By Betty Kaldas
On Friday, Jan. 16 and Saturday, Jan. 17, the boys wrestling team competed in the annual Five Counties wrestling tournament hosted in the Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) gym. The Barons took home third place scoring a total of 198.5 points as a team. Amongst the 105 schools competing, seven FVHS wrestlers scored in the top eight.
Senior Isaac Torres, junior Kavi Garvey and senior Mikel David Uyemora all won first place in their respective weight classes of 126 lbs, 144 lbs and 150 lbs. Senior brothers Chris and Liam Qureshi both placed fourth in 114 lbs and 132 lbs respectively, as well as freshman Mason McDonnell in 157 lbs. Brayden Carson took seventh place in the 175 lbs division.
The tournament began with preliminary matches starting at 10:00 a.m. and lasted until 9:00 p.m. on Friday, picking up again with quarterfinals and semifinals at 11:00 a.m. and ending at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
The atmosphere in the gym was chaotic, with wrestlers of all weight groups readying themselves for their next match. The crowd’s attention was scattered all over the gym as nine mats occupied matches going on simultaneously.
While three FVHS wrestlers took home championship belts, Garvey’s victory was a challenging one as he fought Ames-Michael Hoevker of Granite Hills with a debilitating injury on his right knee, causing him to wear a brace for his final match on Saturday. Despite having to take an injury timeout due to the pain, Garvey pushed through with seven seconds left and won his match by fall over during the third period.
McDonnell’s presiding victory over Alek Carrera of LB Poly The match started out with energy from both sides, but McDonnell quickly rose in points during the first minute of the first and second periods. With multiple takedowns during the third period, he won 19-3 by technical fall.
“Our team’s number seven in the state. We all push each other very hard during practice, and it makes everyone better.” said McDonnell, one of two varsity wrestling captains. “Just being able to compete with my teammates has really brought me to a different level. I have high expectations for this tournament.”
In the 150 lbs division, Uyemora won 8-6 by decision against Dalton Compton of Gilroy. The match started off slow, with Uyemora struggling to get a hand on Compton in order to take him down. At 47 seconds in the third period, he managed to pin down his opponent and earn points through his takedown that won his championship match.
Torres, in the 126 lbs weight class, also won his final match by decision. His opponent, Massimo Ortiz of Servite, matched him in skill and strategy as they quickly fought through the first two periods and battled it out in the third. The match ended at 4-2 in Torres’ favor.
“You feel like every tournament you go [into] expecting to do well,” said junior Vinny Gutierrez. “I think everyone’s super hard working, and we’re all family, so everyone wants each other to get better. That’s one of the main reasons our team is so successful.”
Chris Qureshi’s climb to his quarterfinal match was easy, as he dominated every opponent he faced in both preliminary and final matches. In the match for fourth place Chris Qureshi faced Nolan Stennett of Eleanor Roosevelt. He made instant attempts to pin down his opponent, earning him points for multiple nearfalls in a row during the second period. In the end, Chris Qureshi came out on top with an 11-3 by major decision.
When asked about his expectations for the tournament, co-head wrestling coach Dennis Piramo stated that the team’s aim is to head for state.
“Our training doesn’t really change in the fact that our goal at the end is state.” said Piramo. “This is yet another tournament for us to get ready for that.”
With their remarkable victories and results from the Five Counties tournament, the FVHS wrestlers will be expected to participate in the CIF-SS championships starting Feb. 13 and 14.
