Highlands

The DHS Wrestling team hosted Highland High School at home on Friday night, Jan 27. To minimize forfeits, Coach Ty Brown had a few DHS grapplers wrestle against heavier opponents. The strategy worked as the Devils prevailed, 52-24.

Coach Brown started the night by recognizing the team's seniors: Cody Calhoun, Emanuel Castro, Daniel Gibbs, Daniel Jaime, and Devon Mcglone. Three seniors competed. Tied 4-4 at the end of the first round, Cody Calhoun took control and pinned his opponent in the second round. Emanuel Castro and Daniel Gibbs lost their match, but were among the handful of wrestlers who faced heavier opponents.

In other competition, Junior Philip Toy, at 114 pounds, defeated his opponent by technical fall, 16-0. Freshman Andy Schmidl, at 127 pounds, started strong against his opponent. Ahead 7-4 after the first round, Schmidl pinned his opponent in the second round. Similarly, Junior Andrew Olivas, at 132 pounds, pinned his opponent in the second round.

In the mid-weight division, Sophomore Scott Derby, wrestling up, won a tightly contested, back and forth match. Behind 4-3, at the end of the first round, Derby took control in the next two rounds, winning 11-9. Junior Stephen Hill, who has been battling injuries all season, looked sharp in his return. At 154 pounds, Hill won his match 8-1.

In the upper weights, Mishiko Chigogidze won by pin, while Junior Will Glazer, wrestling up, lost his match.

Spencer Abilgaard, Tim Yang, and Austin Day won by forfeit.

Kennedy

On Wednesday, Jan 27, the DHS wresting team fell to Kennedy (35-30) in league competition in what has become a familiar story. Of the matches actually wrestled, the Blue Devils fared well--winning 7 out the 9 matches--but could not overcome 4 forfeits in the upper weight classes.

Junior Philip Toy started the night with a 2-1 victory in a rematch of last year's league championship. Sophomore Ran Wang, filling in for the injured Spencer Abilgaard, won the next match by decision, 4-3. Freshman Andy Schmidl pinned his opponent in the first round. Similarly, Andrew Olivas, the last of the light weights at 130 pounds, controlled his match with a 10-4 victory. With 4 straight victories, DHS led Kennedy, 15-0.

In the mid-weights, Emanuel Castro continued DHS' success with an unorthodox pin. His opponent, attempting to tilt Castro, lost control and the junior leaned back hard, pinning his opponent. Senior and co-captain Cody Calhoun, in his usual display of excellence, pinned his opponent in the second round.

Junior Matt Lundgren suffered the first Blue Devil's loss at 152 pounds, but Sophomore Austin Day bounced back. After the first round, Day led 4-3 in a back and forth match, but with each round, Day extended his lead and won the match 10-6 in what would be DHS' last victory, the Blue Devils ahead 30-6.

Junior Tim Yang lost his match, then in a familiar story, the Blue Devils forfeited 4 upper weight matches lifting the Cougars over the Devils.

Notes: On Friday, the Blue Devils celebrate Senior Night while hosting Highlands for its final home dual meet.

Albany Invitational

On Saturday, Jan 21, the DHS Wrestling varsity team competed in the Albany Invitational with 4 Blue Devils advancing to the medal rounds. It was the team's best tournament performance of the season in fierce competition against 44 teams.

Junior Philip Toy placed 3rd in the 114 pound division with 4 wins and 1 loss. After a first round BYE, Toy started the tournament with convincing victories against Elk Grove (7-0) and Ukiah (first round pin) to advance to the semi-finals, where he faced top seed Joe Moita of De La Salle High School. Toy lost that match, but showed resilience in his final match, beating Damon Ngyien of San Leandro, 9-0.

Andrew Olivas placed 4th in the 132 pound division with 3 wins and 2 losses. The junior won his first three matches, two of them decided in the final seconds. After an easy first round victory, Olivas faced Azuirch Paul of El Molino High, which he won 14-13. In his next match, against Sacred Heart, it took an overtime victory to propel Olivas to the semi-finals. The grappler lost his last 2 matches to finish 4th overall.

Junior Spencer Abilgaard and Freshman Andy Schmidl placed 6th and 8th respectively. Abilgaard at 121 pounds had 3 wins and 2 losses. The junior won his first two matches, but lost his 3rd and 5th match. His final victory (7-1) was against Frank Ely of Albany High in the 4th round. Schmidl, at 127 pounds, won his first 2 matches, but lost his final 3.

Other wrestlers representing the Blue Devils were Devon Mcglone and Tim Yang.

Coach Ty Brown and Assistant Coach Clint Deknikker were impressed with the team's performance, noting "the team is peaking at the right time."

Notes: Senior Cody Calhoun did not compete in this tournament, but posted the sole Blue Devil victory at a dual meet against Elk Grove last week. The final home dual meet will be at 6PM Friday, January 29 against Highlands High School. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Senior Night. In addition, there will be prizes and raffles from the team's sponsors.

Laguna Creek

On January 13, the DHS Wrestling team hosted Laguna Creek in league competition. Half way through the meet, Coach Ty Brown passionately instructed "Hand Control" to his first year wrestler, Andrew Olivas. Ahead 9-3, Olivas set up a pinning combination. The referee slapped the mat, signaling Olivas' victory, and the 135 pound wrestler, earned his first varsity pin. After 6 matches, the Blue Devils led the Cardinals 28-6. But despite the great start, Davis would eventually forfeit 4 of the 5 upper weight matches and fall to Laguna Creek, 44-28.

