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42nd Annual Ed Springs Holiday Classic at Brea-Olinda High School

Cabrillo wrestlers come home with a gold and bronze medals.

Tyler Farr and Jesus Medrano captured gold and bronze medals, respectively, at the 42nd Annual Ed Springs Holiday Classic Wrestling Tournament at Brea-Olinda High School December 17-18.

CHS took 6 seniors and 1 sophomore to the annual tournament in Brea over the weekend. Garrison Haskins (senior - 112), Steven Lynes, Jr. (sophomore – 135), Marty Garnica (senior – 140), CJ Johnson (senior – 145), Tyler Farr (senior – 152), Leonard Bunten (senior – 189), and Jesus Medrano (senior – 215) represented Cabrillo High School and the Lompoc Valley during the 2-day event with 58 teams.

“These young men did an outstanding job on the mat and conducted themselves with the highest levels of poise and sportsmanship off the mat” says Coach Chad Johnson. “While many matches didn’t end like we expected, the lessons we learned were invaluable in helping us plan for our holiday break training for the second half of the
season.”

Garrison Haskins started it off at 112 on Friday morning. “G has been rehabbing his elbow from an early season injury and this was actually his first competition. This is really a tough way to start out but he is a senior and he’s a Captain so he knew it would be a tough fight” explained Coach Johnson. “Garrison went out with excellent intensity but the matches simply did not go our way. When he came off the mat after both matches, he immediately knew what areas he needs to work on. On Monday, we’ll go back to the room and drill, drill, drill“

Steven Lynes, Jr. was the lone underclassman that made the
trip at 135 for CHS. “Steven has displayed maturity, drive, focus and intensity
since he joined the CHS team last year. He worked out daily during the off
season and has really shown significant improvement in every match he’s
wrestled. When this group of seniors graduates, Steven is going to be one of our
main go-to guys” explained Johnson. “The other coaches and I knew Steven could
handle the high level of competition at this tournament so we elected to take
him to see what he could do. While he went two and out, he performed very well.
Both matches were battles until the very end and could have gone either way.
Steven is like a sponge during our technique sessions and he jumps in the
toughest ironman groups in the room for live wrestling. As the season
progresses, we’re going to see some incredible performances by this young man.”

Marty Garnica represented the Conqs at 140. “Marty is a senior and is a
top shelf wrestler that can compete at any level with anyone. He has such a
tremendous attitude and his skills are incredible. I felt bad for him because
the results don’t do him justice as it relates to his skill set” said Johnson.
“Marty had two highly ranked guys at his weight and the initial draws didn’t
line up to make this event easy for him. The guys he wrestled had to make some
very unique changes to the way they approached Marty and we just ran out of
time. Garnica knows what he has to work on and he will do that without having to
be told to do it. When we come back after the holidays, I guarantee Marty will
look to redeem himself in every match.”

Chad Johnson, Jr. (CJ) competed at 145 for the Conqs. “CJ did well. He has been wrestling very smart and has been improving daily. He went 4-2 at the tourney and the two guys he lost to were no slouches. However, he came out flat in his first match on day 2 and it cost him” said Coach Johnson. “We will work on a more robust pre-match warm up and drill routine to prevent this from happening again. CJ is also a senior and a Captain so he isn’t one to make excuses for his misses. He regroups and jumps back in because that’s what he has to do.”

Tyler Farr wrestled at 152 for CHS and came home with the gold medal. “Tyler was off the hook. He dominated every match from beginning to end against a very talented field of wrestlers. He stayed focused and the result was a championship” explained Coach Johnson. “Ty is a senior and Captain. He works hard in the room, out of the room, off season, on season, morning, noon, and night. He is smart, mature and humble and he lets his performance on the mat do the talking” said Johnson. “Ty spent almost a month at J. Robinson’s Intensive Camp this summer and it gave him the confidence he needed to step up to the next level. He has Division 1 aspirations and he knows he has to hit on all eight cylinders in every match for that to happen. In his semi-final and his finals match, he wrestled two very talented guys and just
whipped them. I don’t recall a time during either match where he was truly
tested. His patience and his execution were flawless and that’s why he won the
gold.”

Leonard Bunten represented CHS at 189. “Leonard really did well.
He is small for a 189’er but he is a senior and his intensity and drive
compensate for his lack of size at this weight class. He has a few tweaks to
make and it’s going to make all the difference in the world” said Johnson.
“Leonard had some big guys he faced this weekend. He attacked for 6 straight
minutes in every match he wrestled and I am very proud of his efforts. We will
work on the little things that ended up costing him points and it should have a
very positive impact on his performance when we return to competition in
January.”

Jesus Medrano wrestled for the Conqs at 215 and came home with
the bronze. “Gordo had a tough tournament. He came out cold in his semi-final
match and it cost him a gold medal. However, that was a blessing in disguise, in
my honest opinion” said Coach Johnson. “He was undefeated coming into this event
and really had no pressure on him up to the semis. It was a wakeup call that
came at a good time.” explained Johnson. “The matches after that loss were the
Gordo we are accustomed to seeing. He dominated every second and showed no mercy on his opponents.”

Cabrillo ended the tournament in 22nd place out of 58 teams. “Given the fact we only took 7 guys gives me a good idea about our team’s tournament strength. We will work diligently during the holidays to bolster up our younger, less experienced wrestlers to improve our team’s dual strength” said Johnson. “If it wasn’t for the other coaches (Steve Haskins, Kris Andrews, Toby Farr, Jesus “Chuy” Medrano, Ed Garnica, Javier Ramirez and James Lewis) this team wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Have a great day!

Chad Johnson

and the second the
Righetti Frosh-Soph Tournament:

Results of the Righetti Frosh-Soph Tournament is as follows:

Wt. Class
103 Cody Porter - Won-4 Lost-1 (3rd Place)
Wt. Class 103 Wyatt Smalling -
Won-1 Lost-2
Wt. Class 112 Jacob Arellano - Won-4 Lost-1 (3rd Place)
Wt.
Class 119 Arturo Perez-Portillo - Won-4 Lost-0 (Champion)
Wt. Class 130
Michael Mareno - Won-0 Lost-2
Wt. Class 130 Tyler Thomas - Won-0 Lost-2
Wt. Class 135 Wyndham Paul - Won-0 Lost-2
Wt. Class 145 Jamie Escamilla
- Won-3 Lost-0 (Champion)

Every Cabrillo Wrestler demonstrated
improvement in multiple areas, particularly in their ability to set-up and
execute single and double-leg takedowns. Exceptional performance from Cody,
Jake, Arturo, and Jamie.

//SIGNED//
Kris Andrews