10 pm: Alright ya’ll. I finished my two stories and I’m going to go back to my hotel and sleep. Match of the night, without a doubt, was Tito Pica’s 11-9 win over Clovis’ Tommy Burriel. It was a rematch of the Mission San Jose final and Pica made it through two injury timeouts for a hurt right knee, scored a takedown with six seconds left, and scored the win. Unbeliveable. Tomorrow, we’ll have Jason Welch, Tito Pica and David Klingsheim all in semifinal matches. You better believe I’ll be here bright and early for Klingsheim’s match at 112 pounds. I’m glad everyone enjoyed the blog and, if I get some strength, I’ll post final reflections on day one later tonight. If not, see you tomorrow! 

7:30 pm: We’re still waiting for the next championship round to begin. I swear we’re getting close.  

6:10 pm: We’ve started the third consolation round and we have to clear it before we get to the championship quarterfinals. Locally, we have David Klingsheim, David Rios, Stephan De La Cruz, Tyler Sheridan, Aaron Drake, Jason Welch and Tito Pica left. I’m not sure how much blogging I’ll get to do, as I have to focus on getting interviews with all those guys. See you in a while.

5:50 pm: I’ve returned from interviewing Central Catholic’s Louis Bland. Great kid. He’s headed to Washington State next year to play football. 

5:30 pm: I’ll take a break for a few minutes while I go try to track down Central Catholic’s Louis Bland. Be back in a few. 

5:15 pm: Welch is up against Gilroy’s Ethan Ogle. Welch is up 2-0 near the end of the first period. Took him a while to score his first points. End one and it’s still close. 2-0 Welch. Welch on bottom to start the period. Escapes easily and it’s 3-0. Welch is getting aggressive now. Ogle wants no part of Welch and he continues to back up constantly. Meanwhile, Pica just won across the arena. Welch takes Ogle down but rolls out and doesn’t get the points. Welch takedown and it’s 5-0. This is not a fun match to watch. Welch lets Ogle escape. 5-1. Welch takedown, 7-1. End of two periods, 7-1. Welch reversal to start the period. 9-1. Takedown 11-1. Escape, 11-2. David Yi is arguing an extra point being given to Ogle. Everyone is frustrated right now. Ogle trips Welch but Welch gets out of it. 54 seconds and this one’s in the books. Takedown and escape. 13-4 Welch. Takedown, 15-4. Escape, 15-5. So, it won’t be a tech fall but Welch with a takedown to make it 17-5. That’s the final.

5 pm: Welch will be the next local up. Be right back. 

4:55 pm: End of one period, 0-0 between Webb and Drake. Webb warned for stalling one minute into the second period. Still tied at zero. End of two periods, 0-0. Webb gets two and it’s 2-0 Webb. Webb called for stalling and Drake gets a point. 30 seconds left and 2-1 Webb. Webb gets called for stalling again and its 2-2. Lets go OT! Drake rolls Webb over anad PINS him. Wow. What a big win for Drake. Unbelievable finish.

4:55 pm: Cal’s Aaron Drake is about to wrestle on Mat 5 against La Costa Canyon’s TJ Webb. Should start in a second.  

4:40 pm: Sheridan snuck up on me. He’s up 2-0 early in his match. Sheridan went for a near-fall and his opponent escaped. 2-1. He’s facing Lemoore’s Vincent Rubio. End one, 2-1 Sheridan. Rubio escapes and it’s 2-2. Sheridan with a takedown. 4-2 Sheridan. Two more points and it’s 6-2. Near-fall near the boundary and it’s now 9-2. End of 2 periods, 9-2. Rubio scores four points and it’s a match again, 10-6 Sheridan. Rubio takes an injury timeout and they resume with the score 11-6 Sheridan. Sheridan a takedown and that gives him some more room. 13-6. Rubio escapes. 13-7. Sheridan a takedown and two-point nearfall and that’s all she wrote. 17-7 the final.

4:35 pm: The next local to wrestle will be De La Salle’s Tyler Sheridan at 145 pounds. That won’t be for a little while though. Hang tight. 

4:30 pm: Today’s first day video from Jose Carlos Fajardo is up on our web site. Check it out here. 

4:20 pm: Vinny Maraj defaulted out of his consolation match, confirming my suspicion that he’s hurt. Anyway, De La Cruz is trailing 2-0 early in his match. He escapes to start the second and it’s 2-1. Takedown for Miller but a reversal by De La Cruz and it’s 4-3 Miller. Takedown by Miller and it’s 6-3. The scorekeeper is doing something funky as DLC now has two points. He’s definitely got more than that. They’ll conference to figure it out. Consensus is the score is 6-6.  The scorekeeper is really bad. It’s now 7-7 and I have no idea how. DLC allows Miller up and he gets an escape point. 8-7 Miller. DLC scores a takedown and is up 9-8. Less than a minute left. Stalemate called. DLC warned for stalling and now there’s 11 seconds left with DLC still up 9-8. DLC warned again for stalling and now it’s down to six seconds left. Miller escapes with one second left. Wow. We go to OT, 9-9. De La Cruz with a takedown and this thing is over. 11-9 DLC and he moves on to face Clovis West’s Nick Fisher.

4:20 pm: West and Rios each won their divisions at the Tim Brown Invitational earlier this year. West was at 135s and Rios at 145s then. Next match is Livermore’s Stephan De La Cruz against Natomas’ Jerin Miller.  

