No Guts No Glory

In a balanced attack the Blue Devils earned 5 medals with just as many wrestlers in the the No Guts No Glory wrestling tournament at Hiram Johnson High on Wednesday. Coach Ty Brown was pleased with his team's performance, noting several wrestlers earned their first medals of the season.

Philip Toy paced the Devils taking 3rd place with 4 wins and 1 loss. His victories came easy--3 pins and 1 major decision, while his one loss, 8-5, was a tough match with multiple lead changes.

Andy Schmidl and Blair Kittle took 4th place in their respective weight classes, 135 and 189 lbs. Both grapplers had 3 wins and 2 losses on the day. Kittle had pins against opponents from Antelope and Lindhurst, plus a forfeit. His only losses came against wrestlers from Ukiah and Natomas. Schmidl's most memorable match came against Austin Huynh from River City. Down 4-0 at the end of the 2nd period, nothing seemed to work for the Blue Devil. However, in the final period, Schmidl scored two pairs of near fall points, with an arm bar and cradle tilt, to win 6-4.

Scott Derby broke into the medal rounds in the 145 lbs division. With a 1st round BYE and victory over Landon Walters of Elk Grove, the Blue Devil suffered a narrow loss, 11-10, against an opponent from Rio Linda. A victory would have propelled the junior into the championship match! Derby finished in 6th place. Coach Brown, emphasizing the "process", commented that while Derby had a good tournament, he, like many others on the team, hasn't reach his full potential yet.

Navid Fani, wrestling up a weight class at 152 lbs, took 8th place. His most memorable match came against an opponent from Laguna Creek. With multiple lead changes throughout the match, at the end of regulation the score was tied, 11-11. In overtime, Fani scored the first takedown and won the match.

Coach Brown, who never measures success based on a win loss record, was pleased with his team's effort. It's about getting better and developing, said Brown.

Up next, the Blue Devils start league competition. With a young and inexperience team, dual meets will be challenging. To be competitive, the Blue Devils need their varsity wrestlers to step up and the JV team to fill in the open weight classes. With the league realignment, the Devils start dual meet competition on the road against unfamilar teams--Monterey Trail (Jan 5) and Grant (Jan 12).