Shamrocks beat San Luis to win tournament

Derek Beck talks extensively about getting better each day.

His Yuma Catholic wrestling team got the perfect measuring stick Saturday, facing a San Luis squad that had already defeated the Shamrocks this season.

The YC wrestler did what their coach preaches — improved.
The Shamrocks topped San Luis 50-30 to win their eight-team home meet. The Gila Ridge junior varsity topped the Cibola JV 46-25 for third, Antelope beat the Yuma High JV 36-30 for fifth, and the Lake Havasu JV topped San Pasqual 39-30 for seventh.

While San Luis coach Rob Jankowski said he figured the Shamrocks were looking for revenge, Beck said that wasn't what his team was focused on.

“It means a lot to win in front of your home crowd,” Beck said. “But just the kids getting better each week, that's what's important. The win comes with getting better.”

Jankowski said his team was prepared for a motivated Shamrock club.

“I'm sure it was in the back of their mind. It was in the back of our mind,” Jankowski said. “But they're a tough team, solid all the way through.”

San Luis had to forfeit four bouts, while the Shamrocks had just one forfeit in a tournament filled with teams short of 14 wrestlers. Brandon Moreno had a first-period pin for YC en route to a 4-0 mark on the day. Ernesto Sandigo also pinned his San Luis opponent as part of a perfect day.

Roger Varela, Grady Eldridge, Tommy Hernandez and Andy Determan went a perfect 4 for 4 for the Shamrocks.

“Kids stepped it up and did what they had to do against the competition in front of them,” Beck said. “They've stepped it up the last couple weeks and I'm proud of them.”

The first bout of the match was 138, and the first three bouts all went three rounds but were all decisive YC victories. Sandigo got a pin with just 9.6 seconds left, then Clay Sierra (21-7) and Determan (17-4) got major victories.

The Sidewinders didn't have a 4-0 wrestler, but Carlos Urquillo went 2-0 as Jankowski juggled between using varsity and junior varsity lineups.

“We did alright,” Jankowski said. “We kind of ran into a revengeful Yuma Catholic team, because we beat them earlier in the year. I think they were out for a little revenge on us.”

Antelope and San Pasqual, like Yuma Catholic, fielded varsity lineups. The Rams, despite having just eight wrestlers at the tournament, went 2-2. Not counting forfeits, they would have topped the Raiders.

Jason St. Clair (20-2) and Fred Pearson (28-3) continued their strong season for the Rams with 4-0 days.

“We wrestled really good for the number of kids we had,” St. Clair said. “I thought they performed really well.”

The fifth-place match was originally a 35-29 Yuma High win, but St. Clair petitioned after when two Yuma High wrestlers were put two classes above their weigh-in, with the rulebook allowing to move up just one weight class. The ref upheld the appeal and Antelope got the win.

It's the second time in a week a Yuma wrestling match's score was changed late. At a multi-team meet on Wednesday, the scoreboard originally showed Cibola winning, but Gila Ridge coach David King protested the last match on what he called a scorebook inconsistency and was upheld, giving the Hawks the win, unbeknownst to most Cibola coaches and fans.

The Warriors had one perfect wrestler, Julio Renteria.

“It boosts the confidence in the room and makes everyone practice harder,” Warrior coach Angelo Derma said. “They see they went so close, they went all three rounds, if they just make a couple changes in the practice room they'll get it.”