4:05 pm: Here we go, Rios vs. Kapler. They’re on Mat 7, so I can watch (woo hoo). Rios starts by looking to turn Kapler. Not successful so far. Stalemate called and they’ll reset at neutral. Kapler looked like he might have something and Rios turned it into a takedown of his own. 2-0 Rios. End of one period. 2-0 Rios. Rios on bottom to start the second. Kapler’s looking to turn Rios but it isn’t happening. Rios reverses the hold and scores two. 4-0 Rios. End of two periods, Rios leads 4-0. Rios with top position this time and now assistant coach Rudy Dizon is imploring him to circle left.  It worked and Rios scores two. 6-0 Rios. Rios scores two for a near-fall and Kapler gets warned for stalling. 8-0 Rios. Rios is your winner, 8-0. He moves on to tonight’s quarterfinal round where he’ll likely see Oak Ridge’s Kyle West.  

4 pm: Next match on tap is Liberty’s David Rios against Liberty’s (Central Section) Greg Kapler. Should start in a few. By the way, if anyone with the CIF is reading this, everyone on press row would love it if you could fix the wireless.

3:50 pm: Some guy just got thrown down the stairs. That was crazy. Someone seems a bit confused that the fighting is supposed to be happening on the mats and not in the stands. The testosterone is flowing freely on this end of the building. In other news, Logan’s Ruben Baca is wrestling. He’s down 9-4 currently. Baca loses and will try the outbrackets later this afternoon.  

3:45 pm: Something I haven’t updated today is College Park’s Gerson Nkunku is through to the third round. Hey, a fight broke out in the stands. One guy lost his shirt. Bad vibes all around. 

3:35 pm: Good luck strikes as Aura and Orona will wrestle on Mat 6, right in front of us. This is a tough one for Aura, as Orona is No. 4 in the state. Orona scores the first takedown. 2-0 Orona. End of one period. 2-0 Orona. Orona with a slick reversal to start the second period and he’s now up 4-0. That was impressive. Aura with an escape and it’s 4-1. Orona another takedown and it’s 6-1. Orona is pouring it on now and it’s 8-1. End of two periods, 8-1 Orona. Aura an escape to start the period and it’s 8-2. Orona takedown makes it 10-2. Orona wins 10-2.  

3:30 pm: The next local who will take the mat will be Foothill’s Chase Aura. He’s got Santa Fe’s Marcus Orona. I think people are still trying to digest Acosta’s win, that was way too close for the state’s No. 2. 

3:25 pm: Klingsheim with the first points on a takedown. 2-0 Klingsheim. Klingsheim riding on top. Klingsheim with a pin. The bigger story is Acosta, who just scored a takedown with 11 seconds left to go up 5-4. A stalling call on Acosta. Wow. 5-5. Let’s go overtime! Acosta with a takedown and this baby is over. What a close call for Markjay Acosta, beating Canyon Springs’ Estevan Cabanas 7-5 in OT.

3:15 pm: The next match I’ll be keeping my eye on is Liberty’s David Klingsheim vs. Hogan’s Terry Allen. Should start in a few minutes. San Leandro’s Markjay Acosta is about to take the mat across the arena. 

3 pm: The fun is beginning again. The first match of the next championship round is Temecula Valley’s Eric Reyes against Liberty’s Paul Gomez. Here we go. Reyes with a takedown and a near-fall. Looking for the pin. Only got the near-fall. End of one period, Gomez is down 5-0. Not much action so far in the second period. Reyes scored a takedown and that’s it. 7-0 end 2. Gomez scores a reversal to make it 7-2 but there’s only 45 seconds left. Unless he can turn it into a pin, this one’s pretty much over. Reyes wins 7-2.

2:35 pm: Not much going on right now for us. Consolation matches are in full swing. It’s only 2:35 and I’ve got a handle on our notebook for tomorrow so I feel a great sense of accomplishment and pride (yeah, right). Our snack tray has been consumed though, so we may need to go get more snacks. Jimmy is impressed with the bold colors that the Oakland Athletic League schools rock. I agree. Go big, go bold. That’s how you’re supposed to roll in Bakersfield. 

1:25 pm: In thumbing through the brackets, I’ve figured out that Clovis’ Scott Sakaguchi and Sultana’s Cody Bollinger, two big time names at 140 pounds, lost in the first round. Does that make Arcata’s Trent Stevenson the favorite? We’ll see. 

 1:20 pm: So, we’re nearing the end of the first championship round and things are officially dragging a bit. I don’t have too many kids from our area in the upper weights so we’ve taken to brainstorming ideas for our stories tonight.

1:15 pm: I’m done messing with the photo. Yes, there are 10 mats in play here. We’ll try to get some more photos later. No pizza yet. I’m banking on that for dinner. It was burgers and various salads for lunch. We have a snack tray here, courtesy of Hoose.

1 pm: Welcome to our world (picture credit: Steve “The Beast” Waterhouse):

12:55 pm: What up Bower. Hoose says Crosby Ben is ”on the brink of elimination”. And yeah, that’s true. He lost to Kingsburg’s Bryan Eskew 11-2 in a pigtail this morning. Mighty Kingsburg, I might add. Also, Acosta lost this morning. Nah, just kidding. Acosta beat Jordan Elmer of Redwood 5-0. And, for the record, we already hit the hospitality room. What do you take us for?

12:50 p.m.: Welch officially won 20-5. Tito Pica is wrestling on Mat 9 and from the looks of things, is up 8-3. College Park’s Gerson Nkunku is getting set to take the mat also. Pica a takedown and a near fall, 13-3. Reversal and out of bounds. 13-5.  

