LJ wrestling: Buzzy wins CIF title

Viking 128-pounder Buzzy Bomberger operates
against an opponent in the City Conference
Championships Feb. 8. The sophomore
took home a CIF title Feb. 15.
(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

All of the hard work of the last two years finally paid off for La Jolla's Buzzy Bomberger at the Division 4 CIF finals Sat., Feb. 15, at Army-Navy High School in Oceanside.

Bomberger, a sophomore who wrestles at 128 pounds for Coach Kellen Delaney's Vikings, edged Griffin Callaghan of Palo Verde in a four-nosebleed championship bout, 7-6, to take home the CIF title in his weight division.

Buzzy, whose formal name is "Daniel"--"My mom wanted Daniel, my dad Buzzy"--started out the match by taking Callaghan down for an initial two points.

The Palo Verde wrestler came back to make the bout an even fight.

But the match had to be stopped four times for Bomberger's nosebleeds, not the first time this has been an issue.


"We ended up taping up Buzzy's head like a mummy, so he could finish the match," said Delaney, his dry humor showing.

Buzzy held on to win by one point. "It was a nail-biter, for sure," said the head coach.

The CIF title marked the first one for a Viking wrestler since Elliot Austin in 2018.

The hard work consisted of applying himself in daily workouts for the school team during the season, and double duty wrestling for Isaac Pumajero's Puma Wrestling club apart from that. Father Mike Bomberger is a constant, determined presence in both settings.

Younger brother Ben is an eighth-grader who takes part in La Jolla Youth Wrestling, which works out in the high school wrestling room. He is well-known to the present Viking team members.

During the two-day Holtville Rotary Invitational in Imperial Valley Fri.-Sat., Jan. 31-Feb. 1, Buzzy competed in the 128-pound division. Then, at midday Saturday, after his wrestling was done there, he and dad trekked back to San Diego for a tournament that Puma Wrestling was competing in.

It has been a lot, with high expectations. Buzzy hadn't broken through with a first place until the division finals. He has shown increasing skill, a lot of quickness, with both technique and stamina evident this winter.

The Division 4 championship qualifies him for placement in the Master's meet the following week, featuring the top finishers in each weight class for all San Diego Section divisions combined. With Bomberger and La Jolla competing in Division 4, the level of competition at the Master's event will be that much higher--including Divisions 1, 2, and 3, as well.