Winslow 5th, Bartolome 6th at NCS

Pair misses qualifying for state meet this weekend|

Sonoma Valley High sophomore Tyler Winslow was fifth and senior Noah Bartolome was sixth in their respective weight classes at Saturday’s North Coast Section wrestling meet in Hayward.

Winslow, who was wrestling at 172 pounds, finished 5-2 in the tournament. He won his first two matches before losing 7-3 in the quarterfinals. He won his next two before losing 2-1 in the consolation semi-finals to the wrestler who eventually finished third.

“Although that’s not where Tyler wanted to place, he still had a very good tournament,” said Coach Nico Saldana. “Every wrestler who entered the mat against him could expect six minutes of high-paced wrestling.”

Bartolome, who was seeded third and wrestled at 182, ended up 3-3 in the tournament. He won three in a row to get into the semi-finals, before falling to the eventual champion from Liberty. He then lost his consolation semi-final match to the eventual third-place winner from De La Salle, 8-2.

“Even though his goal of advancing to the state tournament was gone, Noah still gutted out his fifth-, sixth-place match, dropping that match 7-6,” Saldana said. “This was definitely not how Noah saw his senior season ending.”

Other Dragon wrestlers who competed in the meet included freshman Ean Schiffman (122) who finished 0-2. “For his first year wrestling, at his first NCS tournament, Ean wrestled very well. At the rate of his progression, I can see Ean standing on the podium in the next couple of years.”

Sophomore Macklyn Liss was 1-2 at 128 pounds who Saldana said gained valuavble experience. Sophomore Andrew Beatty (134), was 2-2. “Andrew had a solid tournament,” Saldana said. “His first loss was to the eventual third-place winner, and the second was to the SCL champion from Healdsburg 3-0.”

Sophomore Ryan Sherwood (147) was 1-2 and also gained valuable experience. Junior Nick Biaggi (162) was injured and unable to compete.

Senior Aiden Van Heerden (197) was 0-2. “Though he wrestled valiantly, the 20 pounds he was giving up proved too much to overcome,” Saldana said. “But Aiden did prove his tenacity to compete losing 6-2 and 5-2. I have no doubt that at his proper weight class, Aiden would’ve come away some victories.”

At 222, junior Dean Dunham was 1-2 and won a competitive match. And at heavyweight, sophomore Gianni Palacio was 1-2. “As a natural 222 pounder, Gianni proved he could compete in the heavyweight division,” Saldana said. “In his second loss, he had the SCL champion almost beat before losing in the final minute.”

Saldana was pleased with how his wrestlers competed.

“Overall, I think we did better than expected. Without a doubt, there are some results that still sting for both the wrestlers and the coaches,” he said. “I say it over and over, this a tough sport, both physically and mentally. All of these wrestlers sacrifice a lot, so win or lose they should be commended for their efforts. It was a good year for the team, and I hope it’s a building block toward future success.”

Of the 10 wrestlers who qualified for the meet, only two were seniors.

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