Wrestling: Tigers win Alhambra Invitational

Douglas High School wrestling history was made last Saturday night in the championship finals of the 32nd annual Lawrence Miller Memorial Invitational at Alhambra High School in Martinez, Calif.

As Douglas' Dillon Spates stepped on the mat to face Enrique Barajas from Arroyo in the 112-pound final, the Douglas coaches settled into their chairs at mat side and would not leave those chairs until after the 145 pound championship was decided. Douglas put eight wrestlers in the finals including seven in a row from 112 to 145 to run away with the team championship.

Of the eight, six claimed first place honors. The six individual championships, as well as 13 total medals, were by far the most any Douglas team has garnered in recent memory.

Spates started off the finals with a fall over Barajas in 2:46. Douglas 119-pounder Tim Souza took the silver medal after Matt Feiner from Mount Diablo won by decision. Douglas' Wes Peterson battled to a tough decision win at 125 over Arroyo's Ellis Freidman.

At 130, Douglas' Michael Sepulveda notched the victory over Alhambra's Billy Krumman 6-4. Pittsburgh High's Mark Gargalikis defeated Nick Prudhomme from Douglas at 135 by a 7-1 margin.

At 140 pounds, Douglas' Nico Barker scored a major decision with a 12-3 victory over Pittsburgh's MC Stamps III.

Douglas 145-pounder Eddie Kollar made quick work of Pittsburgh's Jimmy Smith with a fall at 1:50. Douglas' Zach Falanga finished off the Tigers impressive championship run with a 3:20 fall of his own over Fazil Kayumy from JFK High in the 189-pound bracket.

Douglas had a very strong bronze medal finish from Justin Freeman at 152 pounds as he defeated Pittsburgh's Frank Ferrante 14-9 in the consolation final.

Douglas also got a fifth-place medal from Daniel Lundegreen at 135, as well as sixth-place medals from Joe McDonald at 145, Tyler Cook at 160, and Pat Miller at 215.

Douglas finished the tournament with 228 points. Pittsburgh High came in second with 170.5, followed by Alhambra with 136 points. Dillon Spates and Nico Barker were honored as the tournament's most outstanding wrestlers in the lightweight and middleweight categories respectively.

Douglas hosts Carson in a league dual Wednesday evening which should decide the Sierra League championship. Douglas will also be recognizing seven senior wrestlers prior to the dual.

Wrestling is scheduled to begin with junior varsity matches at 5:30 followed by varsity at 6:00 p.m.