CdM wrestling qualifies 10 for CIF Individuals

Reporting from Irvine —  It has been one of the busiest weeks for Corona del Mar High’s wrestling team, and if it was up to the Sea Kings, they would not want it to end.

CdM finished the week in record-setting fashion in the Pacific Coast League Finals at Irvine High on Saturday.

The Sea Kings set a school record for most CIF Individuals qualifiers in a single season. Those hoping to advance to CIF had to place in the top three of their weight class.

Out of the 11 wrestlers that CdM entered into the varsity tournament, 10 of them made the cut.

“It’s amazing,” Sea Kings coach Mark Alex said. “I’m so proud of all the kids. This is another record. We’ve been setting records all year long.

“Kids were stepping up who weren’t supposed to win. They found ways to win. It’s really special, and the team support that they had for each other was just awesome.”

Freshman Seth Trachtman enjoys relaying the news to his classmates via the school’s video announcements. He played a big part in making the news on Saturday.

Trachtman registered the first varsity win of his career, a first-period pin of Northwood’s Josh Velasquez in the 220-pound third-place match, to join the army of Sea Kings heading to CIF.

“It’s pretty crazy,” a shocked Trachtman said. “Joining this wrestling team is one of the best things that I’ve done in my life. It’s life-changing.

“The next four years are going to be great because we’ve already bonded, and we’re going to continue bonding. We’re going to have these friendships for the rest of our lives, and we’re going to always remember this.”

With 11 of the 14 weight class champions, Irvine, which has won seven consecutive league dual-meet crowns, blocked the path to individual glory.

Eric Rector (106), Cole Jensen (145), Jack Thompson (152), Peter Hollingshead (160) and Danny Reichner (195) claimed runner-up showings for CdM.

The Sea Kings also performed well in the pressure-packed third-place matches. Nick Stauffer (132), Chase Zanck (182), Luke Anderson (285) and Trachtman won such do-or-die bouts.

Wayne Muse received a walkover, as the 120-pound division had just three competitors.

CdM began the week by defeating Woodbridge (66-16) in its final league dual meet on Wednesday. The Sea Kings finished second after going 4-1 in league.

The script was flipped from CdM’s 2016-17 campaign, when the Sea Kings managed a single league victory at Northwood.

On Thursday, CdM won the Newport-Mesa District Championships, defeating host Newport Harbor in the Battle of the Bay. In doing so, the Sea Kings take back the Golden Singlet, the coveted trophy fought for in the rivalry, for the first time since 2011.

Zanck, a sophomore who qualified for CIF for the first time, says that there is no comparison between his first season with the team and this year.

“It’s been a while since our wrestling team has done this,” Zanck said. “I wrestled last year, and it was nothing like this. You have all these new kids. We have good team chemistry, and we all cheer for each other.

“I feel like wrestling is more of an individual sport, but it feels like a team sport right now.”

Pacific Coast League Finals

Top three qualify for CIF Individuals

Championship matches

106 – Ha (W) pins Rector (CdM), 1:24.

113 – Alona (I) def. Arnold (B)

120 – Maniss (I) dec. Salazar (B), 9-3.

126 – Flores (I) pins Corona (U), 5:58.

132 – Peterson (W) pins Owles (I), 1:40.

138 – Murray (B) dec. Griffin (W), 8-6.

145 – Flore (I) dec. Jensen (CdM), 10-7.

152 – Trout (I) dec. Thompson (CdM), 8-3.

160 – McCreadrie (I) tech. fall Hollingshead (CdM), 21-6.

170 – Bazzani (I) dec. Hoffman (B), 8-2.

182 – Alleman (I) pins Nixon (B), 0:54.

195 – Ozer (I) pins Reichner (CdM), 4:15.

220 – Weisrock (I) pins Kea (U), 1:06.

285 – Lopes (I) pins Cousar (N), 0:11.

Third-place matches

106 – Ohashi (U) pins Seeto (B), 0:47.

113 – N/A

120 – Muse (CdM) wins by forfeit.

126 – Escalante (B) pins Rice (N), 2:21.

132 – Stauffer (CdM) pins Kazi (N), 4:51.

138 – Codilian (I) wins by forfeit.

145 – Re. Rouyer (N) def. Sarpas (W).

152 – Ry. Rouyer (N) pins Klinkenborg (B), 4:27.

160 – Torres (W) wins by forfeit.

170 – Burright (U) def. Alexandrov (CdM)

182 – Zanck (CdM) dec. Morfin (W), 7-1.

195 – Kuno (W) pins Lui (N), 4:10.

220 – Trachtman (CdM) pins Velasquez (N), 0:27.

285 – Anderson (CdM) pins Xie (U), 1:29.

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