Kenny Salcedo and Mikey Soto won their respective weight
classes, five other wrestlers placed within the top five, and the
San Benito Haybalers finished fourth out of 22 teams at the
inaugural Morning Star Invitational in Los Banos on Saturday.
LOS BANOS
Kenny Salcedo and Mikey Soto won their respective weight classes, five other wrestlers placed within the top five, and the San Benito Haybalers finished fourth out of 22 teams at the inaugural Morning Star Invitational in Los Banos on Saturday.
The Balers, who were in second place for much of the day prior to the medal round, compiled 152 team points and finished in fourth place, one spot ahead of fifth-place Merced’s 138 points.
Golden Valley, of Merced, earned the team title with 266 points, while Buhach Colony and host Los Banos placed second and third, respectively, with 177 and 161.5 points.
“We were actually in second place all day before entering the medal rounds,” San Benito head coach Brian DeCarli said. “Somehow, we dropped to fourth.”
Despite the drop, the Balers still faired well in the later stages of the inaugural tournament, placing seven wrestlers, including two champions — Salcedo at 119 pounds and Soto at 140 pounds.
Salcedo was actually seeded fourth entering the tournament, but he defeated top-seeded Kendal Klette of Los Banos in the semifinal round with a takedown in the final 10 seconds, vaulting him into the 119-pound final against an opponent from Golden Valley.
“He was a force,” DeCarli said of Salcedo, who was later voted the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the tournament by coaches.
Salcedo won his finals match as well, this time by decision, to finish the one-day tournament with a 4-0 record.
Just four rungs up the weight ladder at 140 pounds, teammate Mikey Soto was delivering similar results.
Soto entered the tournament as the 5-seed, but topped the 4-seed, the 1-seed and the 2-seed in the finals to claim the 140-pound class.
Zack Rodriguez, meanwhile, dropped his 152-pound final, but still finished in second place with a 3-1 record.
Other notables included Miguel Martin del Campo, who finished fourth with a 4-1 record at 189 pounds; Jennifer Espinosa, who finished fourth with a 3-2 record at 103 pounds; and Jay Garcia at 130 pounds and Dominic Cortes at 135 pounds, each of whom went 3-2 to take fifth place in their respective classes.
San Benito will return to the mat on Dec. 29-30 when it will compete at a tournament in Lemoore.
First Annual Morning Star Invitational
TEAM (Top 5 out of 22)
1, Golden Valley, 266; 2, Buhach Colony 177; 3, Los Banos, 161.5; 4, San Benito, 152; 5, Merced, 138.
INDIVIDUAL (San Benito only)
103 — Jennifer Espinosa, 3-2, 4th; 112 — Tony Gatto, 1-2, DNP; 119 — Kenny Salcedo, 4-0, 1st; 125 — Robb Rodriguez, 1-2, DNP; 130 — Jay Garcia, 3-2, 5th; 135 — Dominic Cortes, 3-2; 5th; 140 — Mikey Soto, 4-0, 1st; 145 — Greg Landry, 0-2, DNP; 152 — Zack Rodriguez, 3-1, 2nd; 160 — N/A; 171 — Tim Castillo, 0-2, DNP; 189 — Miguel Martin del Campo, 4-1, 3rd; 215 — Aaron Silva, 0-2, DNP; 285 — N/A.
