Exeter headlines Orange Belt wrestling at CIF Masters
As one of the best of its series, “Rocky III” featured a nice twist in the plot in which the Italian Stallion trained with his former nemesis, Apollo Creed, in order to defeat his new nemeses, Clubber Lang.
Just one day before the CIF Central Section Masters wrestling tournament, Granite Hills’ Micky Phanthavong found himself without a sparring partner to prepare for Saturday’s foe: Kerman’s Mikeal Ruiz.
The 137-pound Phanthavong couldn’t get help from his Grizzly teammates, who were either engaged in the upcoming baseball season or unskilled enough to hang with him.
So Phanthavong’s coach, Marty Kouyoumtjian, picked up the phone and dialed cross town to good old Porterville High, where wrestling coach Tim Vanni answered.
“We were hoping (Porterville’s 132-pounder) Shane Yacuta could work out with him,” Kouyoumtjian said. “And he had no problem with it.”
For 45 minutes Friday afternoon, the two grappled on the Panthers’ mat, honing down their moves. Both coaches watched, even handing out pointers to their rivals’ kid.
“I gave Shane some tips about how I personally do some things and Tim talked to Micky a few times,” Kouyoumtjian said. “I think they take it more to heart when they see that it’s not just their own coach teaching those things. I think both of them should do really well tomorrow.”
The tournament, which takes place at East Bakersfield High at 9 a.m. today, features 10 wrestlers from the Sequoia and Yosemite leagues in each weight division.
Fourth-seeded Yacuta, who, coincidentally, also faces an opponent from Kerman (Kevin Rojas), and No. 3 Phanthavong are two of the eight representatives from the Orange Belt.
Exeter headlines the bunch with four entrants of its own.
The Monarchs’ 127-pounder Robert Patino placed highest of the bunch with the second seed in the bracket and faces No. 4 Chris Calcagno of Clovis North.
Patino was recently ranked as the Central Valley’s fourth-best in his division.
Fellow Exeter lightweight Lupe Flores (105 pounds) will actually go head to head with another Orange Belter — Monache’s Harley Davis.
The winner of this matchup faces highly touted Daniel Gayton of Clovis, who is ranked No. 2 overall in the Valley behind Selma’s Alex Cisneros.
Fourth-seeded Jason Gagnon will also represent Exeter against East’s Peter Gonzalez. Should Gagnon advance, he will face an old enemy in Selma’s AJ Valles, who ranks at the top of the Valley in the 121-pound division.
The Bears visited the Monarchs on Jan. 29 and escaped with a one-point win. Gagnon gave Valles a scare in their meet, but eventually went down.
The final Monarch traveling to Bakersfield is 191-pounder John Parker, who will take a shot at No. 3 Rodolfo Juarez (Central High).
Parker and Gagnon earned honorable mentions in their respective weight classes, while Flores garnered the eighth ranking in the 105-pound division.
Aside from Davis, Monache is sending its fourth-seeded, 137-pounder -— Gabe Ramirez — to take on No. 2 Joe Filipe, of Coalinga.
Ramirez finished just behind Phanthavong in the 135-pound class at No. 7.
Kouyoumtjian said the training between Phanthavong and Yacuta worked out because it was a “non-threatening environment.”
Ramirez, who is wrestling on the opposite side of the bracket — and could potentially meet up with — Phanthavong today, conveniently has a twin brother from the Marauders’ squad to spar with — Alex.
As for Yacuta, Vanni is hoping his fourth-seeded pupil gets a second shot after missing weight last season.
“I think he should’ve qualified last year, but that’s old news,” Vanni said. “I haven’t seen (Rojas) at all this season, but we know he’s No. 7 in his class. I think the chances are good for Shane.”
Kouyoumtjian said both Phanthavong and Yacuta were dealing with some end-of-season wear-and-tear, however, but both are basically 100 percent and ready to go.
