Post by Alumni on Feb 13, 2007 14:38:47 GMT -5
STEVE RANSON,
February 13, 2007
SPANISH SPRINGS - Fallon junior Trevor de Braga paced back and forth by the edge of the mat before his 145-pound championship bout against Elliot Pekar of South Tahoe.
Then, he looked up at his coach, Mitch Overlie, and smiled.
The Greenwave grappler had been in a similar position two years ago when he wrestled in the championship round but fell short to finish second at state.
De Braga was coming into Saturday's match with a 53-6 record and a regional title. Pekar qualified to state by taking third at the regional meet.
"Pekar," de Braga thought, "was going down."
Within 13 second of the match, de Braga left his feet and shot at Pekar's legs, taking the Vikings' wrestler down in front of the scorer's table.
Throughout the first round, de Braga stretched Pekar out, recording three short nearfalls for an 8-0 lead.
De Braga said he wasn't surprised with his wrestling. He had face Pekar at the regional tournament and easily defeated him.
"I didn't try anything new. I kept training pretty hard."
Pekar and de Braga began the second round standing up. Within 24 seconds, de Braga had a takedown, but Pekar rolled on his side for another de Braga nearfall. Near the end of the bout, Pekar reversed his position on de Braga and was awarded two points.
Pekar's move didn't slow down the Fallon wrestler.
"His reverse didn't bother me
De Braga began the third round on the mat. Quickly, de Braga scored on a reversal and had Pekar on his back for a nearfall. The match was called because de Braga had won by a technical fall, 17-2.
Pekar was wrestling in his first state tournament.
"I wanted to give my best," Pekar said, commending his opponent. "De Braga is the best."
Pekar said his goal was to take home a medal, and that he did.
"It's quite an accomplishment," Pekar said.
Fallon coach Mitch Overlie said de Braga was determined to win a title.
"He knew he had to wrestle well," Overlie said.
Except for the reverse, de Braga was flawless.
"He looked sharp," Overlie said. "Tonight is just the icing on the cake."
De Braga wrestled three matches at state including the championship bout.
In his first-round bout, he pinned Colton McFadden of Spring Valley in 4:33. That set up a match against Bill Stutzman of Mojave. De Braga emerged with a 13-7 decision.
Pekar finished the tournament with a 3-1 record. The South Tahoe senior had to wrestle in the pig-tail match on Friday and then wrestled two more times.
His pig-tail match resulted in an 8-7 decision against Gabe Castillo of Las Vegas. Pekar then decisioned Brogan Ashjian of Cimarron-Memorial, 11-5, and Wesley Goldbaum of Green Valley, 11-4.
Trent de Braga finishes third
STEVE RANSON
February 13, 2007
Fallon captured three medal spots at Saturday's Class 4A State Wrestling Championship that included Trent de Braga's third-place victory.
Nicholas Harris, the eventual champ of the 135-pound division, decisioned de Braga 7-4 in the quarterfinals.
"Credit the kid who wrestled him. Harris took Trent out of his game," Fallon coach Mitch Overlie said. "But Trent was focused when he came back. Once he lost (to Harris), Trent felt there was nothing standing in his way."
The third-place match finished before the first round when de Braga pinned Michael Speroni of Green Valley at 1:44.
Trevor de Braga, who won first place at 145 pounds, said he looks for his younger brother to be in the finals next year.
"He has two more years," Trevor de Braga said.
Junior Tyler Reibsamen was six points away from the medal round.
David Jordan of Mojave decisioned Reibsamen, 16-10, in the consolation semifinals.
"Tyler wrestled as best as he has all year. He wrestled smart and has grown a lot this season," Overlie said. "Tyler had some ups and downs, but he finished up here."
Academics
Fallon won another state academic trophy Saturday.
Each athletic class recognizes a school that achieves the highest grade point average for the year.
In Class 4A, Fallon won its fourth state academic title. The team finished the season with a 3.43 GPA.
Overlie said his goal every year is a state academic title first and then a regional title second.