12:35 p.m.: Alright, Welch is up on Mat 6 and that means I can see it since Mat 6 is the one right under us. Ramirez is trying some motion early but that only serves to allow Welch to tie him up. Ramirez sweeps Welch and takes him down. Whoa. 2-0 Ramirez. Welch escapes, 2-1. Welch is gonna get nasty here. Welch takedown after grabbing the left leg. 3-2 Welch. Welch with a near fall and it’s 6-2 Welch after 1. Welch takedown to start the period 8-2. Escape, 8-3. Welch drops down on Ramirez and now goes to the crossface. The score is now 13-3 after that exchange. Another near fall and it’s 16-4 with the escape. Welch takedown. 18-4. Takedown 20-4. It’s ovah.

12:30 pm: Welch should be up soon. He’ll face Bakersfield’s Jose Ramirez after beating his pigtail opponent this morning 21-6. 

12:20 pm: Drake and Maraj are up on Mat 5. Maraj has a sleeve on his right shoulder, which can’t be good. Maraj tried a shot and Drake defensed it well. Drake tried to hook the right leg and missed. Maraj a takedown and he’s got Drake on his back. They go out of bounds and Maraj is up 2-0. Reset with Drake on bottom. Drake gets out and scores the escape point. 2-1 Maraj. End of one period, 2-1 Maraj. Drake on bottom to start the period and Maraj gets warned for stalling. Drake escapes and it’s 2-2. Maraj with a really sloppy shot and Drake locks him up as a result. They go out of bounds and will restart at neutral. Drake caught Maraj sleeping and scored a big takedown. 4-2 Drake at the end of two periods. Drake has top position to start. He’s grinding Maraj into the mat, trying to avoid the escape. Maraj looks lifeles at the moment. Drake scores a point for stalling on Maraj. 5-2 with 44 seconds left. Drake looks like he’s gonna do this. 20 seconds left and still 5-2. And there it is, the first big NCS win of the day, Cal’s Aaron Drake beats Yucca Valley’s Vinny Maraj, No. 2 in the state, 5-2.

12:20 p.m.: I’m waiting for bout 249 to come up. Yucca Valley’s Vinny Maraj against Cal’s Aaron Drake. Should be a good one at 152 pounds. Granada update: Both Nick Hernandez and John Banke lost their first matches. Hernandez dropped a pigtail and Banke lost in the first round.

12:15 pm: Tyler Sheridan is in complete control of his 145-pound match aagainst Casa Roble’s Aaron Pickard. It’s across the arena so I’m straining to watch. And there it is, Sheridan wins. Granada’s John Banke is trailing 6-4 in the second period in the mat in front of us. Also, bad new for Alhambra fans. Aaron Westphal lost an 11-9 decision to Kernan’s Kevin Rojas.

12 p.m.: Good news for Miramonte fans. Sam Worth is giving it a go today, as his match was just announced. He’ll face Oakdale’s Trevor Machado-Ching, the Sac-Joaquin champ. 

12 p.m.: The CIF people are giving us updated brackets weight-by-weight now. Foothill’s Chase Aura is through to the second round and he’ll face Santa Fe’s Marcus Orona in the next round. I saw Aura trolling around the merchandise table earlier, so the day is rolling along smoothly I suppose. Also through to the next round, Liberty’s Paul Gomez and David Klingsheim. Gomez has won two matches already today and next faces Eric Reyes of Temecula Valley, the Southern Section champion.

11:30 a.m.: One of the kindred souls in California wrestling, Al Fontes, strolled through the box and let me know that the NCS hasn’t had any big suprises so far. Westphal is tied early in his match and Liberty’s David Rios is about to take Mat 6. 

11:30 am: The first local casualty of the day is Logan’s Lawrence Blanco. He lost his pigtail against Central Catholic’s Andrew Perez 10-6. Raphael is down 8-1 to Arredondo in the second period and Alhambra’s Aaron Westphal is taking the mat. 

And we’ve reached the Rabobank Arena. We’re looking down on 10 mats and the PA announced just announced Albany’s Taylor Raphael is taking the mat against Buchanan’s Justin Arredondo. So, action is well underway and we’re in the middle of the first championship round. I’ll go scan the brackets and make sure no pigtail surprises happened this morning and I’ll be back.

Well, the CCT crew has reached Bakersfield. We made our way over to Rabobank Arena and picked up credentials for tomorrow and had a nice conversation with CIF media guru Emmy Zack. She might be the busiest person in California tomorrow. For those who followed the blog last year when we were down here, yes, we passed Wasco State Prison and no, I don’t have any witty comments about the golf course across the street (though the grass wasn’t too green…).

As a means of previewing tomorrow’s first day, I figured I’d throw out some first day matches I’m looking forward to seeing.

