By Myra Chen
On Tuesday, Jan. 9, the Fountain Valley High School (FVHS)’s wrestling team competed against Newport Harbor High School (NHHS) and finished with a 64-9 victory for their senior night.
The day started well with a celebration for the seniors: Anthony Lucio, Hercules Windrath, Nathan Marquez, Gavin Yager, Ryland Whitworth and Justin Pulido Gonzalez.
The celebration continued when sophomore Christopher Qureshi (115 lbs) began strong, winning in the first period after scoring a takedown and a pin in 46 seconds.
Freshman Luc Khoan (108 lbs) and sophomore Liam Qureshi (122 lbs) both won their match by default because of lack of opponent. Following, however, junior Brady Mercer (128 lbs) did not disappoint. In the first period, Mercer and NHHS opponent exchanged escapes and takedowns, going out of bounds twice. From there, Mercer had the upper hand after starting at the down position in the second period and causing an unfortunate bloody nose. Mercer came out victorious after the third period.
After Mercer’s success, senior Anthony Lucio (134 lbs) ended his match 16-4. He started off strong with three takedowns in the first period. Reaching for his opponent’s legs, Lucio was an aggressive wrestler to face, continuing to score two takedowns in both the second and third period despite starting in the bottom position.
Junior Jimmy Loya (140 lbs) had an eventful match, a victorious one. Loya began with two takedowns, one of which his opponent escaped from. Loya started in the down position in the second round and was able to escape and follow up with two takedowns. Finally, Loya finished his match as victor in the third round with another takedown and a three point near fall.
Next, senior Hercules Windrath (146 lbs) contributed 16 points to the FVHS team, allowing none for NHHS. In the first round, Windrath scored a two point takedown followed by a three point near fall. Starting in down position in the second round, Windrath scored an escape, a takedown and yet another three point near fall to end the match.
Senior Nathan Marquez (152 lbs) was a crowd favorite, having his audience at the edge of their seats in anticipation. But despite excellent efforts, Marquez was defeated after three long rounds with a final score of 4-6. The first period was a stalemate; no points were scored. Marquez started in down position in the second round to which he was on the defensive end, escaping both of his opponent’s takedowns. Marquez managed to score two points with a take down, but time was not on his side in the final round. Nonetheless, his teammates cheered him on.
Sophomore Rocky Windrath (167 lbs) had the upper hand throughout the duration of his three period match. His first period ended after a takedown. In the second period, Rocky Windrath started in the bottom position, but escaped and scored yet another takedown. Though his NHHS opponent was able to escape his hold, Rocky Windrath’s success continued in the third period, ending with a two point near fall and a takedown.
Ending his year off with a victory, senior Gavin Yager (177 lbs) pinned his opponent down in the first period with one minute and 13 seconds left on the clock after a takedown.
Junior Khale McDonnell (192 lbs) was on the offensive for the entirety of his match. McDonnell scored four takedowns in the first period, racking up eight points. The second round went smoothly as well, with three takedowns and a three point near fall. Though McDonnell’s opponent put up a far fight, McDonnell took control all the way to the third period with yet another takedown and three point near fall to secure a victory.
Nineteen seconds into the first round, senior Ryland Whitworth (217 lbs) pinned his NHHS opponent down.
Heavy weight senior Justin Pulido Gonzalez (287 lbs) was the last match. After two periods of stalemate and no points scored, his opponent eventually caught him with a pin one second before the second period ended.
Watch out for the 5 Counties tournament this Friday and Saturday at Fountain Valley High School.