Lyle Gardner wins second state title
THOMAS RANSON
February 12, 2007
SPANISH SPRINGS - Gently walking back and forth on the center mat in anticipation of his state title bout, Fallon's Lyle Gardner tuned into his iPod with a relaxed look and then smirked when he saw his father politely arguing with a security official about videotaping his son's final high school match.
"I felt pretty relaxed before the match. I didn't feel nervous at all," Gardner said.
The gentle giant then went straight to business.
Facing an opponent weighing almost 50 pounds more than Gardner, the senior wrestler overcame the challenge, showing more strength as he knocked off Cimarron-Memorial's Neil Spencer, 6-1, to win the Class 4A state title at 285 pounds.
"I was a little worried about the weight difference," Gardner said.
Gardner weighed in Saturday morning at 223.6 pounds while Spencer checked in at 271.4, Fallon coach Mitch Overlie said.
"That was a big match. The guy was more nervous than Lyle was," Overlie said.
Cimarron-Memorial coach Mike Garcia didn't believe there was an advantage in his wrestler outweighing Gardner.
"He (Gardner) dominated, and I was surprised," Garcia said. "He's a heavyweight wrestler. Our kid did a good job."
Spencer, a senior who will play football at San Diego State, refused to comment.
As the Gardner and Spencer waited while the announcer named the 215-pound champions at the staging area, Gardner listened to a song that couldn't have been more appropriate - "Walk It Out" by UNK.
Spencer, on the other hand, looked a beast waiting to break loose from his cage as he paced the mat with his head down and a disturbed look on his face.
Overlie said Gardner's mental preparation was a key to winning his second state championship. Gardner won the 215-pound class last season in Las Vegas.
"He turned around (before the match) and took his leg band off and had this great grin on his face," Overlie said. "He believes in himself. That's awesome."
Both wrestles struggled to take down any points in the first period, but Gardner managed to grab Spencer's legs off the mat for the takedown with 41 seconds left.
With Spencer down in the second period, he escaped before Gardner took him down again 1:27 into the period.
Spencer and Gardner were both upright in the final period. Spencer nearly grabbed down Gardner with a minute left. Gardner scooted around the mat and recorded another late takedown with 41 seconds left.
February 13, 2007
SPANISH SPRINGS - Fallon junior Trevor de Braga paced back and forth by the edge of the mat before his 145-pound championship bout against Elliot Pekar of South Tahoe.
Then, he looked up at his coach, Mitch Overlie, and smiled.
The Greenwave grappler had been in a similar position two years ago when he wrestled in the championship round but fell short to finish second at state.
De Braga was coming into Saturday's match with a 53-6 record and a regional title. Pekar qualified to state by taking third at the regional meet.
"Pekar," de Braga thought, "was going down."
Within 13 second of the match, de Braga left his feet and shot at Pekar's legs, taking the Vikings' wrestler down in front of the scorer's table.
Throughout the first round, de Braga stretched Pekar out, recording three short nearfalls for an 8-0 lead.
De Braga said he wasn't surprised with his wrestling. He had face Pekar at the regional tournament and easily defeated him.
"I didn't try anything new. I kept training pretty hard."
Pekar and de Braga began the second round standing up. Within 24 seconds, de Braga had a takedown, but Pekar rolled on his side for another de Braga nearfall. Near the end of the bout, Pekar reversed his position on de Braga and was awarded two points.
Pekar's move didn't slow down the Fallon wrestler.
"His reverse didn't bother me
De Braga began the third round on the mat. Quickly, de Braga scored on a reversal and had Pekar on his back for a nearfall. The match was called because de Braga had won by a technical fall, 17-2.
Pekar was wrestling in his first state tournament.
"I wanted to give my best," Pekar said, commending his opponent. "De Braga is the best."
Pekar said his goal was to take home a medal, and that he did.
"It's quite an accomplishment," Pekar said.
Fallon coach Mitch Overlie said de Braga was determined to win a title.
"He knew he had to wrestle well," Overlie said.
Except for the reverse, de Braga was flawless.
"He looked sharp," Overlie said. "Tonight is just the icing on the cake."
De Braga wrestled three matches at state including the championship bout.
