A Tradition of Excellence
CIF Prelims
Capo Wrestling Fans should be proud of the effort that our wrestlers put forth in the two day CIF Southern Section Tournament at Chino Hills High School on Friday, February 16 and Saturday, February 17. There was not one bad match wrestled by any Cougar wrestler. Two wrestlers were eliminated by two point losses, one in O/T. Three of four wrestlers won matches, with one winning two matches and advancing to the second day. The following are the results by weight class order:
Brendan Seymour (sophomore) 112 lbs. CIF Tournament Record 2 - 2
Match # 1 - Lost to fourth seeded senior Francisco Cabrera of Santa Ana Valley by dec. 16 - 10.
Match # 2 - Beat unseeded sophomore Reggie Rubio of Silverado by dec. 15 - 6.
Match # 3 - Pinned eighth seeded junior John Moran of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at 4:19.
Match # 4 - Lost to fourteenth seeded junior Daniel Maldonado of San Jacinto by dec. 11 - 5.
Highlight #1 - Earning eligibility to be able to compete at League Finals & CIF.
Highlight #2 - Pinning Moran of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame with an elevator cradle.
Josh Neypes (sophomore) 119 lbs. CIF Tournament Record 1 - 2
Match # 1 - Pinned sixteenth seeded sophomore Matt Guevarra of Citrus Hill at 4:43.
Match # 2 - Lost to first seeded junior and eventual CIF Champion Jimmy Martinez of S.A. Valley by fall.
Match # 3 - Lost to eleventh seeded senior A.J. White of Dana Hills by dec. 4 - 2 O/T..
Highlight #1 - Winning first ever CIF match by totally dominating his opponent.
Highlight #2 - Taking down eventual CIF Champion in first period.
Allen Goddard (senior) 145 lbs. CIF Tournament Record 1 - 2
Match # 1 - Beat unseeded sophomore Garrett Davis of Savanna by dec. 11 - 6.
Match # 2 - Lost to first seeded senior Robert Sigala of San Jacinto by dec. 6 - 3.
Match # 3 - Lost to unseeded senior Josh Avila by dec. 15 - 13.
Highlight #1 - Close match against # 1 seed losing only 6 - 3. Injury time-outs helped opponent.
Highlight #2 - Third match may have been the most exciting match of the day. Kept coming back against opponent, losing a very close decision in a close match. 145 is a "monster" weight class.
Matt Neypes (junior) 171 lbs. CIF Tournament Record 0 - 2
Match #12 - Lost to seventh seeded senior Matt Mc Cauley of Silverado by fall.
Match # 2 - Lost to sixth seeded senior Jibri Jackson of Western by dec. 14 - 3.
Highlight #1 - Close first period in match # 1. One mistake decided match.
Highlight #2 - Hung tough with an older wrestler in Match # 2, who can best be described as " a stud". Frustrated opponent could not turn Matt in the end.
Eesa Latif (senior) 160 lbs. CIF Tournament Record 0 - 0.
Did not compete due to a family emergency. Eesa was missed by his teammates, and he was thought of often by the Cougar Wrestling Family. We hope for the best for Eesa and his family.
The overall tournament was won by San Clemente. The following South Coast League wrestlers were finalists: Stephen Vidmar (Sr.) - Tesoro - 112 lbs. 2nd. Bobby Scofield (Sr.) - Dana Hills - 130 lbs. 1st. Mike Brady (Sr.) - San Clemente - 152 lbs. 1st. Steve Sohanski (Sr.) - Aliso Niguel - 189 lbs. 2nd. Dovydas Kasradze (Jr.) - Mission Viejo - 215 lbs. 2nd.
As anyone can see we are in an extremely tough conference. Congratulations to the above wrestlers and good luck at Masters to all of the SCL qualifiers. All of us who attended were proud the Cougar wrestlers who competed. We were also proud of those wrestlers who came to support their fellow Cougar wrestlers. We needed an RV this year (thank you to the Goddards) . It would be nice to need a bus next year.
League Championships
League Finals was an exciting day for the Cougars, and this could be the start of many good years ahead for the program.
FROSH/SOPH
Putting on a very impressive performance was the Cougar Frosh/Soph team. The following wrestlers won their respective weight classes: Marcus De Jesus - 119 lbs. John Mullins - 160 lbs. Mike Maierhofer - 171 lbs. Winning League at any level is impressive, and is a good foundation to build on. Last years three Cougar Frosh/Soph Champions all qualified for CIF this year.
The following wrestlers placed second in their respective weight classes: Eric Cherpeski - 125 lbs. Alex Verbeerst - 130 lbs.
The following wrestlers placed third in their respective weight classes: Joseph Benudiz - 112 lbs. George Garcia - 189 lbs. Every Cougar wrestled hard and should be proud of their performance. Those not placing lost some very close matches that could have gone either way. This is just one person's opinion, but we have a lot of talent on this Frosh/Soph team top to bottom.
JV
Also doing an outstanding job was the Cougar's JV team who had six place winners. The following wrestlers won their respective weight classes: Katie Espinoza - 103 lbs. Jedidiah Spellum - 215 lbs. Talk about both ends of the weight spectrum. It was nice to see Katie earn a well deserved gold medal for all of her hard work. She is an outstanding wrestler with great technique. And it is encouraging that we finally had some success at one of the upper weights. We are all looking to seeing more of Jedidiah.
The following wrestler placed second in his weight class: Adan Florentino - 112 lbs. It was nice to see Adam do so well. He wrestled on the varsity team on several occasions during the season, and showed that he will be an asset in the near future.
