova Tigers outscored 36 other schools to take the team championship at the Colt Classic Tournament, competing with only 8 wrestlers – just over half a regular varsity squad. Despite their depleted ranks, the Tigers were able to outscore all the other teams by placing 6 of their 8 men on the medal stand and finishing several matches with pins, which bring in the highest number of team points per victory.

At 108lbs, sophomore, Danny Borrego, had outstanding matches. He beat Noah Asing of Palo Alto in the first round by technical fall with a score of 18-2. He also defeated Moses Aguilera of Independence 4-0 and Andres Guzman of Westmont 6-5 in the third period of overtime. In the final championship round, Borrego came up short against Riley Siason of Christopher High School in Gilroy 3-4. The score was tied going into the third period until Siason reversed Borrego. Borrego was able to escape, but he could not take Siason down again. Borrego finished in second place.

At 115lbs, senior Justin Pesino beat his first round opponent, Nicholas Ogawa of Palo Alto by pin at 1:21 and his second round match against Lemmy Boquiren of El Camino by pin as well. His semifinal match against Ian Else of Aptos ended 11-1. Pesino wrestled in the championship final against Massa Danovitz of Sequoia, whom he has faced several times this season. Pesino won the first place match 3-2, with both of Danovitz’s points coming from technical violations (clasping). Danovitz was not able to score a point against Pesino on take downs or escapes.

At 128lbs, senior Niko Richardson lost his first round to Joshua Garnica of Sobrato 4-1 and went on to compete in the consolation bracket. He won his next match by forfeit then defeated Matt Medrano of Mills 5-0 to take home the consolation championship medal.

At 140lbs, freshman Jared Abellera’s first round pitted him against his teammate, first year wrestler Brian Alvarez to determine which Terra Nova wrestler’s scores would count for tournament points. Abellera bested his teammate, and went on to bring in lots of points for his team. He pinned Tim Smith of South City in the next round and Dylan Adams of Carlmont in the third. Abellera lost to Dakota Diaz of Oceana by pin at 1:39 in the semifinals. Abellera faced Jaspar Gananian of HMB in the third place medal round and beat him 2-0.

At 147lbs, senior Ryan McGannon had outscored Burlingame’s Cole Friedlande 11-0 in the first period, but went on to take him down again and pin him in the second period. He also pinned his next opponent, Tim Dooley from Leigh at 1:53. In his semifinal round, McGannon defeated Patricio Israel of Galileo 11-0. In the final championship round, McGannon faced El Camino’s Roman Reich. The match was hotly contested with takedown following reversal, following reversal. In the third period, Reich turned McGannon for a rare 4 point nearfall which is earned when injury time is called by the bottom wrestler. McGannon’s injury gave a panting and exhausted Reich time to catch his breath, and although McGannon was able to escape and take Reich down one more time, he was not able to catch him on points. The final score was 9-12, and McGannon finished in second place.

At 154 lbs, junior Rodrigo Huazano experienced the bane of all first year varsity wrestlers – he was unseeded. In his first round, he met Nathaniel Makeef of Westmont who pinned him at 1:55. Makeef went on to place 4th in the tournament. In is second match, Huazano defeated Thompson Tang of George Washington 10-1, but he lost his third match to Zack Franco of Aragon by pin at 4:00.

At 184lbs, senior Leo Grabowski pinned his first two opponents in the first periods of their respective matches, Ares Johnson of Pioneer at 1:32 and Cris Sanchez of Lowell at :52. In the final championship round, Grabowski faced Gavin Dersh-Fisher of Lynbrook. Dersh-Fisher has about 8 inches in height on Grabowski and a significant advantage in reach. Nevertheless, Dersh-Fisher scored just one takedown in the first period, and he was not able to turn Grabowski for any nearfall points. In the second period, Grabowski started on top but lost a point for unnecessary roughness before he was reversed by Dersh-Fisher. The third period started in neutral position, and Grabowski scored a quick takedown. He let his opponent up again in hope of scoring another two point takedown, but Dersh-Fisher beat him to it. The final score was 2-8, and Grabowski placed second.

At 197lbs, junior Jeremy Watts had a fantastic tournament. In his first round, he handily defeated Angel Hernandez of Galileo 9-5. He then pinned Antonio Gomez of Christopher High School in Gilroy at 3:50. In the exciting semifinal round, Watts faced Jerell Pelesauma of El Camino. The first period was scoreless. During the next two periods, the boys traded takedowns and reversals, resulting in a tied score of 5-5 and a sudden death overtime period. Watts scored the first takedown to win 7-5. In the final championship round, Watts faced Jack Harris of Aptos and lost by pin in the second period to bring home a second place medal.

Terra Nova’s team score was 151. They beat the second place El Camino Colts, whose team score was 145, largely due to the large number of matches the Tigers were able to win by pin. Leigh High School took 3rd place with 132 points, and Half Moon Bay finished in 4th with 131 points. Despite having a small team, Terra Nova is well positioned for the team competition at the Varsity PAL Championships which will be held in Half Moon Bay on Saturday, February 21 to determine who will advance to the CCS Championship.