103 - Gilberto Camacho (Washington Union-Fresno) vs. Lawrence Blanco (James Logan): Camacho is the defending state champion and Blanco defeated Liberty’s Paul Gomez to win the NCS title. The two could meet in the quarterfinals tomorrow and I wouldn’t be surprised if the winner ends up seeing Bella Vista’s Bryden Lazaro in Saturday’s semifinal.
112 - David Klingsheim (Liberty) vs. Chris Martinez (Clovis West-Clovis): This is a great matchup and it could happen in the second round. In the latest rankings from thecaliforniawrestler.com, Klingsheim is No. 3 in the state and Martinez is No. 4. To make this happen, Klingsheim needs to first beat Calvary Chapel-Santa Ana’s Zane O’Bourke, who is in the honorable mention category in the rankings.
119 - Chase Aura (Foothill) vs. Marcus Orona (Santa Fe): To be the best you have to beat the best and a potential second-round matchup against Orona, ranked No. 4 in the state, looms for Aura. If he beats Orona, he gets to look forward to a possible match against Union Mine-El Dorado’s Cody Tow, the Sac-Joaquin Section champion.
125 - Ruben Baca (James Logan) vs. Angel Garcia (San Dimas): Call me a sucker for seeing the best in the state but Baca is a solid wrestler and Garcia is ranked third in the state. This could be a potential quarterfinal matchup.
130 - Aaron Westphal (Alhambra) vs. Derek Dixson (Vista-San Diego): This potential second-round matchup will tell Westphal all he needs to know about his hopes of medaling. Dixson is ranked No. 7 in the state and was the San Diego Section runner-up to Poway’s Henry Yorba.
135 - David Rios (Liberty) vs. Kyle West (Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills): Rios wasn’t seriously challenged at the NCS tournament. He’ll get all the challenge he wants with this potential quarterfinal match against West, who is ranked No. 2 in the state. Rios is ranked No. 8.
140 - Trent Stevenson (Arcata) vs. Nikko Cataline (Roosevelt): Yes, I know, neither of these guys is local. I just love watching Stevenson wrestle. He’s technically sound and has a ton of energy. Cataline is ranked No. 8 and Stevenson is No. 4.
145 - Tyler Sheridan (De La Salle) vs. Brad Robinson (Poway) or Vincent Rubio (Lemoore): Robinson and Rubio have to face each other in the first round but whoever wins will likely be the first real test for Sheridan.  Sheridan has a pigtail match, so he will have to win two matches to get to this potential second-round showdown.
152 - Aaron Drake (California) vs. Vinny Maraj (Yucca Valley): This could be the best first round match of the day. Drake is the NCS champion and Maraj is ranked second in the state despite finishing sixth at last weekend’s Southern Section meet. You know you’re good when you finish sixth and the ranking doesn’t take a hit.
160 - Jason Welch (Las Lomas) vs. Anthony Duarte (Fountain Valley): Welch begins his quest for a third state title with this pigtail match. Not much to say other than everyone will be watching.
171 -  Tito Pica (De La Salle) vs. Tommy Burriel (Clovis): Pica dominated when these two met at Mission San Jose and you have to figure Burriel will be ready for this potential quarterfinal rematch. It will be up to Pica to avoid looking ahead to a possible semifinal showdown with Temecula Valley’s Jake Meredith.
189 - Louis Bland (Central Catholic-Modesto) vs. Wade Jackson (Kingsburg): For all the attention I give Welch, you should know that Bland is looking to win his third state title at the same time. He lost to Ponderosa-Shingle Springs’ Justin Danz last year but I’d be shocked if he gets beat again this year.
215 - Drew Meulman (St. Francis-Mountain View) vs. Brett Sanchez (Clovis): No. 5 (Meulman) vs. No. 3 in the state could meet in the quarters. That’s a lot of talent.
285 - Dominic Galas (Central Catholic-Modesto) vs. Luis Barragan (Gilroy): Galas, who will play football at Cal next year, is the No. 3-ranked heavyweight in the state. Barragan, though unranked, won a Central Coast Section title last weekend and is more than a formidable challenge. In  a traditional low-scoring heavyweight bout, this could go either way.

Alright, now you’re ready for tomorrow. I’ll set the blog up tomorrow morning and I’ll try to keep up with all of our locals and with most of the NCS (since I know I’ve got some readers up north). See you in the morning.

Granted, the talent level doesn’t approach that of the pros and colleges, but for an entertaining sporting experience the form of basketball played in the high schools can’t be beaten. On Wednesday (Feb. 27), I was at St. Elizabeth High in Oakland for its NCS Division V boys semifinal with visiting Lick-Wilmerding - - but it could have been any other school gym here or elsewhere. Yes, the gym was small, but the atmosphere was great, with plenty of fans of both teams packing the seats and cheering their teams. In larger venues, something gets lost. The NBA has the best players, but that league also is a big business enterprise. A long regular season and bloated playoffs make a lot of those games seem like contrivances. The college game is OK, but games work best in smaller venues. The higher levels might have the names and the talented players. But with school spirit overflowing, high school basketball is the heart and soul  of the game.

I could have written a nice little blog post about what Las Lomas wrestler Jason Welch has in store for this weekend’s CIF State Championships in Bakersfield. But, that’s not how we roll. I figured it would be better to actually experience what Welch’s opponents will face this weekend. Give me a second while I get it up and working.

Unless you’re a coach, student-athlete or parent/guardian of a student-athlete whose high school soccer season takes place in spring, this year’s soccer season came to an end Saturday night, Feb. 23.

And what a conclusion it was. I was assigned to the North Coast Section 2A boys final between Piedmont and Campolindo at Acalanes High School. Not to belabor a point, as I’ve written about this game in a previous entry, but both teams did themselves proud. OK, so the score was 6-1 for Campolindo, but there were a lot of elements in this game to appreciate.

I wish there could have been two of me that same night, as colleague Matt Smith looked as if he caught a very good game in witnessing Pittsburg beat Amador Valley for the boys 3A title. Can only wonder, though, how Richmond High would have held up against either of those teams. Richmond, as described in an earlier post, was the team of skill in its Feb. 16 quarterfinal at home against Deer Valley, which relied largely on force. Deer Valley might have prevailed on a late penalty kick in that game, but the biggest loser was the sport of soccer itself.

In the long run, though, soccer itself was no loser come Feb. 23. Colleague Bill Kruissink, from all reports, saw a real barnburner when covering the 3A girls championship game between San Ramon Valley and Foothill at Dublin High. SRV won this game in a shootout. OK, so shootouts never are perfect; they’re a tough way to lose and maybe not the most satisfying way to win. Still, it sounded like a great game for both teams, who can only be proud of the performances they gave.

