M-A wins girls CCS wrestling team title; Four place first

There wasn’t a whole lot in the way of uncertainty about it. You’re hard to beat when you have seven wrestlers in the finals.

Menlo-Atherton won its third consecutive Central Coast Section girls wrestling championship Saturday at Independence High. Now the Bears will see what they can do about improving on last year’s fourth-place finish at the state finals.

“This is the best team we’ve put together,’’ said M-A coach Phillip Hoang. “There are some real good teams out there. Everybody will have to be at their peak level. They want it. But whether we go there and win or not the main thing is to have a lot of fun.’’

Evelyn Calhoon (121), Lauren McDonnell (137), Abby Ericson (160) and Folashade Akinola (189) won individual CCS championships. Paola Ramirez (116), Angie Bautista (126) and Anna Smith (131) contributed second-place finishes. M-A finished with 221.5 points, Half Moon Bay was second with 170.

Gunn’s Alia Drescher racked up five pins en route to a third place finish and a bid to the state championships next week in Bakersfield.

After falling in the first round, Drescher set off on a six-match win streak that included victories over three of the top six seeds.

Titan sophomore Mikayla Silverman also secured herself a spot at the state championships, placing fourth at 150.

Palo Alto’s Alexandra Lee placed fourth at 121 to qualify for the state meet.

Gunn’s Audrey Tsien was sixth at 160 and Palo Alto’s Amelia Clough sixth at 189. Lee, Drescher and Silverman are joined by Palo Alto’s Ashley Wang, who made it to the 121 final.

Calhoon, who will compete in soccer in college at Brown, pinned Wang in 0:34.

“It was the first time my soccer teammates were watching,’’ Calhoon said, pointing to the large contingent of spectators decked out in M-A colors in a section of the stands. “I feel bad they drove all this way.’’

While her soccer teammates didn’t get to see Calhoon in action for long, they were undoubtedly pleased with the result.

“It was a nice way to go out after four years of hard work for me and my teammates to do this in front of this big crowd,’’ Calhoon said. “I’ve never been on a team quite like this one.’’

McDonnell defended the crown she won last year with a pin in 3:31 over Annie Hua of Fremont, the same opponent she met in last year’s final. McDonnell will be out to improve on her fifth-place finish at last year’s state meet.

“This time I will look to show what I learned the past year,’’ McDonnell said.

She isn’t sure where she will attend college, but said none of the schools she’s applied to have a women’s wrestling team.

“I’d like to start a club team or an intramural,’’ McDonnell said.

Wherever she goes she will look back with pride at the legacy she and her teammates created at M-A.

“The girls that are coming back will have a great future maintaining the culture of the team, the camaraderie and friendships,’’ McDonnell said.

Ericson won the 160-pound title by default.

Then in the match with historical significance everyone on hand was waiting for, Akinola took a 12-6 decision over Juliannah Bolli of Silver Creek, joining Gunn’s Cadence Lee as the second four-time CCS champion in the annals of girls wrestling.

Akinola set the tone in introductions when she did a cartwheel after being announced.

“I practiced around the corner,’’ she said, with a laugh.

Her athleticism was also on display once the match started. At times she seemed to be almost playing with her opponent as well as playing to her fans in the crowd.

Akinola placed second at last year’s state meet — an impressive achievement considering she was coming off an ACL injury. Her goals this year include nothing less than both individual and team state championships.

In the boys side of the CCS wrestling championships, Palo Alto took fifth place with 113.5 points. The dynastic program at Gilroy won its 16th consecutive CCS championship.

Andrew Wang, the No. 3 seed at 126, earned a berth at the state meet, advancing to the final where he lost to Victor Jacinto of Gilroy 3-0.

Other Paly wrestlers who made it up on the CCS podium were Peter Graham (fifth at 113) Adar Schwarzbach (sixth at 132), Dara Heydarpour (fourth at 138) and Cade Creighton (fourth at 145).

Gunn’s Timothy Waymouth took sixth at 152 and Dash Lee placed fifth at 182. Lee ends his season with a 26-13 record. Waymouth ends his season with a 28-8 record.