By Ed Piper
Viking 140-pounder Caden Kestler pins his
first round opponent, Abubakar Zimbo
of Crawford, in 47 seconds in a
dominating performance. Note Kestler's
brace on his left knee protecting
an ACL tear.
Caden Kestler, a 140-pound wrestler for La Jolla, took second place in the prestigious City Conference Tournament held at Lincoln High Sat., Jan. 29.
Kestler, a junior who was going to sit out the season due to an ACL tear in his left knee, instead came back with two weeks of practice to pin his first foe Saturday (see photo above); decision his next opponent, 9-3; then pin another competitor to reach the finals of his weight class.
The all-day tourney, an annual event attended by members of the City, Eastern, and Western conferences in greater San Diego, is a grueling test of wrestlers' endurance and skills.
For Kestler, a big test was his second bout of the day. He outlasted his opponent, but during the match a lengthy (5 to 10 minutes) timeout was called to allow Caden--an avid dirt biker and member of the Viking varsity football team--to catch his breath from a hold in which his opponent covered Kestler's mouth. "I can't just breathe out of my nose," Kestler said directly after the 9-3 victory in that bout.
Assistant coaches Kellen Delaney and Kraig Foreman had nine other Viking wrestlers in the tournament, which is named after Willie Jones Jr., valedictorian at Lincoln and a championship wrestler who went to the state meet his senior year. Jones was killed as the innocent victim of gun violence right after the completion of his senior year in 1994. Walter Fairley. a retired administrator at La Jolla High, attended Saturday's tournament and spoke with feeling of Jones' career and influence on his fellow students in individual conversations with this reporter.
Display in the Lincoln HS parking structure:
'Lincoln High School' in bright colors
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