Sunday, February 24, 2013

La Canada High wrestler Guillermo Padilla qualifies for CIF Masters

Source: La Canada Valley Sun (online) http://www.lacanadaonline.com/sports/tsn-vsl-la-canada-high-wrestler-guillermo-padilla-qualifies-for-cif-masters-20130216,0,2563597.story

After falling one match short in 2012, La Cañada High heavyweight wrestler Guillermo Padilla advanced to the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet at the Eastern Division championships Saturday at Oak Hills High.

“It motivated me a lot, my goal was to do better and make it to Masters,” Padilla said of last year. “This one was way harder than last year for me. There were bigger guys, some state placers in this one, so it was a lot different.”

The junior entered the second day of the tournament Saturday with a match against top-seeded Kenneth Clark of Carter in the semifinals. Padilla fell, 13-3, but met his goal of going all three rounds with the senior. Padilla responded with a first-period pinfall victory on Serrano’s Angel Robles in his first consolation match to advance to the third-place bout against Oak Hill’s Justin Gillham. With a trip to Masters already secured, Padilla fought valiantly but fell to Gillham in overtime, 4-1.

La Cañada High Coach Gavin Williams said the focus now is practice, practice, practice for Padilla. “We have a good base with him and now we have to focus on closing some of those holes in his wrestling and getting him more mat time,” Williams said. “When he wants something and is motivated to wrestle, he’s pretty hard to beat.”

The Spartans’ two other wrestlers who advanced to the second day of divisions – Peter Garfield (195 pounds) and Edwin Padilla (220) – both fell in their first matches Saturday.
Garfield got cut from his cheek to his lip in the middle of his match with Montclair’s Andres Gonzalez but wrestled through the match, not wanting it to be called on account of blood, before falling, 10-3. After the match, he went to the hospital and got some plastic surgery and stitches, Williams said. Edwin, Guillermo’s brother and a senior, was pinned in the first period of his match with Thai Lawrence of Huntington Beach.

“It was a really tough CIF,” Williams said. “Here, I felt some of the weight classes in the top 10 were really tough. I am proud of my wrestlers, they wrestled real tough. I feel bad for my seniors, but they went out putting everything in it.”

Monday, February 4, 2013

La Canada High School Wrestling: (2012-2013) CIF Qualifiers

Congradulations to ALL the members of the 2012-2013 season. Everyone worked their butts off!!

Here are the LCHS Wrestling (2012-2013) Qualifiers for CIF individuals.

Rio Hondo League Champions (1st Place):

- Anthony Landeros: 132lbs - Senior (Team Captain)
- Alex Bache: 170lbs - Junior
- Peter Garfield: 195lbs - Junior
- Guillermo Padilla: HWT - Junior (Team Captain)

(2nd Place):

- Chris Skaggs: 126lbs - Senior (Team Captain)
- Lucas Drill: 182lbs - Sophomore

(3rd Place):

- Sean Consolo: 106lbs: Freshman
- Andrew Sarceda: 113lbs: Freshman
- Edwin Padilla: 220lbs: Junior

Rio Hondo League Finals Summary: Valley Sun Newspaper

La Canada High wrestling has another good day at Rio Hondo League Finals

Nine Spartans move on to CIF Individuals in a new-look league tournament Saturday.

February 02, 2013|By Andrew Shortall, andrew.shortall@latimes.com

MONROVIA — In a new-look Rio Hondo League that included a new favorite in San Marino High and two new schools in Hoover and St. Paul, La Cañada managed to show it’s still near the top of the group Saturday at league individual finals.

Nine Spartans advanced out of the one-day tournament at Santa Fe Middle School in Monrovia, as the top-three wrestlers in each of the 14 weight classes earned a trip to CIF Individuals. It was second-best to San Marino, which had 12 move on, including six league champions and three second- and third-place finishers each.

La Cañada finished the league dual season at 4-1 after falling to San Marino in its opener, 44-25.
Once again, it was La Cañada's upper weights that shined brightest Saturday, as three of its four league champions – Anthony Landeros (132 pounds) Alex Bache (170), Peter Garfield (195) and Guillermo Padilla (heavyweight) – came at 170 or higher.

Padilla was the only Spartan to win a league title on a pin Saturday, as he pressed both shoulders of San Marino's Jonathan Yau on the mat for the fall 16 seconds into the final period.
It was the fourth time the two had faced each other, said Padilla, who called Yau a friend.

“I've won every time, but we had some really close ones my first year,” Padilla said. “We're pretty close friends, but it's wrestling, you know, once you step on the mat there's no friends.”

Padilla is looking to advance to CIF Masters with a top-five finish at CIF Individuals. The junior just missed the cut by taking sixth at individuals last season, and this year he won't have the luxury of flying under the radar.

“I am looking for more improvement,” Padilla said. “I have been wrestling with my [assistant] coach Marty [Vardanian] and my brother [Edwin Padilla] – we've been going at it tooth and nail trying to get up to the Masters level. “It's going to be tough because more people know about me, so they're going to be watching out, studying me.”

Bache and Garfield each won their matches by decision against San Marino's Michael Scott, 6-0, and Monrovia's Angel Gonzalez, 9-4, respectively. “Personally, I would've preferred our team to win [league] again,” Bache said. “Hopefully, I can lead by example so next year our team can get better.” When it comes to CIF Individuals, the junior said he hopes to make it to the second day.

“I mean, it'd be a blessing if I could make it to fifth in CIF, but my major goal is to make it to the second day,” he said.

One of the most exciting matches of the day came from Landeros and South Pasadena's Charlie Barrone, who defeated Landeros, 5-2, in a league dual after he reaggravated a shoulder injury.
Landeros wouldn't be denied Saturday. He led by as many as 4-0 after getting a takedown in the first and second period, but Barrone kept it close, 4-2, with a takedown of his own with 20 seconds left in the second period. It appeared the match was headed for overtime, as Barrone brought Landeros down to his knees with about 30 seconds to go in regulation and just needed to circle around him to get two more points.

Knowing this, Landeros latched onto Barrone's legs and held on, not allowing him to get around.
“That last moment when I was grabbing his legs, I knew that was going to be do or die. If I didn't hold on he was going to win,” said Landeros, stressing he couldn't let the match go into overtime. “It was very important because I put everything I had into those six minutes, it would have been very difficult to continue.” Landeros not only held on, but notched another takedown of his own for the 6-2 win. “That was just the cherry on top of the ice cream, you know? That really topped it,” he said. “As soon as I got him on his back I knew the match was over.”

The Spartans also had two second-place finishers in Chris Skaggs (126) and Lucas Drill (182) and three wrestlers take home third place. Skaggs fell to top-seeded freshman from San Marino Zander Wick, 21-4. Drill fell to South Pasadena's Aaron Refuoa, 6-0.

La Cañada also had three wrestlers win their third-place matches and move on to CIF Individuals. Sean Consolo (106) did so with a pin of St. Paul's Joell Navarro in the third period, Andrew Saraceda (113) notched a 6-0 win over Hoover's Arianna Caban and Edwin Padilla (220) pinned San Marino's Nick Telleria.