Deets Winslow Invitational ?brings another first for Tyler

Saturday’s 11-team tournament brought host Sonoma Valley fifth place, but the young team had reason to hope better things might lie ahead.|

Following the inspiration of the legendary Deets Winslow, his son Tyler Winslow won his third Winslow Memorial Trophy in his weight class, and doing it in “dominant fashion,” as Coach Nicol Saldana put it, pinning all of his opponents.

Saturday’s 11-team tournament brought host Sonoma Valley fifth place, but the young team had reason to hope better things might lie ahead. The tournament was won by Corning Union of the Sacramento Valley, second place went to Santa Rosa’s Casa Grande, with third going to Dixon.

Junior Macklyn Liss was another top performer, winning third place in his weight, with only a single loss marring his 4-1 day.

Freshman Lawson Lee also fared well, taking fourth place and showing promise for three more years of varsity wrestling. “Lawson wrestled tough and continues to develop, and he shows it when he takes the mat,” said Saldana. Other freshman who competed in their first high school tournament included Wyatt Pagh, James Bounds and Dashyl Liss.

Sophomore Ean Schiffman also placed fourth, again showing that Dragon wrestlers only need time to once again become a league powerhouse in the sport.

Dominico “Nick” Biaggi, a winner in last year’s tourney and a strong competitor, was unable to compete due to injuries.

Sonoma Valley took second place in last year’s Deets Winslow Invitational, but Saldana stayed optimistic on the team’s future. “Overall the tournament was a success,” he said, pointing out the number of new teams who showed up in Sonoma for the annual tournament, named for Coach Deets Winslow who died in a boating accident in 2014.

Coach Saldana made it a point to thank the local businesses who helped make the tournament a success, including Mary’s Pizza Shack for donating food, Terri’s Coffee Cart for donating coffee and Basque Boulangerie for bread, as well as the Schoeninigh family for help in a number of ways.

Next up for the wrestling teams is the Prince of the Mat tournament for JV grapplers, and the King of the Mat for varsity, held in Windsor on Friday, Jan. 19 and Saturday, Jan. 20, respectively.

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