By Ed Piper
Senior Noah Pace, in his final City Conference Championships tournament of his high school career, reached the title bout at 122 pounds at Canyon Hills High Sat., Jan. 24.
The prestigious tournament, dedicated to the memory of Lincoln wrestler Willie James Jones, Jr., a standout wrestler/valedictorian taken in random gang violence years ago, comes at the height of the season--just before La Jolla's trip to the Holtville Tournament Jan. 30-31 and the CIF Section championships a week later.
Everything came together for Pace, the slim, blond veteran who takes his glasses off right before each bout. "I saw that he (second round opponent Angel Sardina of Hoover) was front-heavy, because he was putting his hands on the mat. So I knew that I could snap him really easily," the 12th-grader said after his 10-second pin, the fastest this reporter has ever seen.
On the girls' side, fellow senior Maddie Quach reached the finals at 107 pounds. Her second fall was the quickest--59 seconds. Of her first-round pin in 1:25, she said, "Choose violence, but legally, obviously. Go hard, go strong, get it done." Quach is so good-natured, she has been coached in this to do something that is counter to her personality off the mat.
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