Staff Report
The Arrowhead league wrestling finals were held at Excelsior Charter school on Wednesday, Feb. 10.
The small but resilient Mustang wrestling team was there ready to give it there all. Some of the wrestlers were not at 100 percent, but they knew that this was it and they had to leave it all on the mat in order to get into the CIF individual event on Feb. 19. Although some of them were not fully recovered from injuries and others were sick with the flu they still were tough competition for the other teams in the Arrowhead league.
Juanmiguel Angeles (heavyweight) had not taken the mat for almost a month due to an injury sustained at the Mustangs final tournament. Even though he had a guaranteed spot into CIF due to a small number of heavyweight wrestlers in the league, he still chose to compete. Angeles earned a bronze medal.
Newcomer John Cummings had never wrestled before arriving to Lucerne Valley high school in January, but he has made great strides since he has been here. John placed second in the 220-pound weight class and earned a silver medal for his efforts and will continue on to CIF.
Samuel Aguilar (106) has had an impressive season this year. Aguilar earned a medal at every tournament that the team attended with the exception of the final tournament where he sustained an elbow injury. Samuel also earned a silver medal at the league finals and will continue on to CIF with high hopes to get a few more wins to add to his impressive 25-6 season record.
Jacob Carmona (145) was horribly ill with the flu and had very little energy for wrestling but he mustered every ounce that he had to claim the gold medal and the Arrowhead league champion title for his weight class. Carmona was seeded first in the league for the 145 pound weight class so he was afforded a bye in the first round which perhaps made the day a little easier for him. Both of his matches were touch and go after the first round because of his weakness due to illness but he still managed to defeat both of his opponents to claim the title.
Jason Simonek (182) had the biggest weight class of the bunch. Simonek still recovering from the flu was not full strength but he was there ready to fight and win. Simonek wrestled three matches and defeated all comers in good fashion. Simonek earned the league champion title in his weight class and is looking forward to CIF on the 19th.
"I am really proud of how these guys have stuck with it this year," said head coach Renee Hagen. "Everyone of these five finalists have suffered some form of injury throughout the season but they have still hung in there and fought like crazy. I am looking forward to seeing what they will have to offer their opponents at CIF."
"I am absolutely pleased with how this season has gone and with the improvement that I saw from the newcomers, and with the dedication from the entire team, especially with all of the injuries suffered throughout the season," assistant coach Joey Hagen added
Tags:
wrestling
Lucerne Valley
mustangs
league