Both the La Jolla High and University City High wrestling teams have pinned down some early success this season.
At La Jolla High, the Vikings beat San Diego High in their opening dual meet this year. La Jolla has had a few individuals excel in the last few weeks, one in particular being senior Daniel Gurerro. Gurerro is at 125 pounds, which is traditionally a tough weight class, but he has really excelled the last few weeks.
According to coach Ryan Lennard, another tough kid is sophomore Metzli Quientero.
“He just seems so comfortable in every position on the mat and he really keeps the intensity up throughout practice,” Lennard said. “We seem to have been plagued by early-season injuries, which have really kept us from having full practices. My goal is to have everyone back and healthy by the new year; then we can really get to work as the second half of the season quickly approaches, and our competition is nonstop from there on out.”
At University City High, head coach Jeret Needham and the Centurions look to continue a strong tradition of mat excellence at the school.
Earlier this month, UC competed in four tournaments.
The varsity went to Mira Mesa, where Carl Pasquale, Casey Nakamura and Mansoor Paghmani all placed (medals).
The junior varsity (JV) went to Vallhalla, and had top performances by Steven Esquivel, Billy Cafcules and Patrick O’Hara.
The freshman squad went up to Rancho Bueno Vista and brought home quite a few wins and two medals, as James Madden and Andrew Altomare looked impressive.
UC’s new Kids Club competed in its first tournament of the year at Vista High School. There were 150 kids from all over Southern California and UC brought seven kids, with six making it to the finals.
In all, UC won two golds and four silvers. UC’s last student, a seventh-grader from Standley, earned bronze. Gold medals went to Adam Barton and Lake Needham. Silver medal winners were Zackery Barnhill, Austin Medina, Jacob and Mathew Goddard.
The following weekend, UC’s girls team got its first tournament up in Ramona, where Alane Tighe wrestled and earned a bronze medal.
Needham has been helped to date by coaches Scott Barnhill, Guy Smith, Jeremy Spry, and Gershan Horowitz
“We are real proud of our accomplishments so far, but know that this is just the tip of the iceberg,” Needham noted. “In order to compete at a championship level, it takes hard work and dedication. Our team is young and our future is bright.”