The Sonoma Valley High Dragon grapplers started fast with three straight pins in Wednesday night’s dual meet against Petaluma, but forfeits in four weight classes probably cost the Dragons the meet.
Petaluma eked out a one-point win, 37-36.
Dragon Coach Nico Saldana thought the Dragons had a chance to beat the Trojans, but the four forfeits cost Sonoma 24 points.
Sophomore Tyler Winslow (195 pounds) made quick work of Petaluma’s Daniel DeCarli, pinning him in 28 seconds. Junior Dean Dunham (220) also recorded a pin over Derek Honey, but it took Dunham 55 seconds for the win. And sophomore Gianni Palacio, who was bumped up from 220 to heavyweight, pinned Brittany Sousa in 49 seconds.
But Sonoma forfeited the 106, 120, 132 and 145 pound classes which put the Dragons in a hole.
At 113 pounds, freshman Zander Casillas went three rounds with Mclaren Shattuck, before a two-point reversal in the third round gave Casillas an 8-7 win.
Sophomore Macklyn Liss (126) lost a 9-0 decision to Connor Pedersen. At 138, sophomore Andrew Beatty topped L. O’Neil, 4-1. Freshman Hank Schoneigh (152), seeing his first varsity action, was pinned by Curtin Goughnour in the first round.
At 160, junior Nick Biaggi, who was seeing his first action of the season after nursing an injury, pinned Derrick Pomi in the third period.
Biaggi’s pin put the Dragons within striking distance of the Trojans at 30-34, but the Dragons would need to win the last two matches.
“We needed first-year senior Aiden VanHeerden (170) to come through with a win in his first varsity competition,” said Saldana. “This was a tall order considering his opponent (Dominic Ayers) was a seasoned competitor who used his experience to come away with a 4-3 win.”
“Aiden made some rookie mistakes, but the future’s bright,” Saldana added.
In the final match, senior Noah Bartolome (182) pinned Eric Coats at the 1:32 mark of the first period.
But the Dragons came up a point short at 37-36.
Sonoma will be back in action next Wednesday, Jan. 11, when they host Piner in another SCL meet.
The following Saturday, Jan. 14, the Dragons host the annual Deets Winslow Memorial Tournament.
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