Frontier wraps up perfect dual season
| Friday, Feb 06 2009 01:47 AM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 01:28 PM
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Frontier High School wrestler Lance Castaneda, right, takes down Stockdale High's Jeremy Haidze during Thursday's dual meet at Stockdale. Castaneda won 10-6.
Frontier Titan Lance Castaneda, top, takes down Stockdale wrestler Jeremy Haidze, during Thursday evenings dual match at Stockdale. Castaneda ended up winning the bout.
Sparked by two big wins by part-time varsity wrestlers, Frontier showed off its fabulous depth again Thursday night in a 41-19 dual victory at Stockdale.
That depth, though, won't help the Titans anymore. That's why coach Kirk Moore called this the real beginning of Frontier's season.
"We'll see in two weeks," Moore said. "The real tournament's in two weeks."
The Titans completed a perfect dual season at 14-0, 6-0 in the Southwest Yosemite League, but Moore's real concern is how they'll fare at next weekend's league tournament and the Central Section tournaments to follow.
Those will be more difficult because Frontier has no single elite wrestler to rack up big points in the late rounds of a tournament.
"We're getting there," Moore said. "This put us in a spot to be outright league champions with a good league tournament."
The Titans were mighty impressive Thursday against Stockdale, which came in at 4-1 in the league.
Diego Oropeza and Josh Davis started things off with first-period pins at 215 pounds and heavyweight, and later, Dakota Paregien pinned Stockdale's Vince Haney in the third period at 112. Haney had defeated Paregien at a tournament last week.
"He's a kid that splits varsity time," Moore said. "We just kind of throw him in there, and he came back and pinned the guy."
Andrew Contreras, another guy who doesn't start every night, stepped into the varsity lineup at 125 and pinned Nick Martinez.
"When you put your backups in and they do exactly what they're supposed to do, that's a good sign," Moore said.
Frontier also got a pin from Nolan Mearse at 145 and an important victory for Lance Castaneda, 10-6 over Jeremy Haidze at 152.
Stockdale also had some positive results, with Roman Flores beating Santino Delfino 11-4 at 160 in a matchup of two of the SWYL's best at that weight. Sam Branson pinned Tim Baca with a second left in the first period at 171.
"Our younger guys stepped up," Stockdale assistant coach Joe Espejo said.
"Sam is giving up a good 10, 15 pounds, so he stepped it up.
"But I was disappointed in the way we wrestled physically. We weren't there physically. You've got to give it to (Frontier). They come out and bring it."
The dual ended on a negative note.At 189 pounds, with Frontier's Shane Ellis turning Stockdale's Ben Hopper for nearfall or a pin that would have completed a comeback, Hopper bit Ellis on the arm, and Ellis retaliated by giving Hopper a forearm shiver to the head.
The referee stopped the match and declared a double flagrant foul, a penalty that will force both wrestlers to miss the league meet and hence end their postseason runs before they begin.
