Wheatland tops R.V.

Last season, Wheatland High junior Alex Luttrell earned the moniker "Calculator."

He tended to drag matches out to the third round and escape by the slimmest of margins. At any point of the bout, Luttrell knew exactly how many points were on the board and what he needed to do for a victory.

Down by one — he pulled a reversal to go up by one.

Tie score — he could make a takedown to nab a two-point lead.

Luttrell is aware of any situation that faces him on the mat.

In Wednesday's home opener against River Valley, his coaches didn't want him to prolong anything. He listened, needing only 29 seconds to pin his opponent.

Luttrell's victory highlighted a hot start for the Pirates, who pinned five of their first six opponents and held on for a 42-39 triumph.

Wheatland jumped out to an early 42-6 lead before River Valley stormed back in the second half of the match.

The Falcons won the final six bouts with four pins and a forfeit, but a victory by decision prevented R.V. from tying the match.

Both coaches are breaking in several underclassmen who are adjusting to varsity wrestling.

River Valley started a freshman and four sophomores. The Pirates countered with five freshmen and a sophomore.

That lack of experience is why early-season matches such as Wednesday's provide a good learning tool.

"We were excited we could hang on for the win," Wheatland coach Cy Olsen said. "We're looking for them to execute what we show them in (practice), not making up moves on the mat. We're trying to teach them to be aggressive.

"It's hard to teach that."

Olsen's 126-pound freshman Alex Lopez is catching on quick.

He pinned his opponent in the third round of their bout while holding a 17-4 advantage.

Junior Nick Haluzak (120) pinned his adversary in 33 seconds. Fellow junior Jon Cerboni (138) recorded a pin with 31 seconds remaining in the first round and 152-pound junior Mikey Hawkins held a 12-0 advantage before pinning Manjinder Johal in the second round.

River Valley's Chance Perez (132) was the only Falcon lightweight to notch a win with a pin in the third round of his bout.

Luttrell's aforementioned 29-second rout in the 145-pound matchup was the quickest victory of the night.

"I just wanted to get it done," Luttrell said. "I got a lot of varsity experience last year so I'm really excited because I know what to expect. I'm just waiting for things to start getting hard."

They should at this weekend's Natomas Nighthawk Duals where the Pirates will face some top programs in the Sac-Joaquin Section, including the Falcons.

R.V. can ride some of the momentum from the latter half of Wednesday's match into Saturday.

Sophomore Timmy Webb (160), junior Kyle Magenheimer (182), senior Conner Wick (195) and senior Chris Davis (heavyweight) were all victorious with pins.

In the 170-pound division, River Valley senior Cody Sapp outlasted Wheatland senior Taylor DeLozier with a 9-4 win by decision.

Falcons coach Ron Benton is already seeing progress in his team after a week of wrestling. His squad almost mounted a 36-point comeback.

He said that kind of resiliency will go a long way when matches really start to matter in February.

"Every week we want to see improvement," Benton said. "I want them to stay up on the mat and give it everything they have."