Escalon's Costa tops Central Catholic's Lomas for 170-pound title

ESCALON -- It was the match most in attendance at the Lloyd C. Engel Wrestling Tournament were waiting for, and Escalon's Jonathan Costa and Central Catholic's Ray Lomas didn't disappoint.

Two-time state qualifier Costa, methodically picking his spots, was able to take down returning state medalist Lomas in the third round and pull out a 4-2 victory in Saturday night's 170-pound championship match at Escalon High.

"It was just a great match, a real even match," Escalon coach Derek Scott said with what was left of his voice after an exhausting day. "Great match; two real smart wrestlers. They had a real hard time opening each other up."

Costa was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament, which featured 38 teams and lived up to its billing as one of the area's most competitive events.

"I was real, real pleased with how things went," said Scott. "Most weights had multiple state qualifiers and a couple state placers, and according to the refs, this was the toughest local tournament they've been to."

Other local champions included Oakdale's Nico Colunga (115), Modesto's Israel Saavedra (122), Enochs' McCoy Kent (140), Central Catholic's Danny Abbate (147), Gregori's Dean Duivenvoorden (197) and Oakdale's Zack Fallentine (220).