Oakdale, Pitman, Hilmar reach milestones at section Team Dual Wrestling

The Sac-Joaquin Section Team Dual Wrestling Championships sound and feel different from any other event.

Spectators stand and scream at every takedown, pin or reversal. Wrestlers on the sideline pound the floor and support their teammate on the mat. Coaches demand the last drop of sweat and hug their kids later for giving it.

All the above happens at every important dual meet, of course, but the Section Team Duals live up to their name. The top individuals will be recognized later. Each year at Lincoln High, it’s all about the team.

“This is a great event. Your average fan can pay attention to a match for two hours,” Oakdale coach Steve Strange said. “You have to be a fanatic to last a whole day watching something like Section Masters. This is a small gym. You can hear it.”

The team concept is close to Strange’s heart partly because his Mustangs rule the Team Duals. Oakdale torched Division III, routing Benicia 51-18 in the final Saturday, for its record ninth straight team title.

Ponderosa and Oakdale shared the record with eight in a row before the Mustangs ripped Casa Roble 64-12, Bear Creek 82-0 and Benicia. The Mustangs captured six straight D-IV crowns before taking the last three in D-III.

Here’s dominance: Oakdale won all but seven of its 42 individual matches. There would be no drama after the Mustangs’ one-point win over Vista del Lago in the 2016 final.

“We had a good day, but we respected Benicia. Our guys wrestled hard against them,” Strange said. “You have to have 14 guys. We have enough.”

Stanislaus District teams punctuated the long day with other milestone performances. Pitman and Hilmar walked away with their first Team Dual blue banners, and Mariposa claimed its second straight D-VI title by outlasting Big Valley Christian.

Pitman, locked in an All-Central California Conference final against Golden Valley, prevailed in the D-II title match 43-21. Golden Valley, which gained the CCC’s second team berth via criteria over Buhach Colony and Turlock, dismissed Hiram Johnson 77-6 and Ponderosa 47-19 to set up the rematch.

The Pride, undefeated in the CCC this season – it defeated Golden Valley 37-21 on Jan. 25 – clinched the title with pins by Brendan Tallent (195) and heavyweight Julian Barrera. Cesar Tellez (120) and Adam Velasquez (140) also recorded pivotal wins.

Earlier, Pitman advanced by blanking McClatchy 81-0 and stopping Bella Vista 43-20. In the first round, Bella Vista eliminated Beyer while Ponderosa downed Gregori.

The section dropped the Modesto Metro Conference and CCC to D-II for the Team Duals this year. You’ll find no complaints from the CCC, which dodged section powerhouses Elk Grove and Vacaville.

“Our kids worked extremely hard for this. Golden Valley always has a tough dual-meet team,” Pitman coach Adam Vasconcellos said. “The All-CCC final showed the dual strength of our league.”

Hilmar notched arguably the day’s most surprising result. The Yellowjackets, pinned seven times by Ripon in a 48-27 loss Wednesday night, responded with an emotional 40-32 victory over the Indians in an All-Trans-Valley League D-V final.

Garen Azevedo’s 21-11 win over Jordan Campa clinched the title, but three Hilmar wrestlers who lost via fall Wednesday night bounced back with wins Saturday: Mark LaBass (145), Steven Silva (106) and Jared Collier (220). The Yellowjackets’ semifinal win over Calaveras, again by 40-32, came down to a winner-take-all final match. Silva won via fall.

“We stayed out of trouble this time. We got caught a lot of times in the first match. This time, we stayed off our backs,” Hilmar coach Steve Vieira said. “We’ll give them the win Wednesday night. We’ll take this one.”

In Division VI, Mariposa annexed another title but not before dispatching an upstart Big Valley Christian team 45-34. The Lions dropped Bradshaw Christian 42-36 to reach the final.

“We started the program with only six guys three years ago,” BVC coach Matt Ippolito said. “This is going to have a big impact on our program.”

Ceres and Livingston advanced to the D-IV semifinals before they were eliminated. In the day’s climax, Vacaville pulled out a 30-26 win over Elk Grove for the D-I title.

Two Enochs wins at Girls South Section Regionals – Enochs duo Rory Coscia and Katrina Guevara delivered weight-class victories at the second Girls South Section Regionals on Saturday at Enochs. Coscia (118) improved to 30-0 while Guevara (144) moved up a weight class and pinned previously unbeaten Geralene Pomele of Pacheco in the final.

Enochs placed second as a team, far behind champion Tokay.

Gregori sophomore Liliana Vergara (152) was responsible for one of the day’s surprises with her win by fall over former state finalist Madisen Bozovich of Tokay.

Other district champions included Ripon pair Alayna Swilley (113) and Victoria White (162), Hailey Ward of Turlock (103) and Mikayla Vega of Escalon (108).

All five Enochs wrestlers qualified for Section Masters on Feb. 17-18 at McNair. The top eight in each bracket advanced.

This story was originally published February 5, 2017 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Oakdale, Pitman, Hilmar reach milestones at section Team Dual Wrestling."