LJ wrestling: Holtville 8

A smiling Keegan Leonard (R), a freshman at
122 pounds, gets some post-bout wisdom from
Viking head coach Kellen Delaney on day two.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
 

By Ed Piper

Three wrestlers made it to the second day of the 55th Holtville Rotary Invitational, and eight in all competed for La Jolla High over the two days as Coach Kellen Delaney's squad continued a long tradition of participation in the prestigious annual meet in Imperial County Fri., Jan. 26 and Sat., Jan. 27.

Junior Isaiah Torres, wrestling at 222 pounds, sophomore Joshua Jasso (197), and senior Elliot Austin, who earned fifth place at 128 pounds (see separate entry), all continued in the competitive bracket into Sat., Jan. 27 of the big meet, which drew 366 athletes from 41 schools, including one school in Arizona (Kofa High of Yuma).

Torres, Jasso, and Austin were all returnees from previous Holtville meets. The other Vikings filling out the octet making the 260-mile round-trip trek over the Laguna Mountains on the last weekend of January included sophomores Hunter Gilbert (134) and Justin Close (140), and freshmen Keegan Leonard (122), Chase Maisel (128), and Tanner Shimp (154).

"That's the first time I've ever shot in a real match," said Shimp with obvious enthusiasm after a match Saturday afternoon, despite losing. Shooting involves lunging for the opponent's legs from a standing position. Tanner is one of the young La Jollans just learning his chops since last fall. The Holtville meet, which enables those losing their first two matches to wrestle in additional bouts in a so-called "Hard Luck Bracket", is an incubator for novices like Shimp.

The La Jolla student-athletes were housed for the second year in a row by Jimmy and Christina Toten of Holtville, who have a son, Michael, who competes on the Holtville High Vikings wrestling team. "We slept on air mattresses and couches," said Torres. "They served us a dinner of chicken and carne asada, with beans and rice," reported Leonard Saturday morning, after the overnight stay.

A humorous comment came from the Totens' niece, Julia, who met the team. Told that Austin is British and has kept his British accent even after living here for several years, Julia said, "Oh, I thought he was faking it."

The Totens, with Julia, cheered Elliot on in his path through the consolation bracket Saturday back into contention for third place, after losing a quarterfinal match Friday night. He was able to ascend to fifth place on a total of four pins over the two-day event.

At the traditional team lunch at picnic tables on the quad of the Holtville High campus Saturday afternoon, Shimp showed his originality off the mat by scraping together the cream from several Oreo cookies, then downing the mound of filling on one cracker.