Junior Davila’s run at the CIF State Wrestling Championships
came to an abrupt end on Friday evening when the San Benito senior
lost to Shayne Tucker of the San Joaquin Section’s Bella Vista High
by a narrow 3-2 decision in the consolation bracket.
BAKERSFIELD
After an early-tournament loss, Junior Davila’s run at the CIF State Wrestling Championships came to an abrupt end on Friday evening when the San Benito senior lost to Shayne Tucker of the San Joaquin Section’s Bella Vista High by a narrow 3-2 decision in the consolation bracket.
It was the second loss for Davila, who won the Central Coast Section championship at 119 pounds two weeks ago. He finished his one-day run at state with a 2-2 record, and ended his senior season at a 39-5 mark.
“Junior did a good job of bouncing back,” San Benito head coach Brian DeCarli said. “You work so hard for so long, after that first match he could have packed it up. But he battled back.”
A rough start on Friday turned into back-to-back wins for Davila, who lost his opening-round match Friday morning in Bakersfield but rebounded through the consolation bracket.
In his first match, Davila lost to Clovis East junior Patrick Phaysamone by a 13-9 decision. Phaysamone, who like Davila was receiving honorable mention status in the state at 119 pounds, according to The California Wrestler, was the No. 5-ranked wrestler to come out of the Central Section — perhaps the strongest wrestling section in the state.
The loss placed the four-time state qualifier into the consolation bracket after just one match.
“I think any loss at the state tournament is difficult to bounce back from,” DeCarli said. “At the beginning of the day, everyone is in the running and everyone has visions of being first in the state. When those visions aren’t met, then it becomes crunch time.”
Unable to earn a top-two spot at that point, Davila was forced to win five straight matches through the consolation bracket in order to simply earn a top-eight medal.
And Davila managed to quickly rebound in his second match of the day when he easily defeated Genya Zhdanov of Washington High by fall in just 12 seconds.
Zhdanov, a senior, was the 119-pound champion out of the San Francisco Section.
Advancing to the second round of the consolation bracket, Davila then defeated sophomore Tim Maldanado of the Southern Section’s Los Osos High by a 13-5 decision. Maldanado was the No. 8-ranked wrestler at 119 pounds to come out of the Southern Section.
But the brief ride ended shortly thereafter when Davila lost his second match of the day to Tucker, the No. 4-ranked wrestler at 119s in the San Joaquin Section.
“It just didn’t work out his way,” DeCarli said. “It’s so difficult in consolation.”
The head coach noted the shorter time frame in the consolation rounds, where wrestlers square off for five minutes instead of the usual six minutes — the first round is cut short by 60 seconds.
“And that minute can sometimes play a big factor,” DeCarli added. “That’s why you have a lot of upsets (in the consolation rounds).”
One additional minute is sure to come into play in a bout where one point is all the difference. In Davila’s match against Tucker, DeCarli said the Bella Vista grappler was wrestling defensive, but San Benito was never awarded a stalling point.
“But state tournament matches are hard, and consolation matches are just as difficult,” DeCarli said. “I was proud that he came back and got two wins. Everyone was hoping he’d go a little further, but that’s the way it fell for us on Friday.”
CIF State Wrestling Championships
Team Results (Top 10 Only):
1, Bakersfield, 126; 2, Selma, 113.5; 3, Clovis, 97; 4, Lemoore, 94; 5, Poway, 93.5; 6, Gilroy, 89; 7. Calvary Chapel, 82.5; 8, Clovis West, 76; 9, De La Salle, 62; 10, Vacaville, 60.5; Elk Grove, 60.5.
