Tiger wrestlers take 14 to Yosemite Divisionals in Lemoore, including 3 WYL champs

On Friday the Tigers got back to their winning ways, but just barely, beating Hanford by just 1 ½ points to capture the league title.

Lemoore had five finalists and three league champions on the night, including freshman Jacob Gonzalves, at 152 pounds, sophomore Angel Solis at 160, and heavyweight senior Nate Ibarra.

Lemoore took the top spot with 209.50 points while the Bullpups checked in at 209 points. Redwood finished third with 194.50 points, indicating a fairly balanced league this season.

Gonzalvez beat Hanford’s Ben Barlow in the final 6-4 to emerge as the 152-pound champion. Solis defeated El Diamante’s Josh Sanchez in a 1-0 decision. Finally, Ibarra beat Golden West’s Cesar Delgado 3-2.

Second place finishers included Greg Guzman who lost to Redwood’s Isaiah Torres in the finals and Daniel Sepeda, who dropped a close decision to Hanford’s Derrick Meek.

The Tigers will take their entire team, 14 in all, to the Central Section Yosemite Divisionals on Feb. 20-21 in the Lemoore High School Event Center. Tiger coach Marcio Botelho is optimistic but expects a competitive meet: “”All 14 wrestlers qualified,” he said. “It will be tough but I am hoping to get five through.”