LJ wrestling: Noah sails the ship at 122 pounds

Viking 122-pounder Noah Pace (in "Vikings"

singlet), holds Adam Winter-Smith of Granite

Hills in a cradle as referee (foreground right)

awards points. Pace piled up 16 points

before the match was declared a "tech fall"

win  by points in the second period.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Noah Pace, the Vikings' two-time defending All-Eastern League champion, rode a "get points" strategy to win the 122-pound championship at the Mission Hills Invitational Sat., Jan. 4.

It was a fabulous start to the New Year, as the blonde-haired junior, sporting Clark Kent-style black horn-rimmed glasses off the mat, recorded a tech fall (a decision on points), then three straight pins to the tourney title in his third year of high school competition.

Noah, whose parents viewed his moves from the stands at the San Marcos school, didn't even give his latter opponents a chance to gain further points against him with quick pins in 40 seconds, one minute five seconds, then the "marathon"--25 seconds into the second of three potential periods--to pin Kai Duckworth of Scripps Ranch in the 122-pound title match.

Asked his strategy after the "tech fall", a technical pin formerly called a major decision, a 16-0 win, the courteous La Jolla High student replied, "Get points".

Asked again as he headed to the distant drop-off point across the Mission Hills gym to deposit his match's clipboard report in a tray--having held opponent Adam Winter-Smith of Granite Hills in a cradle in the second period--if his goal was to go for a pin, Pace shook his head and said again, "Get points."

Pace (with glasses)

deposits his sweats

before his first

match Saturday.

The question only comes up because of a rule change this season: a wrestler is awarded three points for each takedown, formerly two points. That has altered the balance of matches, rewarding aggressors for getting takedowns, while the reward for an escape remains only one point.

In Noah's previous tourney competition, in the Marauder Invitational at Mira Mesa High Dec. 8, he had pursued the same strategy of piling up points through takedowns, then attempt a pin if the safety pad of points was sufficient to take the risk.

In Saturday's invitational, his approach became the perfect storm to overwhelm his opponents in the random draw of the tournament. His first-round pairing was a bye, conserving his energy that much more before his onslaught of tech fall-pin-pin-pin to the championship.