Friday, January 5, 2018

LJ wrestling 45, Cathedral Catholic 9

By Ed Piper

La Jolla's wrestlers provided a dominant performance in the first of what were originally scheduled to be four straight Wednesday league dual meets, taking Cathedral Catholic down on its own mats, 45-9, Thurs., Jan. 4.

The Vikings were keyed by three straight pins, by senior Elliot Austin at 132 pounds, Faress Zwain at 138, and Justin Close at 145. Super heavyweight Isaiah Torres, at 285 pounds, then followed with his own pin to close out the meet.

Head Coach Kellen Delaney's ever-improving group also benefitted by a 9-4 decision by Chase Maisel, a 126-pounder, over his opponent.

"A little nervous," said Close, who used a throw and a half-Nelson to achieve his pin in one minute, 45 seconds, when asked how he felt during the school day leading up to the match. How did he deal with that feeling? "I just kept doing my schoolwork."

Said Zwain of his fall, which came with three seconds left in the first two-minute period, "I focused, and I did what I've always done."

Asked to elaborate, he said, "(Be) determined and compete like in practice."

Austin was his usual lightning in pinning his opponent in a mere 23 seconds. (See separate story.)

The dual meet at Cathedral was originally scheduled for Wed., Jan. 3. However, Delaney said that the Dons rescheduled the meet for Thursday, because of students just returning to school after New Year's following the winter break.

Also, Mission Bay has apparently folded its wrestling program, according to Delaney, cancelling the dual meet scheduled at the Pacific Beach school Wed., Jan. 10.

No comments:

Post a Comment