Buhach Colony’s Johnson grabs Masters wrestling crown

Buhach Colony High School senior Jay Johnson and his coach, Eric Osmer, embraced like a father greeting his long-lost son.

Then, for effect, they hugged again. The moment was that special.

Johnson had just won the 195-pound title Saturday at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Championships. He quickly bounced to his feet for the match-ending escape point in the third overtime for a dramatic 3-2 win over Lincoln of Stockton’s Yates Hunter, who had beaten Johnson twice this season.

The win was rich with meaning for Osmer, the Thunder’s coach the past 14 years. He had not coached a Masters champion since his son, Daniel, in 2007.

“Now I have two sons on the champions’ banner,” Osmer said. “They’re all my sons.”

Johnson’s two days at Stockton Arena did not lack drama. He opened with a pin, followed by three tight decisions, the third a 3-0 semifinals victory Saturday morning over Hunter Halverson of Del Oro.

That win set up the summit meeting between Hunter, ranked No. 1 in the section, and Johnson, No. 2. Last week in the Division I-AA final, Hunter won a 5-2 decision. Earlier in the season, Hunter edged Johnson 3-2 at the Sierra Nevada Classic.

Johnson tried a different approach this time.

“The other times, I thought too much,” he said. “This time, I did not think; I just wrestled.”

The result was the closest match of the trio, and Johnson liked his chances in the third overtime. All he had to do, from the down position, was escape within 30 seconds. If Hunter retained control, he would have won.

“All I had to do was escape. It was that simple,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s progress over the years was yet another reason for Osmer’s post-match emotion. As a freshman, Johnson nearly quit.

His sophomore season was cut short by a concussion, but he blossomed as a junior. A sixth-place finish at Masters led to a quiet 0-2 showing at state, but there was new hope for a good senior season.

“This year, he’s taken a leadership role,” Osmer said. “All the kids look up to him. He wins.”

As Johnson savored his title, he looked back on a mistake he avoided.

“I’m happy I didn’t quit,” he said. “I would have been a nobody. Now I’m somebody.”

Merced senior Romeo Medina made himself a section star last year by winning the Masters title at 152. He positioned himself for a successful defense of that championship until Saturday’s title match, a stubborn 3-1 loss to Zack Velasquez of Ponderosa. Medina reached the final with an efficient 8-2 win over Alex Bluemel of Bella Vista.

“I was proud of the way he wrestled,” Merced coach Clayton Schneider said. “That guy (Velasquez) won at Doc B and at Temecula. It gives us something to build on for next week.”

This story was originally published March 1, 2015 at 8:27 PM with the headline "Buhach Colony’s Johnson grabs Masters wrestling crown."