Holtville wrestling sweeps dual meet
EL CENTRO — In some of the year’s first Imperial Valley League action, the Holtville wrestling team defeated all comers in a dual meet at Central Union High Wednesday evening.
Joining Holtville on the mat were Calexico, Central and Southwest.
Each team faced two opponents.
The night began with the Vikings facing off against the host Spartans, while the Eagles grappled with Calexico.
Each pairing proved to be something of a mismatch.
Holtville, which is expecting a big year out its team following last year’s third-place finish in the CIF-SDS postseason, was too much for Big Blue. They won by a tidy 57 team points to 21.
The Vikings were the beneficiaries of four wins by walkover (at 106, 113, 180 and 220 pounds), but these were somewhat negated by Central’s wins at 120 and 126, and the results were largely decided on the mat where Holtville did yeoman’s work — winning six of eight contested bouts, and five by pin.
Southwest, meanwhile, beat the shorthanded Bulldogs 78-6. A full 56 of their points came on walkover wins, but they still lost only one contested weight class, at 120 pounds.
A brief intermission followed the first set of matches, and then it was time to get back in the ring, with Southwest squaring off against Holtville and Calexico taking on Central.
Like Southwest, the Spartans were able to claim an easy win (51-12) over the Bulldogs due to their rostering issues and ended the night 1-1 in league play.
The match between the Eagles and the Vikings was the meet’s first occasion for anything resembling drama.
Southwest got 18 points on walkover to Holtville’s zero and a handful of wins on the mat to make things interesting, but ultimately the Vikings’ skills won out, and they took eight of 11 contests (five by pin) to win 44-34 and start their IVL season 2-0.
Speaking after the meet Holtville Coach C.J. Johnston said he felt that while he felt his team’s performance got the job done, there was still a ways to go before they reached their maximum potential as they eye a Division IV SDS title.
The team is still working out lineup kinks and dealing with the integration of football players who haven’t had quite as much practice time as some of their fellow team members, but Johnston expressed confidence they were on the right track at this early juncture.