Wrestling ends year as CIF looms ahead
February 10, 2009
By Jack Schwada
Last Saturday marked the end of the season for some wrestlers, and for others it marked the beginning of the quest for CIF level recognition. The Mission League finals took place at Chaminade High School and the results of this hours long tournament determined which Wolverines would qualify for the Southern Section Central Division individual championships, which will take place in a few weeks.
Last yearâs Mission League finals were a great success for the Wolverine squad, with nine of their wrestlers placing in the top three of their weight divisions. This yearâs Mission League finals was not as promising as last yearâs but still marked a significant success for the team. Nearly all of the wrestlers advanced to CIF. Wrestlers needed to come in the top three of their weight classes in order to advance to CIF.
Many Wolverines were able to make the cut and came in the top three of their weight classes advanced to CIF. Spencer Friedman â09 took first place in his weight class and so did Ben Kogan â11. Matt Felker â09 was another senior who will be advancing to CIF and took second place in his weight class.
This CIF qualifier came after last Tuesdayâs loss to Alemany. This 64-14 loss placed Alemany first place in the league with the Wolverines taking second place overall during the season in their league.
Alemany proved its skills last Saturday, beating out the Wolverines again and taking first place in the tournament.
The Wolverines faced three other schools during the season besides Alemany. They participated in several tournaments but only a few were against league squads, such as Brentwood, Crespi and Chaminade, each of whom they took on last month.
One problem during this season was a lack of truly experienced wrestlers. Of all the Wolverines on the squad, only five were upperclassmen.
“We are definitely a very young team,” Felker said. “But once we seniors are gone Iâm confident that the team will progress. This squad has a very bright future.”
Despite the youth of the squad this season, the future looks bright for this younger squad. The Wolverine squad has been led and will continue to be led by head coach Gary Bairos who has been with the school for several years.
