Thursday, January 7, 2016

LJ wrestling 30, Mission Bay 36

La Jolla's Elliot Austin, 113 pounds, pins Aidan
Lo Preti of Mission Bay.
(Photo by Ed Piper)


By Ed Piper

In a narrow squeaker, La Jolla's wrestling team lost its Western League opening dual meet at Mission Bay, 36-30, Wed., Jan. 6, according to unofficial results.

The Vikings went up 18-9 after the first five weight classes on the strength of pins by 113-pound Elliot Austin and Joseph Costa, wrestling at 132 pounds.

But then three varsity wrestlers suffered pins at the hands of the host Buccaneers, with the El Nino rains pounding audibly on the gym roof during the meet, and that was all she wrote for La Jolla.

In addition to Austin's and Costa's falls, each good for six team points in the dual meet, Viking 170-pounder Thomas Evans pinned his opponent, Mission Bay's Kai Deatrick. It took Evans only 48 seconds.

Any one of La Jolla's five losses being reversed could have given the Vikings a win or a tie. In two other weight classes, they forfeited due to not having any wrestler at 106 pounds or 285 pounds.

Actually, the most exciting match from a spectator's standpoint was La Jolla's Jake Harvey's 5-3 loss to the Bucs' Josh Pruitt in the 152-pound weight class. Harvey, one of the team's leaders, battled the muscular Pruitt in front of family members and friends. The pairing went all three periods, ending with the final close decision.

Austin, at 113 pounds, pinned Mission Bay's Aidan Lo Preti. Costa pinned Evan Martinez of Mission Bay in the 132-pound match.

La Jolla's Miguel Cervantes (120) and Chris Abarca (195) both won by forfeit.

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