Granite Hills High School carried the wrestling torch for East County schools during last spring’s delayed season. The Eagles appear right back on top as this winter’s full schedule faces off.
The Granite Hills Invitational proved to be one of the highlights of the shortened spring 2021 season, serving as a much needed proving ground for the upcoming conference and section divisional championships.
The Eagles soared at the May 2021 tournament, which stood out as the first sanctioned high school wrestling tournament held in the state during the height of the pandemic.
Granite Hills faced off the 2021-22 season with a first-place finish in the team standings at the second annual tournament on Nov. 20. The defending Grossmont Conference champion Eagles tallied 186.5 points to best runner-up Brawley (186 points) by a mere half-point in the 21-team field.
The Granite Hills High School wrestling team has catapulted out to the start of the 2021-22 season with one of the top records among San Diego Section teams.
Granite Hills followed up that showcase performance by recording the top finish among San Diego Section teams at the 41-team La Costa Canyon/Hamada Classic Dec. 3-4. The Eagles finished the spotlight regional event with four place-finishers, including one weight class champion and one runner-up.
“This year we returned a lot of guys,” GHHS head coach Jesse Sheard said. “We currently have three seniors on our roster. We are looking pretty tough, but still have a lot of work to do.”
The Eagles had nine place-finishers at their second annual tournament, including five weight class champions: Camren Carmickle (121 pounds), Devon Wells (133), Collin Guffey (139), Carson Boehm (183) and Joey Smith (221).
Alec Peckman finished second at 221 pounds for the Eagles while Ryan Carroll (127) and Logan Ransdell (286) both finished third in their respective weight classes. Zach Waterhouse finished in fourth place at 146 pounds.
Guffey captured first-place honors in his 138-pound weight class at the LCC event en route to earning the outstanding middle weight award while Ransdell placed runner-up at heavyweight. Wells (132 pounds) and Waterhouse (145 pounds) both placed eighth in their respective weight divisions.
“The LCC was a good tournament,” Sheard said. “Nine of our wrestlers made it to the second day. We had a total of four placers. Our team wrestled tough. I’m proud of the way our boys battled and never gave up.”
The Eagles will next complete in the national-caliber Reno Tournament of Champions this weekend (Dec. 17-19).
Eastern exposure
West Hills finished fourth in the team standings at last month’s Granite Hills Invitational while El Capitan placed 10th, Grossmont placed 11th, Valhalla placed 12th and Monte Vista placed 16th.
Eight East County mat men won individual weight class titles. Besides the five Granite Hills champions, other weight class winners included Grossmont’s Jacob Barnes (114) and West Hills’ Tyler Davis (153) and Ryder Dearborn (161).
Monte Vista’s Zahi Davis (161) finished second following a loss by a 3:15 pin to Dearborn in the championship match.
Third-place finishers included El Capitan’s Riley Jones (114) and Valhalla’s Ezra Moore (171) and Anthony Coyle (183).
Fourth-place finishers included West Hills’ Cezer Aguilar (171), Cody Musser (196) and Lance Briseno (285).
Guffey, a sophomore, recorded a 7-4 decision over Slam Academy senior Anthony Aniceite to win his weight division at the Hamada Classic. He finished the tournament with a 6-0 record that included four pins (two in the first period), one technical fall and one minor decision.
Ransdell, a senior, placed runner-up in his 285-pound weight class following a loss by a 1:12 pin to Boulder City’s Dylan Spencer. The Granite Hills mat man finished 3-1 in four matches, winning his opening three bouts by pins — 1:24, 4:00 and 4:53.
Wells, a sophomore, finished 5-3 on the mat in eight matches, recording one pin, one technical fall and three minor decisions.
Waterhouse, a junior, finished 3-3 in six matches, winning two by pin and another by a major decision.
Both Wells and Waterhouse lost seventh-place matchups to place eighth in their respective weight classes.
Wells lost by a 4:55 pin against Bonita Vista senior Isaac Lopez while Waterhouse lost by a 1:00 pin against Slam Academy senior Cannon Montoya.
The Eagles entered 11 wrestlers in the two-day tournament. Also competing were Carmickle (120 pounds), Carroll (126 pounds), Layronz Fraser (132 pounds), Kaden Long (145), Keagen Kroeger (152), Kyle Fellows (170) and Peckman (220)
Fraser finished 4-2 with three minor decisions and one win by injury default. Long finished 3-2 with two pins and one win by injury default.
Carmickle finished 2-2 with one pin and one technical fall while Carroll finished 2-2 with one pin.
