On Jan 12, 2008 nine Valley Christian Varsity wrestlers and their coaches Oscar Gonzales Jr & Sr, coach Ryan and coach Galaviz  traveled to Concord, California to compete in what has been traditionally considered one of the toughest one day tournaments in the state. It featured 30 high profile teams from mostly the North Coast Section and the North Section. However it did host a couple of CCS teams (Valley Christian & Saint Frances). 3 featured teams came from as far away as Nevada. Thus this tournament attracted a lot of attention from abroad.  The featured teams included:

Antioch, Armijo, Clayton Valley, College Park, Concord, Damonte Ranch, Douglas, Foothill - Palo Cedro, Foothill – Pleasanton, Freedom, Galena, George Washington, Hanford West, Hayward, Irvington, Napa, Oak Ridge, Red Bluff, Reno, San Marin, Shasta, St. Francis, St. Patrick St. Vincent, Terra Linda, Terra Nova, Valley Christian, Washington-Fremont, Washington Union, Woodland and Ygnacio Valley

Upon entering the auditorium and witnessing the large numbers of wrestlers warming up and spanding from one end of the gym to the other, one immediately got the sense that the tournament was going to be stacked and as competitive as it has been hyped to be.
This venue however was nothing new to returning varsity wrestlers Charlie Galaviz, Mafoe James, Adam Crawley, Michael Sherwood, Peipe James and Christopher Van Elderen, but it was a new experience and a new venue for wrestlers Chris Tozer, Nick Crawley and Jordan Osuna. Although we don’t see this level of wrestling week in and week out, the story line of success for our wrestling warriors continues to play out much like any other week. We come to wrestle with confidence and we find ways to beat many of the best wrestlers in town. We had some disappointments though but overall we exceeded our expectations and placed 5 wrestlers (1-Champion, 1-2nd place, 2-5th place and 1-6th place).

Coaches Oscar Gonzalez Jr. and Oscar Gonzalez Sr. said we wrestled very very well this weekend. We wrestled at a higher level. This was something we needed to see since we are now midway into the season with still the hardest tournaments still ahead of us. Coach Ryan whom normally supports JV tournaments was also impressed with the heart and fight our wrestlers displayed on the mat. It is one thing to see these guys drill in the wrestling room at Valley and another to see them apply their technique and poor their heart and soul into each match. He said it was a great experience to have witnessed this and honored to have played a small part in their success.

Please see a summary of all individual results below:

112 lbs
Jodan Osuna 1-2

Jordan now a veteran to this level of wrestling found himself in a weight class that was pretty stacked. However he did have some success in the neutral position and also managed to pull off some incredible reversals.                                                                    

130 lbs
Nick Crawley 0-2

This was Nick’s first varsity tournament.
He was brought up from the JV squad because he has shown a lot of growth and dedication. Although he went 0-2, he did demonstrate varsity level poise, hand control and lots of heart

140 lbs
Adam Jordan Crawley 2-1 + Injury Def
6th Place Honors

AJ did his best wrestling of the year at the Clayton Valley Inv. Right out of the gate AJ enjoyed two dominating wins. However due to an ailing shoulder injury he sustained in an earlier match and a severe leg cramp, he had to default his last match.

145 lbs
Christopher Van Elderen 0-2

CJ is unquestionably the quickest wrestler on the team. He regularly uses his speed when shooting double-leg take downs. But this weekend he ran into tough opponents that had great counters to this type of offensive attack.

171 lbs
Charlie Galaviz 3-1
2nd Place Honors

Charlie pinned his first two opponents using hard single leg takedowns and squeaked by a difficult Central Valley wrestler in the semis. Charlie narrowly lost to the #1 seed in his weight class and #1 ranked wrestler in CCS.

189 lbs
Michael Sherwood 0-2

Michael is a strong JV wrestler who regularly is called upon to fill open varsity positions. This weekend was no different. Michael wrestled 189’s and did his best wrestling in the neutral position.

215 lbs
Peipe James 4-0
Tournament Champion and Outstanding Upperweight Wrestler

LJ who is currently ranked 5th in CCS demonstrated to Northern California he is Bakerfield bound by winning the 215 lb weight class with honors (OW). Expect to see him move up the charts in the next few weeks.

189 lbs
Mafoe james 3-2
5th Place Honors

This was Mafoe’s first varsity tournament of the year. He wrestled well and amazed his coaches and teammates with his relentless power, great balance and good leg riding skills. Mafoe like last year captured 5th place honors.

Hwt
Christopher Tozer 3-2
5th Place Honors

Chris who was seeded #1 this tournament destroyed his first two opponents by fall in the first period. However while on pace for a championship title Chris suffered an unexpected upset to an equally strong and agile hwt from Freedom High School.