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Oakdale Takes Third At Tim Brown Memorial
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Freshman Rickey Torres is off to a memorable first year. Torres, shown grappling against an opponent from Kimball, pinned both of his opponents in the first round during dual meet action on the road. Leader Photos By Dennis D. Cruz

 

Coming off an impressive Valley Oak League dual meet performance against Sierra, where Oakdale’s varsity wrestling team beat Kimball 76-0 and Sierra 73-0, Oakdale headed north for the 2016 Tim Brown Memorial over the weekend.

The Mustangs put up a total of 186 points to finish third overall as a team at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. Nine of Oakdale’s wrestlers finished in the top five of their respective brackets, including first place finishes by Dustin Chavez and Gabe Martinez.

Chavez (108) earned a first round bye and polished off five other opponents on his way to earning the championship. With falls over Gio Villegas (Turlock) Jesus Estrada (Rodriguez) and Cole Kachmar (Whitney), Chavez met up with Lalo Velasco of Woodland in the semi-finals. Chavez earned an impressive 13-0 semi-finals victory. In the finals, Chavez shut out Ryan Elgarico of Elk Grove 4-0 after three periods to get his hand raised high.

Martinez (147) took care of business and walked out of the auditorium with a championship. Like numerous Mustangs, Martinez earned a first round bye. The rest did not seem to affect Martinez as he pinned Zach Hulburt (Tokay) to start his championship run. In his second match, Martinez outwrestled Jorie Taylor (Anderson) 2-0 to advance to the next round. Martinez’s momentum carried him to a fall over Mason Levinson of Cardinal Newman, setting up a semi-finals appearance for Martinez. Facing Terrell Turner (Elk Grove) in the semis, Martinez and Turner battled through three periods with Martinez posting a 5-4 victory. Martinez then entered the finals against Kurtis Clem of Chico. Martinez earned another hard fought victory, winning 3-0 to claim the championship.

Senior Trevor Williams (134) has been off to an impressive start to his 2016 season. Williams earned fourth place at the Doc Buchanan Invitational the week before, and earned two first period falls against Kimball and Sierra earlier in the week before the Tim Brown Memorial. Williams earned four wins in Sacramento to earn a spot in the finals. Williams defeated Sam McDonnell (El Molina), Christian Oliver (Central Valley), Jayden Loeza (Rodriguez) and Jackie Butler (Cardinal Newman) before facing Curtis Booth of Folsom. Williams’s championship hopes fell short as Booth defeated Williams 5-4.

Oakdale had a pair of third place finishers over the weekend as well. Cody Williams (122) and Rickey Torres (128) both turned in impressive performances. Williams earned a first round bye and followed up with a 13-1 victory over Trenton Edalgo (Tokay) before falling to Nick Bossert 6-2 in the following round. The resilient Williams then rattled off six straight wins to take his third place finish.

Torres battled to a pair of decisions before falling to the eventual second place finisher, Isaiah Palomino of Bellarmine 4-1. Torres bounced back and finished his day with a pair of victories to take third place. Earlier in the week, Torres earned two quick falls over Valley Oak League foes in league action.

Oakdale’s Bronson Harmon (154) and Colbey Harlan (162) each took fourth place. Harmon, who had a first round bye, began the tournament on a roll, winning his first three matches. He fell to Austin Tillery (Henley) 1-0 in a tough semi-finals bout but regrouped and defeated Bobby Mello (Oak Ridge) 8-2. Harmon’s weekend came to a close with a 4-0 loss to David San Miguel of Bellarmine.

Like Harmon, Harlan also won his first three matches following a bye. In the semi-finals, Harlan fell to Beau Colombini of Winsor 7-2. He bounced back with a 5-0 dismissal of Jacob Dye from Spanish Springs.

Rounding out the Mustang performers were Jake Abeyta (122) and Matt Kjeldgaard (287) who both finished fifth. Abeyta, who drew a first round bye, earned a fall over Nate Enos of Freedom in his first match. Abeyta’s downfall came when he battled Aaron Rugnao of Bear Creek. Rugnao outwrestled Abeyta 3-1 in Abeyta’s second match of the tournament, and the two would meet again in the consolation bracket. Abeyta and Rugnao battled it out for the second time in the tournament, with a similar result, Abeyta losing the match 5-2.

Kjeldgaard’s journey was slightly different than his Mustang teammates. The heavyweight sophomore did not have a first round bye, though he did earn a first round fall over Dillon Baker (Anderson) and earned a second fall over Nik Iverson (Cardinal Newman) to advance to the quarterfinals. Kjeldgaard’s day came to a close with a pair of losses.

Oakdale’s busy season continues when Oakdale hosts its first VOL dual meet of the year when they welcome Weston Ranch and East Union to town on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 4 p.m. The Mustangs head up the hill for the annual Hatler Memorial Tournament in Sonora on Saturday, Jan. 23 with matches set to begin at 9 a.m.