The Escalon Wrestling Club (EWC) concluded the most successful Spring Season in its history on May 22 and 23 at Oakdale High School at the SCWAY State Games. Prior to that EWC wrestlers competed in the SCWAY Zone 2-3 Qualifying Tournament for the State Games at Escalon High School on May 7 and in a SCWAY tournament at McNair High School in Stockton on May 14. Each of the three tournaments held competitions for Freestyle (Olympic) and Folkstyle (Collegiate) divisions while the State Games also had a Dual Meet division between the SCWAY Zones.

“We had the best attended practices we’ve ever had and the kids worked hard all season and it showed with the success we had on the mat,” noted EWC President Derek Scott.

Grapplers from ages 5 to 18 competed during the spring.

At the tournament in Escalon on May 7, Garrett Nash, Cameron DuBois and Alex Gutierrez placed first in both styles in impressive fashion. Rhys Panero took a first in freestyle and second in folkstyle while Livius Seung, Stephen Mendez and David Ryan reversed that with a first in folkstyle and second in freestyle. Mikayla Vega, Marco Mendoza and Ethan Kreiger took home the silver in both styles as did Alex Jimenez. Garrison Gerber and Daniel Wallace won silver and bronze medals. Julian Gutierrez managed to grab two bronzes.

Placing in one division, Luca Cerasi grabbed silver while Gideon Gerber, Trent Cummings, Sergio Velendez, Griffin Gerber and Daniel Zarate all earned bronze medals.

“Once again, I have to thank everybody who helped make this tournament possible. We have great community support and we’re incredibly fortunate to have so many dedicated coaches, volunteers, parents and family members giving their time selflessly,” added Scott.

The McNair tournament saw the three Gerber brothers have great success in the Folkstyle Division with three gold medals among them. Several high school age EWC wrestlers also competed. Medals were not handed out at the tournament though Garrett Nash, Steven Mendez and Alex Gutierrez stood out in their respective weight classes.

In the Folkstyle Division on May 21 at the State Games, Griffin Gerber won gold while Marco Mendoza and David Ryan earned bronze. Garrett Nash, Livius Seung and Stephen Mendez all took fourth place against incredibly tough opposition. In the dual meet portion of the competition, Garrett Nash came back from a seven point deficit to win his only match while David Ryan avenged an earlier folkstyle loss and won his only dual match as well. Rhys Panero also won his lone match. Kyle Jimenez was one of the workhorses of the EWC representatives on the Sac Joaquin team, going 2-1 in the dual meets while Cameron DuBois had a stellar day in going 3-0. Daniel Wallace, Marco Mendoza, Christian Manzo and Brad Hagglund also contributed to the team.

In the Freestyle Division, Cameron DuBois and Luca Cerasi were champions while Garrett Nash was third and Gideon and Garrison Gerber were fifth. Alfredo Zarate also competed.

The EWC will practice for one more week and take some time off until June when they travel up to the foothills to take part in a wrestling camp along with wrestlers from Elk Grove and Ponderosa.

“It’s a great, fun camp for the kids,” said Scott. “The cost is very minimal so any kid that wants to go will have the opportunity to. No one gets turned away.”

Anyone interested in finding out more about the camp can contact Coach Scott at (209) 499-4931 or descott@sjcoe.net.