The New Year has arrived and for OHS winter sports teams, so will Valley Oak League action. Both boys and girls basketball and Oakdale’s wrestlers were in action this week as they capped off non-conference play. Here is a quick glance at how they fared.
WRESTLING
Members of the seven time CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Champion Mustangs went to Reno for the annual Sierra Nevada Classic on Dec. 29 and 30. Oakdale finished in seventh place overall with a team score of 138.0 points. Four Mustangs placed in the top eight in their respective brackets. Senior Trevor Williams (132) battled his way to a second place finish. Williams knocked off Damien Huchsteadt, Andrew Sanchez and Josh Elder to reach the finals. Williams fell short, 5-2, in his finals match against Folsom’s Curtis Booth. Williams’ brother, Cody (120) finished the two day tournament with a third place showing for the Mustangs. Williams defeated Patrick Kennedy, Aidam Milligan, Robert Gonzalez and Ryder McKee, before falling to eventual bracket winner Ian Timmins. Williams redeemed himself with a victory over Escalon’s Kyle Jimenez for the third place finish. Freshman Dustin Chavez (106) continues to impress as he finished in fourth place. Defeating Brock Bresser, Austin Wirth and Gage Woods, Chavez’s run ended with a 6-3 loss against freshman Antonio Lorenzo. Chavez battled fellow freshman Marcos Polanco for third and fourth place, but fell 7-2. Fellow Mustang freshman, Ricky Torres (126) also had an impressive tournament. Torres placed sixth overall in the bracket. After rumbling past Kyle Rudy, Ryan Hendrix, AJ Lira and Dalton Lakmann, Torres faced off against the top seeded Devan Turner of Dixon. Torres went the distance but fell 9-2 to the eventual champion. Torres’s tournament ended with a fall to Nick Whitehead in the fifth place match. Oakdale will now set their sights on the Lloyd Engel Memorial Tournament in Escalon. The two-day tournament begins Friday, Jan. 8 at 9 a.m.
BOYS BASKETBALL
The 46th annual Oakdale Rotary Classic welcomed eight teams for a three-day tournament during the winter break. On Monday night, Dec. 28 fans made their way to the gym decked out in flannel for the first ever “Flannel Out Tradition.” Oakdale knocked off Los Banos 58-49 for the team’s first victory of the preseason. The next night Oakdale took on Grace Davis. The Davis squad used a big second quarter to pull away from the Mustangs and take the win, 60-32. Senior Adam Olsen led the Mustangs with 12 points in the loss. Oakdale finished the tournament with a 56-30 loss to Enochs in the third place game. Oakdale’s Mitch McDonald scored a team high 11 points, and Dallon Barfield connected on three second half three point field goals for nine points. McDonald was named team MVP of the tournament. Oakdale opened up league play against Sierra on Tuesday, Jan. 5. The game was held after The Leader’s press time. The Mustangs will host Kimball on Thursday, Jan. 7 at 7:15 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
The girls ended their non-conference play this week. The girls went to Beyer where they came out on the wrong side of a 61-27 loss. Oakdale hosted Atwater on Saturday, Jan. 2 following The Leader’s sports press time. Oakdale opens up league play on Wednesday, Jan. 6 on the road against Sierra and hosts Kimball on Friday, Jan. 8 for their home opener with tipoff scheduled for 5:45 p.m.
