LJ wrestling: Fairley checks in

By Ed Piper

Walter Fairley Jr. has been an assistant principal at La Jolla High, a wrestling coach there, and a zillion other things in his long, distinguished career serving in the interscholastic sports world.

He was back in his element at Lincoln High Thurs., Dec. 11, as the Viking wrestlers opened their 2025-2026 Eastern League dual meet season with the Hornets.

"I've had a few people pass," he shared as we walked from inside the school gates, to the main gym, then, finding it empty, going around the corner to the old gym where the mats were already set up. One is someone who died, and Walter had the job of informing a colleague who didn't yet know. It weighed a little on him.

Pete Salmu, the referee for the night's dual meet, asked for a photo of him with Fairley, inducted in the California Wrestling Hall of Fame for his wrestling, coaching, and service to the sport locally and in the region, to be emailed to him. "I'm the first Chaldean wrestling ref," Salmu said with a big smile as he talked and joked with Fairley, who is several inches shorter.

Walter was back at his roots, where he went (to Lincoln) to get coaching while he wrestled for the San Diego High Cavemen (in those days; now the Cavers). "I weighed 112 pounds as a freshman, and kept that weight all four years of high school," he said.

"On February 10, 1975, I had my first position teaching and coaching here. Greg Davis, a wrestler on my team, went to the state meet that first year. Coach Binky was my coach during my prep days at SDHS."

LJ wrestling: Managing mats

By Ed Piper

Jonathan Kowalchuk and Antonio Toledo are performing a new function for the La Jolla High wrestling team this season. They are "team managers", which in this reporter's 14 years covering the squad, has never happened before.

"I'm the one returning," said Toledo when asked who was the wrestler last year before the La Jolla-Lincoln dual meet Thursday, Dec. 11. He toiled in 2024-2025, then this season decided to take the manager's role as new head coach Joey Stofko takes over. (Stofko was an assistant the three years previous.)

The two, Kowalchuk and Toledo, were busy keeping their own scorebooks at the Viking-Hornet meet in the LHS old gym. This reporter took a photo of each book, thinking they were the official scorebooks.

"Mine is the official scorebook," volunteered Maddie Quach, a 110-pound wrestler and de facto captain of the team. "I'm teaching them how to keep score."

The books are big, with ring-type binders holding them so that you can turn pages. The information recorded on them is extremely valuable for a reporter covering the meet, when nothing will be posted on flowrestling or trackwrestling.com (used in tournaments).

I asked on another occasion what the managers do. They said set up the mats and help out in other ways.

LJ JV wrestling @ Madison six-team meet - game story 12/8

In an opening exhibition between two Vikings,

Oliver Franklin (left) downed teammate Alex

Mourlas (behind, right) 14-13 on an escape

in the last seconds. The bout was at 138 pounds.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

In an unusual JV meet hosted by Madison High Mon., Dec. 8, with six schools participating, the first six Vikings wrestling pinned their Holtville opponents, most of them in the first period.

La Jolla took on Holtville, the host of the huge annual tournament the Vikings will be returning to since before the COVID pandemic the last weekend in January, after a dual meet against Mountain Empire at the same event.

The Redhawks, representing Pine Valley, put up much more resistance than the green Vikings from the El  Centro area, who probably are a lot stronger on their varsity contingent.

Oliver Franklin, Emi Barajas Najera, Slater Olson, Streeter Kerch, Colton Warren, and Ayden Kim all took their opponents down in a row with falls. All are new to the La Jolla program except Kim, a returning junior.

After a pin by Holtville, the red Vikings resumed their mastery with a pin by senior Dylan Haugum, coming back to wrestling after two years off, who pinned his opponent within seconds.

Said Haugum after his second pin in as many matches on the evening, "Which pin did I like more? The first one (against Mountain Empire)--I hit him harder. I slammed him (to the mat) (which is legal if it is under control)." The 12th-grader had a big smile on his face.

LJ wrestling: Photos 12/11

Photos by Ed Piper

Maddie Quach's official scorebook for La Jolla

Lincoln's scoresheet

LJ wrestling 36, Lincoln 45 - 1st of 4 league dual meets - 12/11

La Jolla's Maddie Quach (top) pins her opponent

in 45 seconds as the Vikings start out fast

in their first dual meet of the season.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla was powered by its proven steadies, as seniors Noah Pace (126 pounds), Liam Kressin (150), and Asher Sternberg (wrestling up a weight class at 215)--joined by junior transfer Victor Franklin (138)--all won by pins in the Vikings' first of four dual meets in the Eastern League Thursday evening, Dec. 11.

New head coach Joey Stofko, the stepdad of Sternberg, led the Viking grapplers into the meet at Lincoln High, which eked out a narrow 45-36 win.

Pace and Kressin both reached the CIF Masters tournament last February, while Asher made it as far as the Division 4 finals. Franklin, returning to live in La Jolla with his family after attending Temecula Valley for his freshman and sophomore years, presents a new, intriguing feature for the coastal school's squad.

Sternberg, who also goes by the name Mazzen, took his opponent right to the mat and scored his pin within the first moments of the initial period. Noah "the Constrictor" (sewed on his letterman's jacket), Franklin, and Kressin all accomplished their falls in the second period.

Meanwhile, Patrick Fitzmaurice, a 157-pounder who was an alternate at the Masters tourney last winter, had to play trombone in the LJHS band's concert Thursday night. JV wrestler Julianna Barron was at the same event. The Vikings had to piece things together to fill Patrick's spot from their pool of resources.

The dual meet started off with an exciting exhibition in which senior Maddie Quach pinned her opponent in a quick 45 seconds, then kept up the high pitch with the early wins by Pace, Franklin, and Kressin.

"I wanted to start off the season being aggressive," said a smiling Quach, who also kept the official scorebook for La Jolla during the meet. She was, accomplishing the fall in a fraction of the time the whole bout could have lasted.

Told she looked "powerful" against her opponent, she said politely, "Thank you."

LJ g water polo: More photos 12/9

Photos by Ed Piper

Alicia Lopez Vargas (5), whom Coach Tom Atwell

calls a facilitator, handles the ball on offense

versus defender Grace Tollner.

Starter Alicia Lopez Vargas (5) advances

the ball toward the attacking zone

as La Jolla takes the ball over.

JSerra's Sloane Paulson (7) makes contact

as she defends Vikings' Alicia Lopez Vargas,

who is trying to shoot or pass.

LJ g water polo: Photos 12/9

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ's Carys Villano (15) shoots in the first half

against Skylar Shin (17) and Malia Offenberg (4)

in the match at JSerra.

Alicia Lopez Vargas (5) of the Vikings works against

the aggressive defense of Lions' Grace Tollner (5).

Viking Avery Edstrom (2, white cap, far left)

looks for an open teammate to pass to.

Avi Cavaiola (3, white cap) is lower center.

Freshman Carys Villano (15)

gets tested with the tough

Lions defense, #10 in the nation

last year.

Sloane Paulson (7) of the Lions easily wins

the sprint at the start of the second quarter

against the Vikings' Taylor Goldstein (9).

Cora Pfau (4) sets up in the offense.

LJ goalie Lucia Vega

Avi Cavaiola (back, mostly hidden) gets

swamped by defender Kam McCord (3)

of the Lions.

Taylor Goldstein (9, white cap) gets dunked

by the defense of Skylar Shin (behind).

LJ's Avi Cavaiola (3, white cap) goes under

as Kam McCord (3, black) and a teammate

double-cover her.

Avi Cavaiola (3) of La Jolla passes

under intense pressure from

Skylar Shin (17), a freshman.