Matmen back in action

A loud and boisterous crowd filled Honker Gym in Yuba City on Wednesday night as the 2011-12 prep wrestling season officially began.

And what a way to start it off.

For the third straight year, squads from Yuba City High, Wheatland and Marysville kicked off the season in grand fashion by competing in a friendly three-way dual meet.

Bodies hit the floor, pins were made, and judging by the decibel levels from the crowd, the intensity was high.

Better yet, the competition on the mat was fierce.

"I'm really proud of the effort of everybody tonight," said Yuba City coach Erik Lambert, who saw his team win both of its matches. "Wins and loses happen, but effort is something you can control."

Wheatland started the evening off strong by recording nine pins in a 66-12 victory over Marysville in the first dual meet of the night.

Alex Lopez (120 pounds), Jacob Welson (126), Lucas Taylor (132), Ryan Whiteley (138), Alex Luttrell (145), Kalan Hastey (160), Taylor DeLozier (170), Matthew McClain (182) and Erik Lujan (195) each logged pins to lead the Pirates.

Emiliano Gomez (106) and Michael Hawkins (152) picked up wins by decision and Wheatland won two matches via forfeit to take the match easily.

Wheatland opened the season with 42 wrestlers on its roster, but while the Pirates have strength in numbers, they do lack overall experience, coach Cy Olsen said.

"We're really excited about the numbers, but we're really young," said Olsen, who has eight freshmen wrestling on the varsity team this season. "Last year, we had experienced guys at almost every weight class and this year we only have four. We just need to learn how to wrestle and we'll be fine." Sophomore heavyweight Austin Dearing recorded a pin for the lone victory for Marysville, which got its other points courtesy of a forfeit.

Like Wheatland, the Indians are also big on numbers but short on mat experience. However, second-year coach Mark Martinez likes what he sees in the underclassmen and feels the program will only get better over time.

"Usually we have juniors and seniors who are first-year wrestlers, but this year we have a lot of freshmen and sophomores who are first-year wrestlers," Martinez said. "They all show up to practice and they all have great attitudes. If we keep our grades up, we should be able to win some matches."

In the second meet of the evening, the Honkers used three forfeits to jump out to a 34-0 lead and then cruised past Wheatland by a final score of 52-24.

"We started out with 53 wrestlers, but we consistently have 45 at practice every day," Lambert said. "The turnout's been really good. We have a lot of young kids and they all have club experience so we're ahead of the game more than we have in past years.

"We have five four-year varsity wrestlers and they're on a mission this year to win a league championship, so it's exciting."

Earning pins for Yuba City were Thomas Bishop (126), Julian Saavedra (170) and Christian Diaz (heavyweight). Brandon Pierce (120) won by decision and Shannon Casaulong (160) won by major decision for the Honkers.

The match of the night came in the 132-pound division where Yuba City's Spencer Malugani recorded a two-point takedown with less than 10 seconds remaining to pick up a 12-11 decision over Wheatland's Taylor.

"He's only been practicing for three weeks and that was only the second match he's ever wrestled," Olsen said of Taylor. "It was a good one. The gym was going crazy."

Gonzalez (113) won by injury default and Whiteley (138) and Luttrell (145) both won by pin to lead the way for the Pirates.

The Honkers capped the evening with a 65-3 victory over Marysville.

Isaac Bishop (113), Pierce (120), Lupe Hill (138), Casaulong (160), Saavedra (170), Cody McMahon (182), Brandon Edwards (195) and Wes McMahon all won by pin, while Zach Grasky (145) won by major decision.