Large field set for Escalon’s Engel wrestling tournament

The Lloyd C. Engel Wrestling Tournament, a January staple, again welcomes a large field to Escalon High today and Saturday.

Wrestlers from at least 35 schools will gather for the event, a pool competition where entries seed themselves into brackets of similar caliber over the first day. The tournament has grown since the demise of the Big Valley Classic in Stockton in 2012.

“This is as big a field as I can handle,” said Escalon coach and tournament director Derek Scott.

Action begins both days at 9 a.m., leading to the semifinals Saturday at about 1 p.m. and the finals at about 4.

The tournament is named for the longtime Escalon football coach and athletic director who died in 2005 at 93.

Wrestler of the Week – Summerville senior Humphrey Quirie was named the Champion of Champions at Turlock’s Bulldog Classic last weekend after he won the 160-pound title. Quirie swept all four matches and, in the final, scored a takedown in the final seconds of overtime for a 5-3 win over Turlock’s Andy Orozco.

MMC dual – The Modesto Metro Conference dual-meet season started emphatically Tuesday night at Gregori, where the Jaguars edged defending champion Modesto 39-34. These teams have defined the league race the past three years. The Panthers edged Gregori by a point last year, while the Jaguars won by three in 2013 en route to the MMC title.

The latest collision matched the others in intensity. Ronnie Ochoa of Modesto edged Nick Kerr of Gregori 5-4 at 120 in arguably the night’s best bout, but the outcome came down to the finale. Tanner Goudeau’s third-round pin over Carmelo Figueroa at 182 won it for Gregori.

Et cetera – Two-time state champion Israel Saavedra of Modesto (132) and McCoy Kent of Enochs (145) remain top-ranked in both the Sac-Joaquin Section and California, according to thecaliforniawrestler.com. Other Stanislaus District wrestlers ranked in the state top 10: Nico Colunga of Oakdale fourth at 120 and Logan Eaton of Oakdale sixth at 113. Oakdale sophomores Jake Abeyta (106) and Abel Garcia (170) top the section lists. Go to Scoreboard for the section rankings. ... Turlock senior Isaac Bertalotto (160), who earned a medal at the state meet as a sophomore, underwent knee surgery this week and is lost for the season. He reinjured the same knee that sidelined him for most of his junior season. ...

The Sierra Nevada Classic at Reno always produces eye-catching results over the holidays. Both Eaton and Colunga reached the finals before they were beaten, the latter 5-4 by the state’s top-ranked Devan Turner of Dixon. Garcia continued his strong form by reaching the finals before he was stopped in the second overtime by Andrew Berryessa of Reno. Daniel Abbate of Central Catholic earned a 4-3 win over Oakdale freshman Colby Harlan for third place at 138. Beyer senior Ken Severe (220) dropped a heartbreaker in the semifinals and eventually placed sixth. ... Oakdale took team honors over runner-up Golden Valley last month at the Morning Star in Los Banos. Golden Valley has won the tournament three times over the past five years. Clovis, the state’s top-ranked team (Oakdale is ninth), sent its B team and still took home two individual titles.

Also on tap: The Napa Valley Girls Tournament at Vintage High, one of the top girls events of the season, and the 38th Doc Buchanan at Clovis High are also today and Saturday. Twelve of the 14 eventual state champions competed last year at the Doc B, and only seven won. Modesto brothers Emilio and Israel Saavedra both dropped title matches and used those setbacks as motivation two months later to win the big prize at Bakersfield.

This story was originally published January 8, 2015 at 7:42 PM with the headline "Large field set for Escalon’s Engel wrestling tournament."