Vista wins D3 wrestling championship

After just missing out on winning section championships in previous years, Vista del Lago’s wrestling team got it done this year. On Saturday the Eagles claimed the Division III championship by beating Los Banos, 39-35. The Eagles, seeded first in the bracket, had a bye before opening the tournament with a convincing 58-22 win over Golden Valley, the Division III runner-ups last year. Brandon Ho, Jacob Lemos, Caleb Lemos, Logan Chan, Charlie Sanderson, Quentin Miler, Kaden Rohrer, Tanish Shirolkar and Nohavi Nava all won their matches by fall. In the finals against Los Banos, Jacob Lemos, Caleb Lemos and Collin Kersey won their matches by fall, as the match came down to bouts at 140 and 146 pounds. “Senior Caleb Lemos made the cut to 140 pounds for the first time this season and had an incredible day scoring two pins,” Vista coach Frank Richmond said. “Against Los Banos, Logan Chan wrestled up at 146 against the 39th ranked wrestler in the state. It was a tight match, but Chan trailed 3-0 heading into the third period. Starting from the down position, Chan was able to secure a quick reversal to make the score 3-2. After spending some time trying to score nearfall on top, Chan was forced to give up the escape in an attempt to try and take him down and secure the lead. After the escape, Chan was down 4-2 with 30 seconds left in the match. “Chan pushed the pressure and pace the entire match and in the last seconds was able to secure the takedown and four-point nearfall to win the match, 9-4.This match would end up being the deciding factor in the dual meet.” After near misses the last three years, the Eagles finally claimed the section championship. “We lost the section championship by one point in previous years so for some of our seniors this was their fourth attempt in bringing home this title,” Richmond said. “It felt amazing to finally make it a reality after three straight years of close losses.” Wrestlers who competed for the Eagles included Logan Hoang (108), Brandon Ho (115), Jacob Lemos (122), Namith Tatipigari (128), Zaiden Davis (134), Caleb Lemos (140), Logan Chan (146), Charlie Sanderson (152), Luke McKeown (159), Quentin Miller (167), Collin Kersey (177), Kaden Rohrer (192), Tanish Shirolkar (217) and Nohavi Nava (287).