Granite Hills, which finished with 109 team points, was among five East County teams that participated in the regional-draw tournament. West Hills finished 21st with 59 points and one weight class champion while Helix finished 27th with 52 points. Monte Vista finished 34th with 33.5 points while Steele Canyon tied for 38th place with 23 points.
West Hills’ Dearborn placed first at 160 pounds and Briseno placed third in his heavyweight division to highlight the Wolf Pack’s tournament showing.
Dearborn recorded a 16-4 major decision over Slam Academy senior Ryan Hrcka to finish on top of his weight class with a 5-0 record that included four pins and one major decision.
Briseno, who finished 4-1 with four pins, pinned Oceanside senior William Montano in 2:39 to capture his third-place medal.
Helix’s Jayden Avila finished third in his 220-pound division while Monte Vista’s Davis finished fourth in his 152-pound weight class.
Avila, who finished 5-1 with five pins, pinned Redwood junior Evan Daley in 2:57 to finish third while Davis (6-2 with four pins) lost by a 1:44 pin to Oakdale junior Payne Perkins to place fourth. Both of Davis’ losses were to Perkins, both by fall.
Oakdale, from Modesto, won the tournament title with 252.5 points and two individual champions. The Slam Academy finished second with 216.5 points, followed by San Clemente with 173.5 points in third place, Calvary Chapel with 166.5 points in fourth place with one individual champion and Cherokee Trail with 141 points in fifth place.
Holtville and tourney-host La Costa Canyon were the second-highest placing teams from the San Diego Section in a tie for 13th in the standings with 83 points. Other section teams to earn place finishes included San Marcos (72.5 points, 18th), Mt. Carmel (71 points, 19th), West Hills (59 points, 21st), Eastlake (56 pints, tied 22nd), Helix (52 points, 27th), St. Augustine (46 points, 28th), Fallbrook (43 points, 29th), San Pasqual (40 points, 30th), Oceanside (36 points, tied 31st), Scripps Ranch (36 points, tied 31st), Monte Vista (33.5 points, 34th), Torrey Pines (33 points, 35th), Canyon Crest (23 points, tied 38th), Steele Canyon (23 points, tied 38th), Bonita Vista (20 points, 40th) and Orange Glen (17 points, 41st).
Thus, much of the early season rankings have been set.
Of note, Steele Canyon’s Javier Sanchez finished 4-2 in his 170-pound weight class with four pins.
Battle by the Beach
Mar Vista High School hosted its annual Battle by the Beach tournament on Dec. 4. Santana was the highest-placing East County school in the 23-team field in eighth place, followed by Grossmont in 11th place, El Cajon Valley in 14th place, El Capitan in 15th place and Mount Miguel in 16th place.
Grossmont’s Barnes captured the 113-pound championship while El Capitan’s Jones finished third in the same weight division. Santana’s Jessie Hernandez finished second at 126 pounds while teammates Patrick Sommer (132) and Gavin Clark (195) both placed third.
Grossmont’s Christian Kidder placed runner-up in his 285-pound heavyweight class.
Carlsbad and Mira Mesa high schools both hosted tournaments last Saturday. Santana finished ninth out of 27 teams at the Mira Mesa Marauder Invitational while Helix was 14th out of 20 teams at the Carlsbad invitational.
Barnes placed runner-up at 113 pounds for the Foothillers at Mira Mesa while Santana’s Hernandez finished second at 120 pounds. Valhalla’s Moore placed second at 170 pounds while Mount Miguel’s Martin Moya finished runner-up at 195 pounds.
The highest East County place-finishers at the Carlsbad Invitational included Steele Canyon’s Brian Nero (third, 138) and Helix’s Avila (third, 220).
Avila is a returning CIF place-winner (heavyweight champion)for the Highlanders, who finished as the 2019-20 Grossmont Valley League dual champions.
On the mat
Poway High School will host the San Diego Christmas Showdown on Saturday, Dec. 18, while junior varsity dual tournaments are scheduled at San Pasqual and Helix high schools.
Olympian High School will host the Goddess of Olympia girls tournament also on Saturday. The field is scheduled to be the largest in section history with 40 teams, including six out-of-section teams, and more than 350 girls competing.
The San Diego Section girls championship tournament is scheduled Feb. 5, followed by the Masters state-qualifying tournament on Feb. 11.
CIF boys divisional tournaments are scheduled for Feb. 12, followed by the Masters state-qualifying tournament Feb. 18-19.
Both boys and girls will compete in separate fields at the state championship event Feb. 24-26.