Colleague Phil Jensen covered the 2A girls title match between Piedmont and Miramonte that preceded the boys match at Acalanes High. Having arrived at Acalanes well in advance of the boys game, I was able to catch the last few minutes of the girls match. The scoreboard read, “Home 1, Visitors 0,” when I arrived, but until I asked Phil specifically, I could not tell which team was ahead as both the Highlanders and victorious Matadors kept attacking until the final whistle.

Yes, the winter soccer season is finished. And for the sport of soccer itself, it ended on a high note.

The news earlier this month that Bishop O’Dowd coach Tim Newman had stepped down from his post came as a surprise. Also stepping down with Newman were assistant Patrick Acebo and JV coach Dean Fukawa. As veterans of 16 seasons at the hilltop campus, Newman and company had become an institution at the Oakland hilltop campus after having produced 10 league titles and four NCS titles. In addition, 22 O’Dowd players went on to college programs after playing for Newman. The latest news has it that recent O’Dowd player, Ariell Cooke, now at the University of Miami, took part in U.S. national team tryouts this past weekend (Feb. 23-24). Newman, et al, indeed have built an excellent program, one with a 51-game Hayward Area Athletic League winning streak intact. Newman, Acebo and Fukawa, who began at BOD together, we’re told, decided to step down together in order to pursue other interests. Newman remains at O’Dowd as a teacher and head of the science department. He also leaves behind a reputable, respected and successful program he helped build. Whoever takes over the coaching reins at O’Dowd is going to have some big shoes to fill.

To soccer nonbelievers (of which there are many, unfortunately), the thought of either a scoreless or lopsided contest is sure to induce a roll of the eyes and perhaps a feigned snore for added effect.

The poor souls just don’t know what they’re missing.

Take the Feb. 23 North Coast Section 2A boys final between Campolindo and Piedmont at Acalanes High School as a case in point. Sure, Campolindo won 6-1. But the teams were more evenly-matched than the score might indicate. Both teams showed some fine skills and an overall feel for the game. But the Cougars, most especially, gave a wonderful display of their abilities on set pieces, a part of the game that is grossly undervalued by many.

Seems the Cougars have a lot of strong-legged players. Alika Okamitsu was a joy to watch, a revelation for those who had never before seen him. Okamitsu set up the game’s first goal with a booming free kick from beyond midfield. A defender, Okamitsu exhibited speed and ball skills to go along with his booming shots and free kicks. A junior, Okamitsu surely will be one player to keep an eye on next season.

Beyond Okamitsu’s well-placed assist (Max Smith-Gee was credited with the goal), free kicks led to two other Cougars goals. And a throw-in that was flicked on before being put into the net accounted for a fourth. Further, Okamitsu wasn’t the only Cougars player capable of long-distance accuracy, as both Georgio Tavecchio and Jason Kimura scored on second-half “crackers,” as British commentators are wont to say.

A free kick also led to Piedmont’s only goal as Nikolai Littleton finished a William Young serve into the box in the late minutes. In all, Piedmont had most of the early play and finished with 12 shots to Campolindo’s 13. But in this game, every Highlanders mistake proved costly.

On paper, a 6-1 final score might not impress. But Campolindo-Piedmont made for great soccer and a great NCS final - - and on a cold, wet evening, too boot! What a great display in the value of set pieces and accurate long-range shooting!

It makes a fan want to scream for an encore!

After two long days at Newark Memorial, I was drained Saturday night and couldn’t put up my reflections on the tournament. So, here are a few things I took from the weekend that was.

1. Match of the night: San Leandro’s Markjay Acosta defeats Liberty’s David Klingsheim, 8-4, in the 112-pound championship. This match featured non-stop action. Both wrestlers were aggressive and Acosta just found a way to stick his shot a little better than Klingsheim. They’re on the opposite side of the state bracket, could we see a re-match on Saturday night?

2. Kudos to the NCS staff for making the 160-pound championship the featured match of the night. Everyone in the building was watching and it created a moment that most will remember forever.

3. I can’t decide which De La Salle wrestler is wrestling better right now, Tyler Sheridan or Tito Pica. Neither was challenged at the NCS tournament and it would be a serious upset to not see them on the podium in some fashion this weekend in Bakersfield.

4. The hard luck trophy of the weekend goes to Miramonte’s Sam Worth, who made the 140-pound title match but didn’t get to wrestle due to an injured shoulder. He’s in the bracket for this weekend and I hope he can go.

The big dance is this weekend, with the CIF state meet taking place Friday and Saturday in Bakersfield. Brackets are up here, so check those out. As I get a chance to comb through them, I will post the matches I’m looking forward to seeing on day one.

Well, that’s all she wrote. A successful night all the way around, I’d say. I’m going to go try to drive from Newark to Walnut Creek in the inclement weather, so I’ll sign off for the night. I hope everyone enjoyed the updates, even though they were sporadic down the stretch. You better believe I’ll have some final thoughts later tonight and we’ll blog from the road on the way to Bakersfield later this week. This is Ben Enos, signing off. 

