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| Trojan Pacific wins silver in Sacramento's Tim Brown tourney |
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By Liz Kane, Mother Lode News
SACRAMENTO - The Tim Brown Memorial wrestling tournament is a measurement of talent leading into the post
season. While no El Dorado County wrestler won gold in the two-day tournament at Sacramento's Memorial Auditorium,
there were 11 medalists.
Oak Ridge 119-pounder Joey Pacific was the only silver medalist, pinned in the final by Chase Aura of Foothill-
Pleasanton.
“I've wanted to get into the finals since I was a freshman,” the senior said. “I took eighth last year. I've got to work on my
positioning, that's what got me. I need more balance on the bottom.”
Four wrestlers took third but none faced more controversy than Ponderosa's Lyndell Scarr (189). The junior was
penalized a point for not taping his shoelaces in the semifinal. It ended in a 1-1 tie and the penalty cost him the match.
Tied 1-1 in his bout for third, he and his opponent earned escape points through regulation and two overtime periods.
Scarr started on top in sudden-death OT, and after his opponent stood up, Scarr held his leg to avoid giving up the
escape. He was called for stalling, bringing coaches Tyson Escobar and Soren Murphy out to protest.
“That's what you do, that was his job,” Escobar said. “You have to ride it out for 30 seconds and that's essentially
stalling.” During the discussion, the timer indicated the call came after time had run out, further confusing things.
Whether the argument was won or the timer was correct, the issue was put to rest when Scarr's arm was raised in
victory. “I thought I had lost,” Scarr said. “He was a big tough kid and it was hard to set up my shots. It ended up a
defensive match and seeing who made the first mistake.”
El Dorado's Jordan Williams (171), back after breaking his leg, was distracted by a uniform problem in a two-point loss
to Winters' Jesse Hellinger, a ranked wrestler he defeated last week. Williams later rebounded and took third with a
narrow 3-1 decision.
Union Mine's Cody Tow (125) said “it's just not my day,” after losing in overtime in the semis. He battled back to take
third with a 3-1 decision in the final. Oak Ridge sophomore Vinny Waldhauser (145) pinned his opponent in the third
period to finish third.
Diamondback Aaron DeKalb (135) and Ponderosa's Tim Ditrich (103) and Bret Blubaugh (160) overcame early losses
to go undefeated. But because a Friday night consolation round was held over to Saturday, the three wrestled the limit
of five times in a day and were awarded fifth-place ties. Bruin Jesse Routsong (130) lost 4-2 in OT to take sixth.
Trojan Ka'von Tillotson (HWT) was seventh, winning his final bout with a last-second take down. Bruin Kyle Meniketti
(112) was pinned in his last match to finish eighth.
season. While no El Dorado County wrestler won gold in the two-day tournament at Sacramento's Memorial Auditorium,
there were 11 medalists.
Oak Ridge 119-pounder Joey Pacific was the only silver medalist, pinned in the final by Chase Aura of Foothill-
Pleasanton.
“I've wanted to get into the finals since I was a freshman,” the senior said. “I took eighth last year. I've got to work on my
positioning, that's what got me. I need more balance on the bottom.”
Four wrestlers took third but none faced more controversy than Ponderosa's Lyndell Scarr (189). The junior was
penalized a point for not taping his shoelaces in the semifinal. It ended in a 1-1 tie and the penalty cost him the match.
Tied 1-1 in his bout for third, he and his opponent earned escape points through regulation and two overtime periods.
Scarr started on top in sudden-death OT, and after his opponent stood up, Scarr held his leg to avoid giving up the
escape. He was called for stalling, bringing coaches Tyson Escobar and Soren Murphy out to protest.
“That's what you do, that was his job,” Escobar said. “You have to ride it out for 30 seconds and that's essentially
stalling.” During the discussion, the timer indicated the call came after time had run out, further confusing things.
Whether the argument was won or the timer was correct, the issue was put to rest when Scarr's arm was raised in
victory. “I thought I had lost,” Scarr said. “He was a big tough kid and it was hard to set up my shots. It ended up a
defensive match and seeing who made the first mistake.”
El Dorado's Jordan Williams (171), back after breaking his leg, was distracted by a uniform problem in a two-point loss
to Winters' Jesse Hellinger, a ranked wrestler he defeated last week. Williams later rebounded and took third with a
narrow 3-1 decision.
Union Mine's Cody Tow (125) said “it's just not my day,” after losing in overtime in the semis. He battled back to take
third with a 3-1 decision in the final. Oak Ridge sophomore Vinny Waldhauser (145) pinned his opponent in the third
period to finish third.
Diamondback Aaron DeKalb (135) and Ponderosa's Tim Ditrich (103) and Bret Blubaugh (160) overcame early losses
to go undefeated. But because a Friday night consolation round was held over to Saturday, the three wrestled the limit
of five times in a day and were awarded fifth-place ties. Bruin Jesse Routsong (130) lost 4-2 in OT to take sixth.
Trojan Ka'von Tillotson (HWT) was seventh, winning his final bout with a last-second take down. Bruin Kyle Meniketti
(112) was pinned in his last match to finish eighth.
JOEY PACIFIC, a
119-pound wrestler
for Oak Ridge, was
the only El Dorado
County wrestler to
win a silver medal in
the prestigious
tournament. Mother
Lode News photo by
Pat Dollins
119-pound wrestler
for Oak Ridge, was
the only El Dorado
County wrestler to
win a silver medal in
the prestigious
tournament. Mother
Lode News photo by
Pat Dollins