San Manuel’s Sienna Taylor claims the win over Andrada Polytechnic. Photo by Nathaniel Lopez
Hayden and San Manuel both will be heading to the Coolidge 29th Annual Lions Club Invitational on Jan. 2 and 3. Both teams have been hard at work preparing for this contest.
Hayden’s Ben Quesada looks for the pin against Pima. Photo by Nathaniel Lopez
On Dec. 17, the Hayden wrestling team traveled to San Manuel for a multi-meet with San Manuel, Pima, Wilcox, and Andrada Polytechnic. The Lobos were able to wrestle a few matches, but some of the schools had gaps in their weight classes, so there were a good amount of forfeits being collected.
The Lobos had great matches against Pima, showing their strength collecting two wins by fall, and one win by points. CJ Lacey was able to claim a win by tech against Wilcox.
The Lobos will be competing in Coolidge’s 29th Lions Club Invitational on January 2 and 3.
San Manuel’s Ethan Lazoya works for the pin against Andrada Polytechnic. Photo by Nathaniel Lopez
San Manuel in Florence
San Manuel High School Wrestling team headed to Florence Dec. 12 and 13, mining for buckles and medals – at the Florence Invitational. All seven wrestlers earned awards capping off a successful tournament and best performance the Miners have had all season. Tournament champions were Annie Nemons at 138 lbs, Jose Torres at 113 lbs, and Sienna Taylor at 120 lbs. Runners ups were Derek Anaya at 157 lbs and Aaliyah Anaya at 138 lbs. Third place was Ethan Lazoya at 165 lbs and Lucas Trevizo at 150 lbs getting 6th place.
The match of the evening was Sienna Taylor versus Kool from ALAA. Sienna had already lost to her twice this year, being pinned by her last week at Coolidge. Sienna scored the first takedown of the match but struggled getting away from Kool during the second period. In the third period Sienna hit the gas with the score at 8 to 6. With 8 seconds left in the match, Kool let Sienna start neutral; giving her a point in the match to bring it within two points. When the whistle blew Sienna immediately attacked scoring a 3-point takedown with seconds left to secure the win and the upset.
“This was a huge corner for Sienna to turn today. The gym exploded with cheers for Sienna and this was a huge confidence boost for her because she really struggled with this wrestler the last two times and tonight. But she didn’t stop wrestling,” commented coach Vince Majalca.
San Manuel Champions Sienna Taylor and Jose Torres. Photos by Vince Majalca
The Florence Invitational gave out beautifully made buckles for tournament champions and the Miners brought home three of those buckles.
The Miners hosted a home multi-meet on Dec. 17. Attending schools were Andrada Polytechnic, Hayden, Pima, and Wilcox. Due to their small size, and some of the teams gaps in their weight-classes, the Miners were able to get a few matches in. The Miners won all four matches they had against Andrada Polytechnic.
The Miners will be taking the holiday break off for two days and they’ll be back in the room for the next two weeks preparing for the Coolidge invitational on Jan. 2 and 3.