In his first-round bout, he pinned Colton McFadden of Spring Valley in 4:33. That set up a match against Bill Stutzman of Mojave. De Braga emerged with a 13-7 decision.
Pekar finished the tournament with a 3-1 record. The South Tahoe senior had to wrestle in the pig-tail match on Friday and then wrestled two more times.
His pig-tail match resulted in an 8-7 decision against Gabe Castillo of Las Vegas. Pekar then decisioned Brogan Ashjian of Cimarron-Memorial, 11-5, and Wesley Goldbaum of Green Valley, 11-4.
Trent de Braga finishes third
STEVE RANSON
February 13, 2007
Fallon captured three medal spots at Saturday's Class 4A State Wrestling Championship that included Trent de Braga's third-place victory.
Nicholas Harris, the eventual champ of the 135-pound division, decisioned de Braga 7-4 in the quarterfinals.
"Credit the kid who wrestled him. Harris took Trent out of his game," Fallon coach Mitch Overlie said. "But Trent was focused when he came back. Once he lost (to Harris), Trent felt there was nothing standing in his way."
The third-place match finished before the first round when de Braga pinned Michael Speroni of Green Valley at 1:44.
Trevor de Braga, who won first place at 145 pounds, said he looks for his younger brother to be in the finals next year.
"He has two more years," Trevor de Braga said.
Junior Tyler Reibsamen was six points away from the medal round.
David Jordan of Mojave decisioned Reibsamen, 16-10, in the consolation semifinals.
"Tyler wrestled as best as he has all year. He wrestled smart and has grown a lot this season," Overlie said. "Tyler had some ups and downs, but he finished up here."
Academics
Fallon won another state academic trophy Saturday.
Each athletic class recognizes a school that achieves the highest grade point average for the year.
In Class 4A, Fallon won its fourth state academic title. The team finished the season with a 3.43 GPA.
Overlie said his goal every year is a state academic title first and then a regional title second.
Lyle Gardner wins second state title
THOMAS RANSON
February 12, 2007
SPANISH SPRINGS - Gently walking back and forth on the center mat in anticipation of his state title bout, Fallon's Lyle Gardner tuned into his iPod with a relaxed look and then smirked when he saw his father politely arguing with a security official about videotaping his son's final high school match.
"I felt pretty relaxed before the match. I didn't feel nervous at all," Gardner said.
The gentle giant then went straight to business.
Facing an opponent weighing almost 50 pounds more than Gardner, the senior wrestler overcame the challenge, showing more strength as he knocked off Cimarron-Memorial's Neil Spencer, 6-1, to win the Class 4A state title at 285 pounds.
"I was a little worried about the weight difference," Gardner said.
Gardner weighed in Saturday morning at 223.6 pounds while Spencer checked in at 271.4, Fallon coach Mitch Overlie said.
"That was a big match. The guy was more nervous than Lyle was," Overlie said.
Cimarron-Memorial coach Mike Garcia didn't believe there was an advantage in his wrestler outweighing Gardner.
"He (Gardner) dominated, and I was surprised," Garcia said. "He's a heavyweight wrestler. Our kid did a good job."
Spencer, a senior who will play football at San Diego State, refused to comment.
As the Gardner and Spencer waited while the announcer named the 215-pound champions at the staging area, Gardner listened to a song that couldn't have been more appropriate - "Walk It Out" by UNK.
Spencer, on the other hand, looked a beast waiting to break loose from his cage as he paced the mat with his head down and a disturbed look on his face.
Overlie said Gardner's mental preparation was a key to winning his second state championship. Gardner won the 215-pound class last season in Las Vegas.
"He turned around (before the match) and took his leg band off and had this great grin on his face," Overlie said. "He believes in himself. That's awesome."
Both wrestles struggled to take down any points in the first period, but Gardner managed to grab Spencer's legs off the mat for the takedown with 41 seconds left.
With Spencer down in the second period, he escaped before Gardner took him down again 1:27 into the period.
Spencer and Gardner were both upright in the final period. Spencer nearly grabbed down Gardner with a minute left. Gardner scooted around the mat and recorded another late takedown with 41 seconds left.