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.
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