Four Warriors Earn NCS Medals, Two Advance to State

photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo

MSJ wrestlers brought home four medals from the NCS Championships, good enough to finish 18th out of a 90-team field with 75.5 points.  David Kim placed 6th at 182 lbs, Swahib Kaba placed 7th at 285 lbs, and our State qualifiers Will Booth (113) and Corbin Lee (120) placed 4th and 3rd respectively.  Four medals is the most for any MSJ team since the '99-'00 team brought home five medals.  Full brackets can be found here.

Seeded 4th at 113 lbs, Will Booth opened the tournament with back-to-back tech falls before advancing to the semifinal round with a hard fought 3-2 decision win over #5 Brian Guerrero (Rancho Cotate).  After falling to #1-seed Tommy Yozzo (Amador Valley) in the semis, Will bounced back in the consolation semis with a major decision over Johnny Zanarini (Liberty) to earn himself his first trip to the CIF State Championships in Bakersfield next weekend.  In the 3rd place match, Will would have to face Jacob Macalolooy (Logan) who had defeated Will last weekend at the MVAL finals.  Will opened the match with a 5-0 lead after the first period, but Macalolooy battled back to tie the match at 7 at the end of regulation. In overtime, a questionable takedown call by the referee gave the decision win to Macalolooy.

Corbin Lee returns to the State Championships with his 3rd place performance in maybe the deepest weight class of the entire tournament.  Entered as the #6-seed, Corbin fell to returning NCS medalist and #3-seeded Logan Fore (Windsor) in overtime of the quarterfinal round and faced a tough road back to the consolation finals.  In the conso quarters, Corbin defeated returning NCS runner-up Chris Caldwell (Las Lomas) by 3-1 decision. Then in the conso semis, Corbin defeated returning NCS 3rd place medalist Ricky Coster (Freedom) by 4-1 decision to earn himself the rematch he wanted versus MVAL champ Jacob Donato (Logan).  Corbin executed his game plan this time around and avenged last weekend's loss at league with a 8-3 decision win.

In typical "David Kim style", David battled his way through the NCS championships with brutal, hard fought match after match.  On day one of the tournament, David recorded a 3-2 decision win and another 3-1 decision win before losing a tough 6-4 overtime loss to the #3-seed and eventual NCS runner-up Max Oswald (Ukiah).  On Saturday, it didn't get much easier for David, as he recorded a 3-0 decision win and a 4-2 decision win, before losing a tough 6-4 decision in the final seconds of the conso semis to the #1-seed Taryn Christiansen (El Molino).  Even though David fell short of his quest for a spot at the State Championships, he has much to be proud of.  He had an amazing senior season and career at Mission San Jose and his accomplishments will always be remembered on "The Wall".

And last but never least, Swahib Kaba completed his first full season of wrestling ever and was rewarded with a well deserved 7th place medal at the NCS Championships.  After losing in the first round of the tournament to #5-seed Josh Hansen (Eureka), Swahib reeled off five consecutive wins to advance to the medal round.  Along the way, Swahib avenged his losses to Joe Lacomba (Logan) and Elmer Hamidy (Newark) with back-to-back overtime wins to knock them both out the tournament.  In the 7th place match, Swahib needed double overtime to secure a 4-3 decision over the #3-seed Eric Chavez (Healdsburg).  Rumor has it he is STILL smiling from that win...

Junior Alex Dornfest also deserves recognition for his performance at North Coast.  Entered as the #7-seed, Alex was upset in the first round of the tournament losing to Brandon Disbrow (Livermore) by 11-4 decision. Alex then battled back and reeled off four straight wins through the consolation bracket into the top-12 before losing a tough 4-1 decision to returning state qualifier Kevin Coburn (Granada),finishing the tournament a win away from a top-8 medal.

Congratulations to all of our NCS competitors and good luck to our CIF State Championship qualifiers Will Booth and Corbin Lee as they both look to complete their senior seasons with a place on the podium down in Bakersfield.

Photos of NCS can be found on Tony Rotundo's page and on John Sach's page.

37th Annual MSJ Invitational

Behind the strength of our two 3rd place finishers in Corbin Lee (120) and David Kim (182), MSJ places 13th in a 69-team field at the 37th annual Mission San Jose Invitational.  

