Poway came to the HOF duals leading a trio of CA schools that included Clovis city rivals Buchanan and Clovis. Because there were 2 prep schools among the 16 teams, the CA schools would need to be separated from them in day 1 pool action and then day 2 would be determined by performance and then adjusted accordingly if scheduled to face one of the prep schools.
This meant that on day 1, 2 of the 3 CA schools would be in pool action together, and it was Poway and Clovis. So when it comes to CA relevance in terms of ranking and perhaps seeding for Doc B, or state, or wherever the two schools are competing again, that dual might be the most interesting to some of you.
As for the two day event, Poway controlled the pool action, never really being completely tested. Stillwater did the best against the Titans when looking at matches won. However, they still won that one 9-5 and by the same 21 points that they beat Clovis.
Obviously, scoring in duals is different than a tournament like state, but looking at the Poway lineup this week, and knowing who else they add in a couple weeks, it’s definitely going to be one of the most contentious team state titles in a long time.
2 of Poway’s 3 heaviest hitters went 5-0. The other one, Angelo Posada, wasn’t here.
The most surprising performance was Mario Carini. Not even guaranteed a starting spot, he held his own admirably against some of the nation’s best. He finished 4-1.
In the end, Poway would make it to the GOLD pool, where they were slotted with Wyoming Seminary (Pool A), Edmond North (Pool B), and Delbarton (Pool D).
Because of the CIF rule against prep school competition, if Poway beat Edmond North or lost to them, they would wrestle Delbarton after. As it turns out, that dual with Edmond North was one of the best of the two days. It came down to criteria (i). Which would go to Edmond North.
In the 3rd place match, they got a few forfeits from Delbarton, and rode those 18 points to a 19 point win. The wrestled matches went 6-5 to Poway.
Here we have the box scores from all 5 duals and the record of the kids in their lineup for the event.
Final Stats:
Team (4-1)
Key National Matches:
Could this be the year in like what seems like forever that Buchanan is vulnerable to give up its stranglehold atop the CA team standings? National rankings have Poway significantly ahead while instate, Buchanan currently carries a projected 20 point advantage. As mentioned with Poway, dual results don’t always mirror tournament standings but we can’t help but jump to conclusions, that’s what makes sports so fun.
So, the best possible indicator we get here would be the common opponent of Edmond North. Buchanan got Edmond North in its pool to highlight day 1 action for the Bears. Edmond North was favored coming in and ultimately did their job in a 35-19 victory.
Aside from the 2nd place pool finish, the Bears had some of the most notable individual performances of the entire event. Joe Toscano at 144 picked up 3 top 15 wins, including one over our #2 in the country, Jace Roller of Bixby. Coincidentally, all his wins were over Oklahoma kids.
Besides Toscano, Leo Contino took on a fellow top 3 wrestler in Kody Routledge and came out with the win there.
So, back to the CA team race, Buchanan held their own as best they could against EN, but Poway pushed them all the way to the brink, and while missing 3 starters (one of whom was a CA state champion last season).
I won’t count the Bears out. That’s a fool’s game and I’m only a fool sometimes. But you can begin to see how it could play out in February and it should be entertaining to watch it all unfold.
You can check out all the Buchanan dual box scores below.
Final Stats:
Team (4-1)
Key National Matches:
Final Stats:
Team (4-1)
Key National Matches:
Clovis wasn’t helped by being in the same pool as Poway but they still held their own against the group. The Cougars don’t have as many nationally ranked guys at the moment, but they do have three – Nikade Zinkin, Adrien Reyes, and Mark Marin – right on the cusp of it. Plus they’re really solid, especially when looking at the state of CA, at other spots.
While Poway and Buchanan will be in a battle with Gilroy for state supremacy, the Cougars should finish squarely in the top 5 yet again. As we mentioned with Poway, the most notable dual for CA purposes was the Poway Clovis battle. You can see how that turned out here if you missed it under Poway.
As the season progresses I expect Garza to continue knocking on the door of the national top 25. For now, it’s Arseni Kikiniou of Poway slightly ahead after the head to head result between them.
Nikade and Marin both swept their opposition as we would expect. Joe Buck picked up an early season win over Dylan Pile and still looks strong finishing 5-0.
Buchanan and Clovis are set to wrestle in their annual The Big One in a couple weeks. In fact, Clovis was supposed to be in the Silver pool battling for 5th with Buchanan but to save the impact of that dual, they split them up and put Clovis into the Bronze.
You can see the box scores from Clovis duals below.
Final Stats:
Team (4-1)
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