STOCKTON -- On the bench, the coach vaulted at least a few inches off the court along with his Ripon High Indians. On the mat, the coach's son heard the most beautiful sound to ever grace a wrestler's ear.
The sound of the referee's hand slapping the mat.
In the decisive final match — a winner-take-all that decided the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 5 team dual champion — freshman Brent White (113) rolled and cradled Escalon's J.T. Payan for the first-round pin.
That's how the Indians outlasted their Trans-Valley League rivals, the defending champion Cougars, 39-35 Saturday at Lincoln High.
Brent White is coached by his father Glenn White, and they brought a family theme to Ripon's first-ever dual title.
"I couldn't feel anything," Brent White said, remembering how he walked onto the mat with his team trailing 35-33. "And then I felt my whole team cheering me on."
When it was over, White clutched the championship blue banner and was raised atop the shoulders of 6-foot-3 Trevor Smith (37-1), Ripon's talented 182-pounder. Meanwhile, Glenn White was mobbed by his overjoyed team.
"I got a little emotional," the teary-eyed coach said. "I can't believe we just won."
Ripon trailed 35-27 until pins in the final two bouts by Gabe Barnett (108) and Brent White. Barnett's final-match pin decided the teams' regular-season meeting 40-37.
All-league finals defined this day. Oakdale annexed its fourth straight dual title and fifth in the last eight years by overpowering Valley Oak League foe Weston Ranch 58-3.
"I feel comfortable where we're at," said Oakdale coach Brian Stevens, knowing his injury and attrition-laced lineup contains only two seniors. "There's a lot of upside with this team."
Waterford took home its second straight D-6 crown, though its 45-22 win over Mariposa was more hard-fought than the 56-20 Southern League walkover during the regular season. The Wildcats also dropped Mariposa in last year's dual final 54-21.
This time, Waterford rode falls by Jesus Vega (120), Ysaac Tubera (138), Jose Flores (170), Christian Gutierrez (182) and Robert Galvan (220) to the title.
"Mariposa definitely came to work and put up a tougher fight," Tubera said. "I just wanted to make school history."
Not all drama played out with banners on the line. Ceres advanced to the second round of D-4 by beating Union Mine 40-39. Pins in the final two matches by heavyweight Armando Morales and 108-pounder Joey Bettencourt, the latter as time expired, did it for the Bulldogs.
Turlock (25-2), unbeaten in the Central California Conference, strung a 25-match winning streak until it was humbled in the second round of D-1 by resident behemoth and eventual champion Vacaville 58-5.
Only a dominant win by Erick Parsons (182), his second impressive victory of the day, put Turlock on the board.
"I told the guys they (Vacaville) win this thing pretty much every year," Turlock coach Mike Contreras said. "That's what we're striving to do."
Gregori's reward was just getting here. The unbeaten Modesto Metro Conference champion, featuring 11 juniors and zero seniors, was eliminated by Vacaville in the first round 67-8. Nathan Ah You (172) and Dean Duivenvoorden (192) gathered points for the Jaguars.
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