Westminster, CA. – The Servite High Friars wrestling team, under the guidance of head coach Alan Clinton, is in first place after the first day of the 2019 Cossarek Classic in Westminster, California. Servite is ahead of pre-tournament favorite St. John Bosco heading into the second day of the event hosted by Westminster High, which concludes tomorrow.
The Friars sent 14 wrestlers with eight of their wrestlers staying alive into the semifinals throughout the nearly 10 hours of wrestling.
Sophomore Marcus Medina (132) shook the rust off early picking up two impressive wins to advance to the semifinals round where he will face off against unseeded and surprise semifinalist Oscar Herrera (La Mirada). If he stays consistent with his performance, Medina should face off against league rival Timothy Levine of St. John Bosco in tomorrow’s finals.
Senior an All-State wrestler Josh Medina (138) had an easy day as he recorded two falls to also advance to the semifinal round. As the No. 1 seed, Medina earn victories over Gabriel Moreno (Santa Fe) and Guillermo Cortes (Westminster). No. 2 seed Dominic Jauregui (Ayala) was upset in the quarterfinals by Jasper Centeno (St. John Bosco) 5-3. Centeno is a backup for St. Joh Bosco but could have started in most teams in California.
Junior Tyler Okada (145) was superb on the day as he also recorded two falls to advance to the semifinal round. Okada will kick off tomorrow’s action with a match against No. 3 Gavin Walker (Dana Hills). No. 1 Oscar Aranda (St. John Bosco) will face off against Tulsa champion and one of the top incoming freshmen in California in T.J. McDonald (Fountain Valley). The winner of that match should advance to meet Okada in the finals.
Unseeded Junior Moses Segura (152) helped with the team score as he was able to take out No. 2 Andres Carrillo (Santa Ana) 8-5 and advance to the semifinal round. A tough competitor with great mat awareness, Segura will take on No. 3 Felix Osorio (Santa Fe).
State Qualifier Neil Carter is down a weight class after having wrestled at 170-pounds all season long last year. As the No. 2 seed, Carter was perfect on the day with a 2-0 record after recording pins over Ryder Gomez (Mission Viejo) and David Reyes (Tustin). Carter will have a tough task if he does advance to the finals as he will most likely face off against No. 1 in the state Cael Valencia (St. John Bosco).
Cal State Bakersfield commit Buck Valor (170) was also perfect on the day after two straight pins over Jayden Pham (Fountain Valley) and Kolby Lane (Huntington Beach). He will face off against No. 6 Jacob Solkamans (Orange Lutheran) with the winner taking on against Arizona State recruit Max Wilner (Fountain Valley) in the finals.
No. 1 Tristen Wilson (195) got a first-round bye and then pinned Jasen Harviston (Fountain Valley) in the second round. He followed that up with a 12-second pin of Gerardo Orozco (Westminster). Tomorrow’s opponent will be Kobe Pablo (Cypress).
Andrew Archuleta was Servite’s entrant at 220-pounds. Archuleta dominated his first two opponents before getting the tight 8-6 win over No. 1 seed and CIF champion Matthew Fee (Fountain Valley).
Servite is in first place in the team race with 128 points. Pre-tourney favorite St. John Bosco is in second place with 117 while Fountain Valley is in third with 101. Huntington Beach follows with 84.5 with Hillcrest in fifth place with 79 points. The Friars went 23-5 overall with 21 pins.