Tokay wins girls and boys TCAL
The Tokay High girls wrestling team got the TriCity Athletic League Meet win they were after Saturday. And the Tigers got their coveted league championship, too.
Tokay won seven weight classes on the way to tallying the top team score of 91 at Lincoln High, securing the outright league championship in the process. Lodi finished second at 55, and Lincoln was third at 41.
Tokay got victories from the first two weight classes of the meet, with Gabrielle Mederios and Katelyn Collete winning at 103 and 108 pounds, respectively. Head coach George Bozovich said it was important to get that leg up early, and Collete’s win especially was big.
“She ended up beating a girl that had beat her earlier in the season,” Bozovich said.
Christina Torres (128 pounds), Savannah Mendoza (139), Arriana Galvan (172), Hitza Almaraz (191) and Cassidy Curtiss (heavyweight) also won for the Tigers.
Bozovich said the win, and the season so far, has been the product of a practice program that pushes the team as hard as possible. Now, he said, the biggest grind of the season is coming to a close.
Regionals are up next. In the meantime, Bozovich said Tokay will work on staying focus and being at its best for the playoffs.
“Now, it’s about getting them healthy and ready for battle. It’s more mental than anything else,” Bozovich said. “Now the real tournaments start.”
For Lodi, Ezzery Shelly won at 111 pounds, Raven Edwards won at 121 and teammate Julie Lopez won at 143.
Elysia Urrea won at 116 pounds in Lincoln, as did Scarlett Crespo Herrera at 131 pounds and Cleopatra Regan at 150 pounds.
Boys
Lincoln won eight weight classes on Saturday to finish first in the tournament with a score of 232.5. Tokay finished second at 167, but won the overall TCAL title with the most head-to-head dual victories. Tracy finished third as a team at 163 in the tournament as well.
For the Trojans, Silverio Godina won at 113 pounds, Dylan Marlowe won at 120, Evan Vang at 132, Jackson King at 138, Miguel Raya at 170, Julian Gonzalez at 182, Adam Cearly at 195 and Isaac Davalos at 220.
“I can’t be happier with the varsity team,” said Lincoln
coach Albert Alonzo. “The guys by far stepped it up with their pins and their outright intensity.”
Alonzo said Lincoln’s seniors showed leadership in their matches, though he was particularily impressed by Marlowe, a freshman. The Trojan came in seeded fourth, Alonzo said, and came away with a title in his weight class.
Elsewhere in the meet, Lodi got wins from Jacob LaLonde (145), Steven Shumate (152) and Christian Zamora (160).
Tracy got wins from both Anthony Nunes (106 pounds) and Eli Blackwell (126 pounds).
For St. Mary’s, Dalton Paine won at 285 and was awarded the TCAL Most Valuable Wrestler honor.