Finals results 
103 - Lawrence Blanco (James Logan) d. Paul Gomez (Liberty), 4-0
112 - Markjay Acosta (San Leandro) d. David Klingsheim (Liberty), 8-4 
119 - Chase Aura (Foothill) d. Cody Howe (Windsor)
125 - Ruben Baca (James Logan) d. Dylan Phillipy (College Park), 7-6
130 - Aaron Westphal (Alhambra) d. Ryan Smith (Liberty), 6-2
135 - David Rios (Liberty) d. Nick Hernandez (Granada), 8-2
140 - Trent Stevenson (Arcata) d. Sam Worth (Miramonte), injury default
145 - Tyler Sheridan (De La Salle) d. John Banke (Granada), t.f.
152 - Aaron Drake (California) d. Joe Heffelmire (College Park), 9-3 
160 - Jason Welch (Las Lomas) vs. Nick Pappas (Sonoma)
171 - Tito Pica (De La Salle) p. J.T. Baumann (Dublin), 1:18
189 - Mike Larson (McKinleyville) d. Adam O’Brien (Petaluma), 7-1
215 - Casey Tompkins (Justin-Siena) p. Drew Carpenter (Foothill), 4:18
285- Roger McCovey (Del Norte) d. Bud Guinn (Rancho Cotate), t.f. (18-3)

7 pm: 171-pound final - Pica pinned Baumann at 1:18. 189 pound final - Larson beat O’Brien 7-1. 215-pound final, Tompkins pinned Carpenter at 4:18.  

6:25 pm: Alright ya’ll. I’ve gotta go cover the matches. We’ve got a lot of locals and I’ll be on the hop. If I can get third-place results up, I’ll do it.  

6:20 pm: Here are the results from the seventh and fifth place matches.

Fifth-place matches

103 - Truong (Newark Memorial) d. Moita (DLS), 5-4; 112 - N. Smith (Pittsburg) d. Gonzalez (Deer Valley), 8-6 (OT); 119 - Young (NM) d. Espinosa (St. Patrick-St. Vincent), 9-4; 125 - Hutchison (Lib) d. Garb (LL), 5-3; 130 - Jameson (Clear Lake) d. Tran (NM), 5-1; 135 - Ruvalcaba (MSJ) d. Avery (Upper Lake), 4-2 (OT); 140 - O’Malley (Foot) d. Cattalini (Heald), 7-3; 145 - Joaquin (Free) d. Yust (Mont) by forfeit; 152 - Tuttle (Rancho Cotate) d. L. Sheridan (DLS), 5-1; 160 - Jo. Porter (Swett) d. Berncich (Peta), 12-7; 171 - Floyd (Arc) d. Neale (Liv), 3-0; 189 - Lujan (Cal) d. Bonsall (CV), 13-6; 215 - Gordon (RC) d. Lewis (El Molino), 6-1; 285 - Hernandez (Free) p. Malanche (Alb), 2:17.

Seventh-place matches

103 - Scillitani (Dub) d. Murden (Son), 8-7; 112 - Waldren (Gra) d. Ballesteros (SPSV), 3-1 (OT); 119 - Hartlieb (Pet) d. Mai (JL), 7-0; 125 - Stirm (Nor) d. Daniel Singh (Alb), 4-3; 130 - Sandoval (Uki) d. Perry (Mont), 9-2; 135 - Santos (Her) d. Vincent (Dub), 4-0; 140 - Solorzano (Pet) p. Albertson (CP), 2:33; 145 - Cruz (Eur) p. J. Smith (Pitt), 4:47; 152 - Dougherty (LL) d. Cooper (Free), 15-9; 160 - Nagel (Liv) d. Dirnu (CV), 10-1; 171 - McDonald (Swett) d. Tringali (Irv), 6-5; 189 - Cummings (CP) d. Zapanta (DV), 5-3; 215 - Browning (Gra) d. Agenbroad (Willits), 6-1; 285 - Taufa (YV) p. Pole (JL), 1:18.

5:55 pm:  Ballesteros lost in overtime and Espinosa lost 9-4.

5:55 pm: Nkunku is the first third-place finisher of  the night, beating Crosby. We’ll see both of them next weekend in Bakersfield. 

5:45 pm: Jon makes the unconventional pick at 160 pounds in the comment section. We shall see.  Third place matches have started with College Park’s Gerson Nkunku taking on Castro Valley’s Ben Crosby (or Crosby Ben if you believe the brackets) at 171 pounds. 

5:30 p.m.: Liberty is a virtual lock for the team title. Roger Hutchison just took fifth and gritted through a knee injury that has him wincing right now. That kid is tough. The Lions peaked at absolutely the right time this year and you’ve got to give a lot of credit to Greg Chappel, Rudy Dizon, Roy Rios and the rest of the Liberty coaching staff. 

5:20 pm: Mom Lefever, we were sitting here during the break listening to her warm up. Those who haven’t heard her before are in for a treat tonight. I’m looking forward to it.  

5 pm: Marc, right now 7th place matches are finishing up. The camera is trained on the middle mat and the far mat from where I am.  5th place matches are about to begin and they’re starting at 171 pounds tonight.

4:40 p.m.: Atta boy Mike. Your picks look strikingly similar to Hoose’s picks. That is sure to end in doom. 

4:30 p.m.: We’re in the middle of 7th place matches at the moment. I noticed that we’ve got some fans on thecaliforniawrestler.com. Bring those picks guys. I’m all for getting humbled by the wrestling fans out there. Heck, I need something to keep people coming back.  