After not competing since the Doc B in early January, Corbin Lee made his return to the mat this weekend as the #5 seed in one of the deeper weight classes of the tournament.  Highlights of his tournament include an exciting 4-3 decision win over #4 seed Chris Caldwell of Las Lomas HS, a NCS runner-up last season, in the quarterfinal round.  After dropping to defending state champion Daniel Gaytan of Clovis HS in the semifinals, Corbin battled all the way back for a 3rd place finish and showed he is ready for his post-season run to Bakersfield.

David Kim also pulled off an upset win in the quarterfinal round to guarantee himself his first MSJ Invitational medal.  Competing as the #6 seed, David cruised to the semifinals with a 8-3 decision over #3 seed Jacob Richards of Fort Bragg HS.  Richards won the Lou Bronzon back in December and is ranked #8 in NCS and HM in the state rankings.  David dropped his semifinal match to Ryan Davies of Clovis HS, who is ranked 5th in CA, but also battled all the way back for 3rd, making a strong statement for his post-season aspirations later this month.

Full brackets, results and team scores can be downloaded here.

Mat Classic Results

Congrats to Will Booth for claiming his second tournament title of the season at the Mat Classic this past Saturday.  Will lived up to his #1 seed, defeating the #3 seed Eric Uldall from Vacaville HS in the championship final in dramatic fashion. Check out his finals match here.

Due to the 5-match rule (wrestlers may not compete in more than 5 matches in the same day of competition), several medal round match-ups were not contested.  Because of this rule, David Kim's consolation final opponent (Joe Congrave of McNair HS) was unable to compete, and so both he and David instead tied for 4th place. This was David's first tournament down at 182 lbs.

Also due to the set-up of this tournament, if any wrestler fails to advance to the quarterfinal round, the best they can do is wrestle back for 7th place.  Alex Dornfest dropped a match to the #2 seed, Ricky Coster of Freedom HS, in the second round of the tournament but bounced back and dominated his next three opponents to advance to the 7th place match. Again, due to the 5-match rule, this match could not take place so he and Nick Bray of Vacaville HS had to settle for a tie for 8th place at 126 lbs.

Full brackets and team scores can be found here.

Live Results from Doc B

Semifinal action at Doc B 2012

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Last update at 9:50am
Corbin suffered an injury to his knee in last night's quarterfinal round. On the verge of injury defaulting out of the tournament, Corbin decided to step back on the mat and give it a shot. He fought hard but, in the end, fell short and lost a tough 8-4 decision to De La Riva.
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Updated at 5:01pm

Corbin suffers a tough 3-1 overtime loss to Saavedra. What a tough match. He is done for the day and now drops into the consolation bracket. One more win earns Corbin a top 8 finish here at the Doc B. His next opponent will be Lorenzo De La Riva of Folsom HS, ranked HM in CA at 126 lbs.
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Updated at 1:20pm

Corbin wins by decision over Carmona of Brawley, 5-1. He is now in the quarterfinals versus #1 seed Emilio Saavedra of Modesto HS. Saavedra was a 3rd place medalist at state last year and was a FloNational champion. He is currently ranked #2 in CA at 113 lbs.
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Updated at 10:50am

Corbin wins by fall over South Hills at 4:38. Next up is the #9 seed Arthur Carmona of Brawley HS. Carmona is a multiple time Greco All-American and is currently ranked #12 in CA at 113 lbs.
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Just about ready to get started here down in Clovis. The seeds have been revised one more time, with Corbin now competing as the #8 seed at 120 lbs. His round 1 opponent is Kevin Kelly from South Hills HS. Check back for updates after each round. Brackets and full results can also be found at www.trackwrestling.com

Back In Action This Weekend!

After more than two weeks away from competition, the varsity team returns from winter break and officially kicks off the second half of the '11-'12 season this weekend.  The Mat Classic is hosted by Granada HS in Livermore, map and directions can be found here.  JV wrestlers have the weekend off, but are highly encouraged to stop by Granada HS on Saturday to support their varsity teammates and take advantage of this opportunity to watch, learn and enjoy varsity competition. Rides can be arranged before or after practice.

Corbin Lee will look to make his mark among the best in the state as he will travel to Clovis, CA to compete in the 35th annual Doc Buchanan Invitational.  One of the premier wrestling events in the entire nation, the Doc B will feature 100 teams representing 6 states in what looks to be the toughest field in the 35-year history of the tournament. Check out the preview here.

Good luck to ALL MSJ wrestlers competing this weekend! Wrestle hard!!