Fernandez takes first at Castro Valley Girls Classic
Morgan Hill – The Live Oak wresters finished strong, despite their numbers, losing 48-22 in a dual meet against Leland on Thursday and having four wrestlers placing at the Lynn Dyche Tournament over the weekend.
Before the Leland dual meet even started, the Acorns were down 36-0 because of this year’s small squad. But Live Oak lost only thee matches, one by way of injury forfeit.
“Going into the dual meet, I knew we would be down 20 to 30 points,” said coach Robert Fernandez. “But that’s OK. I’m looking more at individual performance.”
Of the seven wrestlers in the meet, four had wins and were close to a fifth.
Tony Morales at 112 pounds dislocated his elbow, forcing him to forfeit his match.
“He will be out a couple of weeks, but there was no damage,” Fernandez said. “It was tough – we needed that match.”
The Acorns followed up the dual meet with the Lynn Dyche Tournament at James Lick High School with four wrestlers all placing in the top 10.
Brett Jones at 160 placed the best for the Acorns with a third-place finish.
“He is starting to put it all together and is looking really good,” Fernandez said.
Steven Fernandez finished fourth at 135 pounds, Myloe Esquivel took fifth at 215 and Justin Evans took seventh.
“He’s come to be known at consolation Justin,” Fernandez said. “He is 9-2 on the season. He just seems to have bad luck in the first round.”
Junior Moriah Fernandez, ranked No. 1 at 138 pounds going into the Castro Valley Girls Classic at Castro Valley High School, pinned all of her opponents in the first period to reach the finals against a tough Sarah Gendler of Santa Teresa.
Moriah dominated the final match by scoring a takedown and two different sets of near fall points before pinning Gendler.
Moriah is currently undefeated in 10 matches this year with all wins by pin.
During the Christmas break she will be at the Olympic Training Center preparing for the Jan. 13 Asics Napa Valley Classic at Vintage High School in Napa.
This tournament features some of the best female wrestlers in the United States.