Earlier that night, co-captain Philip Toy at 112 pounds earned the first points for the Blue Devils. Toy, the defending league champion, dominated his opponent with a takedown, multiple back points, and a pin--all in 50 seconds.

Spencer Abilgaard at 119 pounds won a major decision, 16-8. From the neutral or bottom position, Abilgaard scored 8 takedowns or reversals at will, while limiting his opponent to 8 escapes. Like Toy, Abilgaard is undefeated (2-0) in league competition.

Freshman and co-captain Andy Schmidl had a decisive victory. From the neutral position, the 125 pounder tied up with his opponent and rolled him immediately to his back. The quick strike caught the Cardinal off guard, which Schmidl converted to a pin.

The Blue Devils were on a roll. Following Schmidl, Sophomore Scott Derby at 130 pounds won his match by forfeit. Then, Andrew Olivas pinned his opponent, giving DHS its biggest lead of the night.

Next up was co-captain Cody Calhoun who lost a tough match, 12-11. In the first period, Calhoun scored both takedown and near fall points to lead 8-2. But by the final period, the momentum had shifted and the 145 pound senior lost a tough match.

Other varsity wrestlers competing were Emanuel Castro, Matt Lundgren, and Tim Yang. In JV competition Navid Fani, posted a 5-4 victory for the Devils. Other JV wrestlers were Conner DeKnikker and Westin Crites.

Next up, the Blue Devils travel to Elk Grove on Wednesday, Jan 20.

Freshman Shines at Mat Classic

On Saturday, the Blue Devils sent 6 varsity wrestlers to the one-day Mat Classic Tournament in Livermore to compete against 36 other teams. Andy Schmidl had a strong performance with 3 wins and 2 loses -- all of his matches decided by pin. In his first match, Schmidl surrendered the first take down, but after an escape caught his opponent in a front headlock. Maneuvering to a cradle, the freshman had his first victory. Schmidl lost his next match, but fought back with two more victories, one taking only 41 seconds. Schmidl controlled the tempo in his third victory. After scoring multiple take downs and near fall points, with the score 12-3, the 126 pound wrestler earned the pin.

The other Blue Devils competing were Cody Calhoun, Scott Derby, Philip Toy, Ran Wang, and Tim Yang. Each Blue Devil had at least one victory. Up next, the Blue Devils host Laguna Creek on Wednesday.

Blue Devils Fall to Franklin

The DHS Wrestling team, lead by Head Coach Ty Brown, opened league competition against perennial powerhouse Franklin at home on Tuesday. For most of the meet, the Blue Devils fared well against the Wildcats, trading leads in the light-weight and mid-weight divisions. But in the upper weight classes, the Devils had no answer for the more experienced Franklin team.

Co-captain Philip Toy at 112 pounds set the pace early for the Devils. Toy, the defending DVC league champion, started the season where he left off last year. Scoring numerous take down and near fall points, Toy, a junior, controlled the tempo and kept his opponent scoreless, winning 14-0.

Junior Spencer Abildgaard at 119 pounds won a fiercely competitive match. Starting the third period ahead 11-6, Abildgaard seemed to have the match under control. Rather than starting in the top position, Abildgaard surrendered 1 point to began the 3rd period in the neutral position. It seemed like a mistake, because the Franklin wrestler immediately scored a take down for 2 more points and trapped Abildgaard in a cradle. Twice, Abildgaard was on his back, but each time he broke free before the required 3 count. When it seemed like it couldn't get any worse, the referee warned Abildgaard about stalling, his lead now down to 1 point. Abildgaard fought back hard, however, and scored a reversal in the final seconds to seal his victory, 13-10.

With several losses at the 125 to 140 pound divisions, the Blue Devils seemed to lose their composure, then senior and co-captain Cody Calhoun at 145 pounds stepped on the mat. In what seemed like a scramble, Calhoun took a weak position and earned a take down, which he immediately converted to near fall points, then a pin--the only Blue Devil pin of the night! Calhoun's energy was infectious because 152 pound junior Matt Lundgren, in a tough match, earned 6 more team points when his opponent had to forfeit due to injury.

After 9 matches and 5 to go, the Blue Devils trailed by only 1 point (19-20). In the upper weight classes, however, the Wildcats took control and won the remaining matches to defeat the Blue Devils (19-50).

Notes: Co-Captain Stephen Hill did not compete due to injury. In the Junior Varsity competition, Ran Wang at 119 pounds won by decision 5-2. Next up the Varsity Team travels to Livermore on Saturday. On Friday, sophomore Hanna Herrera, the sole lady Blue Devil wrestler, will be competing in an all girls meet in Napa. The next league meet will be at home against Laguna Creek on Wednesday, Jan 13.

The Bash

Despite a strong performance last week at the Lou Branzon Invitational, the DHS Wrestling team was not able to build on that momentum at "The Bash" -- a Goliath two-day tournament in Fresno. With over 75 teams from all over the Golden State, the Bash is not for the faint hearted. This year Head Coach Ty Brown took six wrestlers (Spencer Abrigaard, Cody Calhoun, Stephen Hill, Andy Schmidl, Philip Toy, and Tim Yang) to this annual pilgrimage. Although none advanced to the second day, Coach Ty Brown was pleased with the team's performance, as several wrestlers made it to the 4th round.

The Blue Devils start league competition next week against Franklin.

(File Photo from earlier tournament: Philip Toy, top, sets up a pinning combination.)