Mustangs win title, send 9 to State Tourney

STOCKTON — The Oakdale High wrestlers stalked Vacaville for years. Catching the Bulldogs, however, proved difficult, frustrating and, at times, maddening.

Until Saturday night.

The Mustangs finally did it, taking down the four-time defending Sac-Joaquin Section Masters champions. It required resilience, patience and the kind of rawboned power that has vaulted Oakdale into the elite level of California high school wrestling teams.

"We were good last year, but coming here we didn't have enough," Oakdale coach Brian Stevens said. "This year, we knew we could do it."

Three weight-class champions — Garrett Fortado (112), Trent Noon (171) and A.C. Brown (215) — eventually loosened the grip of a Vacaville program that had clutched the first prize here 13 times.

The Oakdale trio, however, only scratches the surface of Oakdale's talent pool. Overall, the Mustangs will send a school-record nine wrestlers to the State Championships next weekend in Bakersfield.

That's why they overtook Vacaville 197-184½ and annexed the school's first section team title since 1964.

Oakdale didn't nail it down until the 171-pound final between Noon and defending champion Hudson Buck of Vacaville (43-2) in the rivals' only faceoff in the final. Noon (41-6), flat on his stomach and trailing 1-0 with less than 90 seconds left, remembered something his grandfather Brendt Noon taught him two years ago.

Brendt, a former Oklahoma State wrestler who lives a short walk from his grandson's home in Knights Ferry, passed along the "Switch," an old-school move that seemed right up to date to nearly 1,000 spectators at Stockton Arena.

Noon, sensing the moment, positioned his hip and stretched his right hand behind him and grabbed Buck's leg. Within an eye-blink, Noon was atop his startled opponent for the go-ahead reversal.

He eventually finished off the weary Buck with a near-fall for a 6-2 win. When it was done, Noon pointed to the cheering Oakdale fans.

"My grandfather showed (the "Switch") to me," Noon said. "I'll think of something (to thank him by)."

The Oakdale team gathered after the awards ceremony and basked in the afterglow. Fortado (36-6), the junior transfer from Turlock, carefully negotiated a 4-2 win over Golden Valley's Blaze Fidler.

Brown wore down Malique Micenheimer of McNair, nearly pinning him before he settled for a 12-2 win. By then, the title virtually was assured.

"We had high expectations," Brown said. "We tried to live up to them, and I think we did that."

Oakdale received help from the rest of its cast, of course, and even turned a minus into a plus. Senior David Ferry, a state champion at Central Catholic a year ago, didn't let down after his stunning loss via second-round pin to Oak Ridge's Keaton Subjeck in the 145-pound semifinals.

Ferry answered with two important victories for third place, matching the third-place finish by teammate Dustin Harris (152).

Tanner Feuerstein (130) placed fourth. Shane Tate (135) was the only Mustang to fall in the finals, though he rallied late before he was beaten by Lincoln of Stockton's Dalton Metivier 3-2.

"That third place (by Ferry) made all the difference," Stevens said. "You don't know what's going to matter until the very end of the tournament."

Oakdale leads 24 Stanislaus District qualifiers — 11 fewer than last year — to Bakersfield. A few observers speculated the smaller group stemmed from the cutback of Masters berths at last week's Section Div-ision 1 South, but that's a moot point to the survivors who placed in the top seven of their respective brackets.

One of the most impressive performances was logged by Pitman freshman Emilio Saavedra (41-1), the 103-pound champion who demonstrated why he's ranked No. 1 in the state.

Saavedra, relentless and so quick at times that he seems to outnumber his adversary, pinned Gionn Peralta of Vacaville in 3:40. He pinned five opponents at the Masters, and only two reached the second round.

"My whole conditioning and strength have improved over the course of the year," Saavedra said. "I'm better physically and mentally."

Turlock senior Fabian Garcia (42-2), on the way to State for the fourth time, appears determined to go out strong after his third straight Masters title. He overwhelmed Auston Wulfert of Casa Roble 17-4 in the 125-pound final.

The Mother Lode League took a bow when Bret Harte senior Devin Nanik (135) edged Nick Ghannam of Rodriguez 1-0 for third place.

The major props of the day, however, went to Oakdale and a program anxious to show it belongs at or near the top.

"Those nine guys (the Oakdale qualifiers), they're all good," Stevens said. "Every one of those guys can win matches at State."

With Vacaville finally vanquished, why not Bakersfield?

Bee staff writer Ron Agostini can be reached at ragostini@modbee.com or 578-2302.