By Ed Piper
After losing an initial match by pin, Viking freshman Noah Pace fought his way back through the consolation bracket to place fifth at 110 pounds in the Mission Hills Tournament Sat., Jan. 7.
Caden Kestler, at 145 pounds, took the consolation title at Mission Hills and made his day worth it.
Five other La Jolla wrestlers traveled with Pace and Kestler to the tourney in North County. Three of those gained team points, though none of them placed in their respective weight divisions.
Noah, the "mild-mannered reporter" type, sporting black-frame glasses and a seemingly unmenacing appearance, succumbed to Cade Johnston of Tri-City Christian after a first-round bye. Pace held the upper hand in the first and early part of the second periods, but with 1:04 left in the second he was pinned.
The Clark-Kent-ish grappler then grittily kicked into action to redeem his day: the freshman made Ryland Valdez of Christian submit in a speedy 1:25 (midway through the first two-minute round).
While his nemesis Johnston was losing his next bout by pin, Pace was decisioned 7-4 by Joe Jeon of Rancho Bernardo. But no matter, he came back to take Jacob Lefler of the host Mission Hills team by fall in 1:32 for fifth place in the 110-pound class.
Two pins in a highly-competitive tourney wasn't a bad day at all for the up-and-comer.
The other Vikings who scored points on the day included Charlie Long at 156 pounds, six points; Daniel Pena at 142 pounds, six points; Caden Kestler, 149 pounds, five points; and Gus Rinaldi, 164 pounds, five points.
Finishing outside the top placers in their weight divisions in the varsity-only tournament were Emilio Valencia-Salazar, 199 pounds, and Nick Sierra, 130 pounds.
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