Lou Branzon Invitational

On Tuesday, the DHS Wrestling team sent 5 varsity competitors to the Lou Branzon Invitation tournament in Brentwood CA to compete in their biggest tournament to date. The Blue Devils were one among 50 other high schools competing in this two day tournament. After the first day, three DHS wrestlers (Stephen Hill, Philip Toy, Cody Calhoun) remain in the competition.

Hill (145 pounds) had the best performance of the team (2 wins, 0 losses). In his first match, Hill, a junior, won without surrendering a point (7-0). In his second match, Hill squared off against Jack Fausone of Casa Grande High. The tall and thin, Fausone (probably six inches taller than Hill) provided an interesting physical match-up, but Hill easily controlled the tempo winning 9-4. Hill is one of 8 wrestlers in his weight class who are undefeated and still vying for the championship.

Toy (112 pounds) loss his first match (14-7) to Thien Pham of American High. Pham set the pace in the opening period, but Toy fought back in the second period and nearly pinned his opponent. But by the third period, Pham regained the momentum and won the match. Toy, a junior, redeemed himself in his next two matches, pinning his second opponent, and winning his third match (5-3).

Calhoun (152 pounds) loss his first match by pin, but battled back in his remaining matches. His second match was his most decisive victory which he won in the first period with an arm bar pin against Baideep Bajwa of American High. Calhoun, a senior, also won his final match by pin.

The rules for 32 or 64 bracket wrestling tournaments are simple. With each win, a wrestler faces a better opponent. If a wrestler loses once, he is still in the tournament, but fighting for 3rd place at best. Wrestlers who lose twice are eliminated. Tournaments are long and strenuous. For this tournament, the DHS wrestlers started the morning at 5:30am and did not return to Davis until 9pm! For three wrestlers, tomorrow will be another long day.

Andy Schmidt (freshman) and Tim Yang (junior) were the other 2 wrestlers representing DHS. Both had 1 win and 2 loses for the day.

(Photo: Stephen Hill, left, grapples with opponent at Lou Branzon Invitational).