Sonoma wrestlers take 7th at Healdsburg

Getting their first full dose of new-season action, the Sonoma Valley High School varsity wrestlers competed in the annual Healdsburg Duals on Saturday and, without a complete lineup, still took home a seventh-place finish in the 16-team field.

Battling in their pool matches, the Dragons defeated Rancho Cotate and edged San Ramon, but lost to tough Benicia, which put them in the B-bracket, where they were upended by both Cardinal Newman and Los Gatos and ended up with a 2-3 overall record.

Sonoma’s individual standouts in the Healdsburg Duals were seniors Jake Randuch and Jack Biaggi, and sophomore Noah Bartolome.

Randuch posted a 4-1 record at 152 pounds, which included an impressive upset victory over a Benicia wrestler ranked in the North Coast Section’s top-10.

Bartolome went 3-2 at 160 pounds and beat a Benicia wrestler ranked in the NCS top-five.

Biaggi finished with a solid 3-2 mark at 170 pounds.

“Had we been able to fill all weight classes, which will be a problem for us this year, we would have had a better chance at placing higher,” said Sonoma’s first-year head coach Tony Albini. “We need more bodies and what’s great about wrestling is that it helps all sports in the end, building stamina, agility, strength and character. It will only make athletes better at whatever sport they play in the spring, summer or fall seasons. If anyone Sonoma athlete is interested, we have until Jan. 15, to add anymore athletes to the roster.”

On Friday, the junior varsity Dragons wrestled the Healdsburg Jayvee Duals, with freshman Henry Darnell winning all three of his matches and capturing a gold medal.

After a two-week holiday break, the Sonoma grapplers will host their inaugural Deets Winslow Invitational, which was formerly the Valley of the Moon Wrestling Classic, named in tribute to Deets Winslow, the Dragons’ most successful wrestling coach, who was killed in a late-summer boating accident.

The one day tournament will take place on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, starting at 9 a.m. in Pfeiffer Gym.

Rounding out Sonoma’s wrestling squad – directed by Albini and assistant coaches Scooter McAlister, Eduardo Hernandez and John Bartolome – are senior Jacob Little; juniors Dalton Elster, Aeden Haywood, Jake McDonald, David Price and Brandon Ruiz; sophomores Evan Alcantar, Ryan Angeloni, Charles Shahoian, Victory Vazquez and Noah White; and freshmen Valentino Battaglini, Dominic Biaggi, Mario Coronado, Dean Dunham and Andrew McGrath.