4:05 p.m.: PREDICTIONS
Ben the Wizard: 103 - Gomez, 112 - Klingsheim, 119 - Aura, 125 - Baca, 130 - Westphal, 135 - Rios, 140 - Stevenson, 145 - Sheridan, 152 - Drake, 160 - Welch, 171 - Pica, 189 - Larson, 215 - Tompkins, 285 - McCovey

Durkin: 103 - Gomez, 112 - Acosta, 119 - Aura, 125 - Baca, 130 - Westphal, 135 - Rios, 140 - Stevenson, 145 - Sheridan, 152 - Drake, 160 - Welch, 171 - Pica, 189 - Larson, 215 - Tompkins, 285 - McCovey

Hoose: 103 - Gomez, 112 - Klingsheim, 119 - Howe, 125 - Baca, 130 - Smith, 135 - Rios, 140 -Stevenson, 145 - Sheridan, 152 - Hefflemire, 160 -Welch, 171 - Pica, 189 - Larson, 215 - Carpenter, 285 - McCovey 

4 pm: Prediction time. Waterhouse, Durkin and myself will all pick the finals. I’m defending my crown from Mission San Jose. We should have those in a few minutes. 

3:55 p.m.: NCS associate commish Gil Lemmon is in the house. So are the wrestlers, as the gym has been re-opened. Fans are filing in. I’m flanked by Steve Waterhouse and J-Durk. Let’s get this thing going. 

3:20 p.m.: Back from food. Red Robin baby! Alright, here are the championship matchups.

103 - Paul Gomez (Liberty) vs. Lawrence Blanco (James Logan)
112 - David Klingsheim (Liberty) vs. Markjay Acosta (San Leandro)
119 - Cody Howe (Windsor) vs. Chase Aura (Foothill)
125 - Ruben Baca (James Logan) vs. Dylan Phillipy (College Park)
130 - Aaron Westphal (Alhambra) vs. Ryan Smith (Liberty)
135 - David Rios (Liberty) vs. Nick Hernandez (Granada)
140 - Trent Stevenson (Arcata) vs. Sam Worth (Miramonte)
145 - Tyler Sheridan (De La Salle) vs. John Banke (Granada)
152 - Joe Heffelmire (College Park)  vs. Aaron Drake (California)
160 - Jason Welch (Las Lomas) vs. Nick Pappas (Sonoma)
171 - Tito Pica (De La Salle) vs. J.T. Baumann (Dublin)
189 - Mike Larson (McKinleyville) vs. Adam O’Brien (Petaluma)
215 - Drew Carpenter (Foothill) vs. Casey Tompkins (Justin-Siena)
285- Roger McCovey (Del Norte) vs. Bud Guinn (Rancho Cotate)

So, there it is. A few faces we didn’t expect and several that we did. The gym is cleared out right now and the Newark wrestlers are breaking mats down so that only three remain. The rumor is that they’ll start finals at 171 pounds, but I’ll find out for sure. 

1:50 pm: Lunch break for me. Be back soon. 

1:40 p.m.: David, yeah, the Falcons are holding their own. I think a few of those guys should medal. Gonzalo ran into McCovey from Del Norte and that guy is a beast. Good to hear from you. 

1:40 p.m.: I’m struggling to find results for the Rancho kids. Give me a minute, as I think I’m going to need new brackets to figure that out. Sorry. Prado, Corbin won 10-3. 

1:35 pm: Cooper just lost on the mat in front of me. Got teched in the third period. Corbin got poked in the eye but is up 7-3 in the 3rd. 

1:30 p.m.: If this is David Prado I’m talking to, what’s up man! Corbin and Cooper are wrestling right now. Results in a second. 

1:30 p.m.: Alright, semis are all taken care of. When they post brackets, I’ll put them up. In the meantime, we’ve got consolation action on each mat. 

1:12 p.m.: My mistake on Heffelmire. I saw the scoreboard as they were changing it. Must mean I’ve got some help here in the stands! 

1:10 p.m.: BIG Dan Stoops of Mission San Jose is on the mat for the heavyweight semis. He is known officially as BIG Dan Stoops. 

1:10 p.m.: College Park’s Gerson Nkunku just lost 6-5 to Dublin’s JT Baumann. Baumann heads to tonight’s championship against Pica. 

1:05 p.m.: College Park’s Joe Heffelmire just stopped by the table to ask for a writing utensil. Very polite young man he is. 

1 p.m.: DLS 171-pounder Tito Pica just pinned his opponent in 40 seconds. That kid is just mean when it gets to this level. 

12:55 p.m.: Jason Welch advances with a techniccal fall win over Jordan Porter. Also, Joe Heffelmire of College Park just scored an overtime win to advance to the 152-pound final. The Falcons roll on! 

12:35 p.m.: High drama at 135 pounds. Granada’s Nick Hernandez just took Stephan De La Cruz down with 10 seconds left to tie the match at 6. De La Cruz is hurt, limping around the mat. UPSET!!! Nick Hernandez scores a takedown in overtime to beat De La Cruz 8-6. He’ll face Liberty’s David Rios tonight.

12:30 pm: Liberty’s Ryan Smith won 1-0 in his semi. He’ll wrestle tonight. Aaron Westphal just knocked off No. 1 Taylor Raphael of Albany. Bulldogs in the final! 

12:25 p.m.: I walked into the building here at Newark Memorial and the first thing I saw was College Park’s Dylan Phillipy pulling the upset at 125 pounds with a win over Healdsburg’s Wesley Young. He’ll wrestle James Logan’s Ruben Baca in tonight’s championship. 130s and 135s are on the mat now.

Alrighty, this is the day everyone waits for. The NCS meet wraps up tonight and we’ll be there through it all. By now, you probably know that the finals will be webcast over at Newark Memorial’s web site. You can find a link to that on the NCS home page. As a result, I won’t be providing blow-by-blow coverage during the finals, since I’ll have to worry about writing on deadline anyway.

For now, here are a few first-day impressions:

1. Everyone was channeling a good thought for Granada’s Anthony Horn, who had to be carted out with a dislocated elbow. Here’s hoping he’s doing OK this morning.

