It’s been a challenging 2014-15 season for the Sonoma Valley High School wrestling program, which was addressed by first-year head coach Tony Albini after Saturday’s Sonoma County League championship finals in Healdsburg.
“I’m so proud of these guys, and this team, for all the obstacles they had to overcome this season. From the accidental death of their legendary coach Deets (Winslow); to making adjustments to having a new head coach, and their questioning me numerous times about my coaching – compared to Deets, which I really appreciated; and our lack of lightweights which led to forfeiting four weight classes in each dual match,” said Albini. “Through it all these boys, who I respect so much, always gave it their best shot.”
After finishing the rough SCL dual-match campaign with a 2-4 record, the young Dragons, with only three seniors on the roster, ended their season with an uplifting effort at the SCL championships.
With just seven varsity boys competing, the Dragons – directed by Albini and assistant coaches John Bartolome and Scooter McAllister – finished the seven-team league tournament in fifth place, with Healdsburg taking the title, followed in the final standings by Analy, Petaluma, El Molino, Sonoma, Elsie Allen and Piner.
Of Sonoma’s seven wrestlers, six, impressively, reached the SCL finals and five grappled for weight-class first-place medals, with defending heavyweight division league champion junior Dalton Elster winning the only title in dominating fashion by pinning Petaluma’s Daniel Pacheco in the first round.
It was Elster’s third straight SCL medal after taking second place as a freshman.
The four Dragons who finished with well-earned second-place medals were senior Jake Randuch at 154 pounds; senior Giacomo Biaggi at 172; sophomore Noah Bartolome at 162; and freshman Dominic Biaggi at 134; while junior Austin Beltran missed a medal settling for fourth at 197; and junior Jake McDonald didn’t place at 147.
In the SCL junior varsity competition, Sonoma’s Henry Darnell Sazuma was a first-place medalist at 158 pounds; senior Jacob Little and junior David Price were second-place medalists at 158 and 136, respectively; sophomore Ryan Angeloni was a third-place medalist at 136; and frosh Mario Coronado just missed a medal at 132.
For five Dragons – Elster, Randuch, Bartolome and the Biaggi brothers – the postseason continues after qualifying for the North Coast Section championships, which take place Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27 and 28, at James Logan in Fremont.
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