Watsonville Tournaments Wrap-up

Leland once again proved themselves that this year we are a force not to be underestimated. On Friday the team went 2-2 to place 8th overall in the team portion of the Tournament with victories over Pajaro Valley and Carmel High Schools. Some highlights include victories by Nick Lee, Chris Nijmeh, Benny Lemus, Cheyenne Yankish, Calvin Legassick, Kevin Choi, Jared Sandoval, and Sean Dalton who pinned the 7th ranked heavyweight in the Central Coast Section! Unfortunately Tyler Faris injured his shoulder but should be back in a few weeks.
On Saturday those not hurt, sick, or overweight went back to Watsonville for the Individual Tournament. Both Sean Dalton and Sean Dickson earned four key victories over very tough opponents to improve their records for the season. Dickson placed 2nd overall at 171 and Dalton placed 7th at HWT and effectively ranked himself in the Central Coast Section. I am proud of everyone who competed this weekend, Go Chargers!

Heartbreaking Loss to Willow Glen

Last night the Leland Chargers fell to the Rams by a TWO POINT SWING. That means that if any of the matches had resulted in a two point difference in our favor we would have won. There was some great wrestling by Sean Dickson, Sean Dalton, Nick Lee, Rick Lee, and others. Ultimately however, lapses in judgment on the scale and mat ended up costing us the match. One thing that needs to be addressed is the lack of attendance at practice. It was very clear that we need to COME TO PRACTICE! Don't expect to win without paying the price for it. Also it negatively affects your performance when you try to cut weight right before your match! Make weight the night before so you don't have to worry about it the day of and you can focus mentally on winning not making weight. Let us learn from this, put it behind us and move forward. Varsity is now 1-1, JV is 2-0. Go Chargers!

Silver Creek Throwdown Champion Benny Lemus!

Over the break Silver Creek High School hosts an invitational tournament where they invite the top four ranked wrestlers in the Central Coast Section and have them wrestle off for some key head to head matches midway through the season. If those wrestlers are not available they go down the rankings until the spots are filled. We had four wrestlers invited but only Benny Lemus and Sean Dalton could attend. Benny was a last minute replacement for Sean Dickson. Before the tournament was a great clinic put on by 1984 Olympic Champion Mark Schultz. Sean Dalton had a tough first match and was knocked out of the tournament. Benny was unranked in CCS and had not wrestled before this season due to a knee injury that occurred in football this fall. Much to his opponents surprise, Benny beat them soundly. In the championship match against the number 3 from Milpitas Benny threw his opponent so hard that he dislocated the kids elbow. Congrats to Benny Lemus the 2009 Throwdown Champion!

James Lick V Tournament Results

We had a great showing this weekend at the Lynn Dyche tournament! The competition was very tough and we had three placers out of ten wrestlers. Sean Dickson took 2nd at 171, Maurice Alexander took 4th at 152, and Kevin Choi took 6th at 160. Anthony Russell was on his way to winning his weight division before he had to withdraw due to a minor knee injury. He will be recovering over the break and should be back in January. We did have some issues with wrestlers making weight, at the Varsity level there are no excuses. I expect to bring home more hardware at the next tournament. Go Chargers!

Sobrato Dual Meet

Both the JV and Varsity teams earned their first victory of the season! Leland is undefeated in league competition, 1-0. Thank you very much to everyone who helped make the event a success and to the fans in the stands. Varsity won 42-32 with wins from Calvin, Rick, Waffles, Sean, Chris, Anthony and Jared. I am proud of you guys, lets keep up the hard work. Go Chargers!

Lincoln Varsity Team Tournament Results

I am so proud of the team. They placed 2nd overall at the Lincoln Varsity Team Tournament! This was the first true varsity experience for us this year and we proved to ourselves and others that we are a force to be reckoned with in the BVAL. Outstanding wrestlers with four or more victories include Sean Dickson, Maurice Alexander, Kevin Choi, Sean Dalton, and Anthony Russell. I was extremely impressed with the level of fight and determination in the Varsity rookies Laura Rocha, Naji Kawar, Jeff Chung, and Devin Ridgway. I also want to commend the alternates for understanding their important role on the team. This is a great start to the season, keep up the hard work. Go Chargers!

Sobrato JV and Overfelt F/S Results

Leland had a very successful first weekend. The brand new wrestlers all had the ritual wakeup call first match when you realize just how out of shape you are and how little you really know. On Friday the team placed 7th overall at the tournament with some outstanding pins from Cheyenne, Amin, Sandoval and Dalton. On Saturday, all the wrestlers were tired from the day before but showed great improvement and determination with several top placers. Tommy H. took 1st and Calvin 3rd at 119, Tyler also took 3rd at 135, Kian 4th at 145, Devin 4th at 189, and Laura with the comeback pin to secure 3rd place at Girls 108. Remember that this weekend was all about getting those first matches out of our system so that we know were we are at and what to improve upon. I am proud of everyone that attended. Go Chargers!