2. There’s a rumor going around that they might start the championship round at 171 pounds tonight. Hmm, wonder why they would want to end at 160 pounds?

3. Best semifinal match this morning? I’ll go with Livermore’s Alec Fraser against Foothill’s Chase Aura at 119 pounds. Fraser beat Aura 4-3 at last weekend’s EBAL meet when Aura got whistled for a full-nelson and penalized two points. Something tells me this will be a knock-down, drag-out brawl.

What I can tell you is that I’ll get to the gym around 1 pm and I’ll post the finals matchups with some analysis. Steve R. Waterhouse and I may even engage in some more prediction madness like we did at Mission San Jose. Anyway, check back here around 2. I should be settled in by then.

8:40 p.m.: Over four hours between posts. A new record. I’ve been writing my stories for tomorrow’s paper but I figured I’d answer your questions. Here we go:

Chuck, De La Salle is in sixth in the team standings. Tyler Sheridan and Tito Pica are into the semis. Luke Sheridan made it to the quarters but lost to California’s Aaron Drake.

Andrew, Taylor Raphael is the only Albany wrestler in the semis. Albany is in 19th in the team standings.

Nate, Gian Traverso will face Drake in tomorrow’s semis. He beat Las Lomas’ Sean Dougherty 7-4 in the quarters to move on.

Big Nick Waldrop, Freedom had a heckuva day. The Falcons are in 4th in the team standings. Mike Sherman, Clint Joaquin and Gonzalo Hernandez are all through to the semis.

Well, that’s where we’re at. I’m exhausted and it’s not even 9 p.m. Tomorrow, Steve, Jimmy and I will take a raft to Newark Memorial as it is supposed to be raining cats and dogs. I’ll try to get the finals matchups onto the blog in the middle of the afternoon during the break but other than that, it’ll be a busy night for us as we try to keep up with all the championships. See you tomorrow!

4:20 p.m.: Alright, quarters are getting ready to start. Gotta go watch some matches. Be back soon. 

4 p.m.: As you might be able to tell, there’s not much to report right now. Heavyweights are finishing their second-round matches. I see Freedom’s Gonzalo Hernandez across the gym and I think he just beat Las Lomas’ Orry Elor to advance to the quarters. We should get the start of the quarters soon. 

3:15 p.m.: The injured wrestler was Anthony Horn. Granada coach Clark Conover told me it’s a dislocated elbow. With action resuming on Mat 2, De La Salle’s Tito Pica wasted no time in scoring a first-period pinfall to advance to the 171-pound quarters. 

3:05 p.m.: Breaking news: Jason Welch won by technical fall. No seriously, De La Salle’s Luke Sheridan, who is unseeded at 152 pounds, knocked off No. 6 Curtis Tuttle of Rancho Cotate. Beat him by pinfall. 

3 p.m.: I’ll get quarters up as soon as I get ‘em. We’re in the middle of the second round at the moment. 152s are on the mat. Welch should be wrestling soon at 160s. One mat is shut down at the moment as a Granada wrestler is injured. 

3 p.m.: You know, I had that same reaction when I saw Klingsheim’s result. I wasn’t here yet, so I couldn’t tell you what happened. If I talk to him sometime today, I’ll pass that info on. 

2:45 p.m.: Speaking of 145 pounds, Tyler Sheridan just pinned Logan’s Johnnie Lo in the first period and he’s through to the quarters.

2:42 p.m.: Rastler, Tyler Sheridan won by pinfall, John Banke won by pinfall, Eric Yust won by pinfall and Nico Larez won by technical fall. So, all four won. 

2:35 p.m.: College Park update, since this match took place right in front of me. Jim Albertson (140 pounds) just dropped an 8-4 decision to Logan’s Jonathan Laureta. Laureta owned the third period, but before that Albertson was wrestling well. 

2:30 p.m.: Travis, thanks for the name clarification. That would have made for an awkward interview. As for Busch, he lost 5-3 to Perry of Montgomery. 

2:25 p.m.: Castro Valley update: Gascon won, Vierra lost, Mata won, Busch lost, Ishida won, Feagley won, Herring lost, Heka lost, Dirnu won, Crosby (is his name Ben Crosby or Crosby Ben?) won, Bonsall won, Hosain won, Cathey won. 

2:20 p.m.: Ooh baby, all the Freedom and Liberty guys. That’s tough! Liberty first. Gomez won, Klingsheim won, Thurgood won, Hutchison lost, Ryan Smith won, Rios won, Baldazzo won, Leyen won, Moravec lost. Alright, here’s Freedom. Wiley won, Taylor lost, Sherman won, Martin won, Joaquin won, Cooper won, Corbin won, Baffico lost, Parsons won and big Gonzalo Hernandez won. 

2:15 p.m.: Alhambra’s Jeff McGee, the No. 1 seed at 215 pounds, survived his first-round match, beating Granada’s Nick Browning 1-0. McGee will wrestle Freedom’s Jeremy Parsons next, which will be another tough match. 

Wrestler Mom: Jojola won, McGuinn won, Hamilton lost, Pestana lost, Francis lost, Hallahan lost, Gaynor lost, Tompkins won. 

Rastler: Benedict beat Singh 6-5 

Well we’ve got our spots here at the media table at Newark Memorial High School and wrestling is in full swing. No overwhelming upsets so far, though East County fans won’t like hearing that Liberty’s Roger Hutchison lost a 10-8 decision in overtime to Dublin’s Matt Dunham. Anyway, the brackets should get updated on the NCS website sometime soon but for now, you can ask about anyone you want since I have the first round brackets in my hand. Fire away!