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14 wrestlers capture titles at Engel Tournament
[January 16, 2012]

14 wrestlers capture titles at Engel Tournament


ESCALON, Jan 16, 2012 (The Modesto Bee - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Beyer High senior Gage Parkison, sweating through the final 10 seconds of his title match, watched as his coach Tim Louis thumped his heart and then pointed to his forehead.



The message was unmistakable.

"I've got to have heart, but I have to use my head at the same time," Parkison said. "We work on heart and conditioning, because that's what wins matches." All that cardio attention, relating to both the muscle and the effort, came in handy Saturday in Parkison's 6-3 victory over Oakdale's Jake Jacobson in the 127-pound final of the Lloyd C. Engel Tournament.


Parkison (20-4) joined 220-pound teammate Jose Garcia in the winner's circle at Escalon High, which was stretched to the maximum to welcome 32 teams. Many of them, including an Elk Grove squad which trotted out a meet-leading three champions, found a new home after the 11th-hour cancelation of the Big Valley Classic in Stockton.

"A few too many teams, but we were happy to accommodate everybody," Escalon coach Derek Scott said. "Our volunteers put in a long day." It didn't hurt local morale that 138-pound Escalon senior Dylan Furtado and 145-pounder Jason Robbins annexed titles. Furtado (27-4) clinched his third straight Engel gold medal -- he blanked Gregori's Anthony Caito 8-0 -- and was named the meet's outstanding middleweight and top overall wrestler.

Furtado, 3-2 at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters in 2011, has placed in each tournament this season. A sixth at the Sierra Nevada in Reno and a third at Elk Grove fueled the momentum he brought into his own gym.

"It feels great to end this tournament here with another win," Furtado said. "I'm focused on going to State.

So was everyone else, of course, at the Engel, a tradition-steeped event which began in 1965. The unique format seeds wrestlers into one of four brackets during the first day, topped by the A Bracket qualifiers on Saturday. The result is the gaining of experience against opponents similar in caliber.

Garcia (22-4), a winner last week at Turlock's Bulldog Classic, made it two straight by outlasting Kyle Cupit of Oakdale 6-1. Robbins rallied from behind and pinned Trea Providence of Ponderosa with a minue left.

Gregori's Dean Duivenvoorden, like Garcia, made it a Turlock-Escalon double with a convincing 12-0 win over Ponderosa's Jacob Richards in the 182-pound final. Duivenvoorden was named the meet's outstanding heavyweight. Lightweight honors went to Tristen Scott of Elk Grove (106).

One of the better under-the-radar performances was turned in by Johansen's Jaime Recio, the 152-pound champion. Recio (28-2), third at the Engel last year, made Enochs' Cole Severns his sixth victim in two tournament days 8-3.

That victory cemented his third straight meet trophy after victories at Natomas and Grenada. Recio was especially proud of his semifinal decision over Escalon's Jonathon Costa, a former state qualifier.

"I'm putting more hours into wrestling," Recio said, and here's his daily regimen: Up at 5 a.m. to lift for 30 minutes, an hour of mat work with Johansen coach Jordan Keckler, classes and then a lifting-practicing repeat.

"I'm not letting people get to my legs this year," Recio said. "I've got a better stance and a better base." Summerville vaulted three into the finals and picked up a victory when senior Brady Day (21-3) pinned Escalon's Tyler Lawrence in the second round. Andrew Brennan, Day's teammate, dropped the 106-pound title match to Scott 11-4. Oakdale 195-pounder Hondo Arpoika stopped Cole Busch of Summerville 6-1.

Beyer sophomore Paul Fagabilla (121) qualified for his first final but was pinned by Roger Berton of Folsom in 5:24.

Manteca's Charlie Alvitre built a large lead but tired in the third round and was pinned in the closing seconds by Ethan Larrabee of Elk Grove.

Jesse McDaniel of Hughson was victorious in the 160-pound final by pinning Garrett Wade of Escalon in 2:40.

Heavyweight Jeff Camilli of Ponderosa closed the long day with a 9-7 decision over Jaharee Taylor of Elk Grove.

___ (c)2012 The Modesto Bee (Modesto, Calif.) Visit The Modesto Bee (Modesto, Calif.) at www.modbee.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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