Central Coast Section Results

This will be the Final Competition Post of the 2009-2010 season. On Friday and Saturday the three wrestlers who qualified by placing top 5 at League competed in the Central Coast Section Regional Tournament. This is such a tough tournament that one must win 4 out of 5 matches just to make it to the second day, with only the top 4 wrestlers out of a field of 30 moving on to state. While wrestling at the top of their game, the Chargers did not advance past the tournament. Maurice Alexander had two very legitimate opponents and was knocked out of the tournament in the second round. Sean Dickson had the very unfortunate position of wrestling the number one seeded wrestler in the first round. After wrestling back with two pinning victories Sean was edged out on points in round four. Sean Dalton went 3-2 just missing the cut for day two. His three victories were so decisive that they totaled a mere 2 minutes of mat time. His first loss was to the #1 in State (no shame in that) and the second to Palma in round 5.
The two lady Chargers Justine Macy and Laura Rocha both were knocked out of the first ever Girls CCS by the third round.
Congrats to the CCS wrestlers for representing Leland well and Go Chargers!

Varsity BVAL Finals

I am very proud of wrestlers who completed in finals this year. With 25 schools in our league there is some very tough competition to be found on the mat. Calvin, Jeff, Jeremy, and Chris met some tough opponents (aka high seeds) and were knocked out of the tournament in the second round despite valiant efforts. Nick and Jared both finished with a 2-1 record but not enough to place them on the medal stand. Waffles wrestled extremely well. He beat both the number 3 and 4 but due to bracketing placed 5th overall qualifying him for the Central Coast Sectional Tournament. Also qualifying is Dickson who found himself among a very tough weight class and took 4th and losing only to Chene from Leigh and the wrestler from Oak Grove. Sean Dalton made it all the way to the finals and took Licea from Santa Teresa down to his back only to be re-rolled and pinned with 3 seconds left in the round. Despite the loss, he was the highest placer at the tournament from Leland and gained entry into CCS as well. Great Finish to a strong year, Go Chargers!

JV League Finals

We had a very strong showing for the Junior Varsity team this year. Of 13 wrestlers, 7 earned a spot on the medal stand. Jordan Moezidis and Tom Boisvert placed sixth in their weight class, while Tommy Hamamjy, Tyler Faris, and Alan Highland won third. Both Rick Lee and Kevin Choi lost their finals match and took 2nd. Everyone wrestled well and showed great promise for the coming seasons!

Leland Upsets Branham 42-36

In a true team effort, the Chargers defeated the Bruins by one contest in a closely fought match last night. I am proud to say that Varsity finished the season with a winning record of 4-3 while JV dominated their division with a undefeated record of 7-0. Highlights include pins by Calvin Legassick, Rick Lee, Maurice Alexander, Chris Nijmeh, Sean Dickson, Nick Lee, and Sean Dalton. I also want to recognize those who fought hard and lost, but did not get pinned enabling the team to emerge victorious. Both Alan Highland and Jared Sandoval understood that every point counts and limited their losses to minor defeats. This win proves how each wrestler contributes and that every point counts. Go Chargers!!!

Leland Crushes Westmont!

In their last home match of the year, the seniors were honored and the Chargers got really fired up to unleash a hurting on the Warriors. With a 45 to 26 convincing victory, it was clear who came to wrestle. There were some amazing upsets that are worth mentioning here. Darren Hsu dropped weight (due to illness) and stepped up to the varsity spot at 114 to wrestle and pin his opponent in a very tough match earning his first varsity win. Chris Nijmeh used his very unorthodox, yet successful technique called the "Nijmeh Roll" to pin his top 20 Central Coast Section ranked opponent at 162. Also, Sean Dickson lost because he slammed his opponent to the point where the kid could not continue and therefore won by Sean's disqualification. The JV continued their dominance in our division improving their record to 6-0 with a 52-23 win. Varsity is now 3-3 and with a victory next week will secure their season goal of a winning record. Go Chargers!