The following wrestlers were third in their respective weight classes: Matt Han - 125 lbs. Felipe Mendoza - 160 lbs. Michael Lipert - 171 lbs. Congratulations to all those who placed, and also to those who came close. The entire JV team has a lot to be proud of.
VARSITY
This season's varsity team had five wrestlers move on to CIF. This is a great improvement over last year when only one Cougar (Ryan Houlihan) qualified. The following wrestlers will compete in the tournament that begins on Friday, February 16.
Eesa Latif (160) was the Cougars top qualifier, placing second. He is a technically sound wrestler, who gives his all for six minutes. Eesa has been a welcome addition to the team, competing in a very tough weight class. He is one of those kids who sets a good example for the younger members of the team by his actions and the results he gets on the mat. A senior, Eesa will be missed by the entire Cougar wrestling family.
Allen Goddard (145) fought through a tough weight class and an injury to place third. Allen had to be helped to the staging area by his brother (Coach Goddard) after his final victory. His knee was a lot bigger than it should have been, and it was surprising that he finished so strongly. Allen also set an example for the younger wrestlers by showing how far heart can carry you when the going gets tough. A senior, he will also missed by the Cougar wrestling family.
Matt Neypes (171) showed that he has matured into a very good wrestler, placing third. The improvement over last year is noticeable, and Matt is the type of wrestler who gives his all from the first whistle to the end of the match. Matt was one of the three Frosh/Soph champions from last year. A junior, Matt will be back next year and should improve throughout the summer. That should make all Cougar wrestling fans happy.
Josh Neypes (119) continued his outstanding sophomore season by placing third. Josh has also improved tremendously over last year, and has developed several slick moves to go along with his natural strength and toughness. Josh was also one of the three Frosh/Soph champions from last year. Cougar fans can expect great things from Josh in the future knowing how hard he will work this off-season.
Brendan Seymour (112) returned to the line-up after an extended absence and placed third. It looked like he would make the finals when he held two time CIF qualifier Matt Welch (SC) on his back for over 1 minute during the first period. He entered the third period with a lead before running out of gas and being pinned in the final seconds. As a freshman, Brendan was one of the three Frosh/Soph champions last year. Like Josh and Matt, he has a great deal of potential.
Every member of the Varsity team wrestled hard, and we have talent beyond the five qualifiers mentioned above. Next season we start with four CIF qualifiers (this year and last year) in the line-up. This makes the future of the Cougar wrestling program look bright.
UPLAND BLACKWATCH 12/28-29/2006
The Cougars finished a very respectable 25th of 51 teams entered and again had two place-winners.
Alan Goddard won six consecutive matches in the consolation round to place fourth overall at 152 lbs. Unless you have wrestled it is hard to appreciate how difficult it is to come back in such a large tournament after losing your first match in the first round. His 6-2 tournament record was outstanding.
Essa Latif went 4-2 for the tournament and lost his fist match of the tournament in the semi-finals. Making it to the semis in a tournament of this size shows this wrestler has a chance to make a statement at CIF and beyond.
Congratulations to these two wrestlers, and all of the Cougars who competed.
El Toro Dual Meet 12/19/06
There was yelling, bleacher stomping and bodies hitting the mat as El Toro hosted Capistrano Valley in nonleague wrestling Tuesday.
Both squads had highlight points during the match. El Toro (9-4-1) started with a pin by heavyweight Matt Murphy over the Cougars Andrew Alvarado.
El Toro’s Brian Bardzik was bumped up to varsity for this match and got through two near falls, turning his opponent at 112 onto the mat for a pin with 16 seconds left.
Later El Toro’s Shawn Lorenz (125) made the team score 18-9 as he pinned Capo’s Eric Cherpeski in the second period.
Trailing the Chargers, 33-9, the Cougars roared back with pins by Doug Kalagian (145), Team captain Allen Goddard (152), Eesa Latif (160) and Matt Neypes (171) to tie the match at 33-33.
El Toro took the lead, 39-33, on a forfeit by Capo, so it came down to a deciding final bout.
In the 215 matchup Capo’s Javier Arriaga took on El Toro’s Anthony Raigosa and the two battled to a 0-0 score after the first period.
But Arriaga gave Raigosa fits in the second and finally pinned him at 1:02 to end the meet, 39-39.
(by Virginia Lozez, as printed in the OC Register)
Mission Viejo High School Dual Meet 12/14/2006
The Cougars lost to a much improved Mission team by the score of 65-15.
Though the score may appear to be one sided there were a few close matches.
Katie Espinosa, despite a painful knee injury, held on in a close match before losing by fall in the third period.
Junior Ryan Houlihan, jumping up four weight classes from last year, won a one sided 13 -3 decision at 130 lbs. Ryan was a CIF qualifier in 2006 as a sophomore.
The Cougars forfeited three weight classes and won by forfeit at 160 lbs.
At 119 lbs., Josh Neypes won by fall at 1:39 of the first period. The win was impressive due to the outstanding "firemen's carry" takedown and control gained directly after. Josh is only a sophomore but has incredible natural strength, and a mean cross face (Reporter's favorite move).
(by Chuck Seymour)
IRVINE INVITATIONAL 12/9/2006
(Andrew Pena Classic)
The Cougars finished 14th of 21 teams in but had two place-winners.
Alan Goddard won three consecutive matches in the championship round to place second overall at 152 lbs. This is a very tough weight class, and his 3-1 record for the tournament is quite impressive.
Josh Neypes won three consecutive matches in the consolation round to place third overall at 119 lbs. He also won his first match of the championship round giving him a 4-1 record for the tournament.
Essa Latif went 2-2 for the tournament at the ultra competitive 160 lb. weight class. He lost a very close decision in his final match that would have given him a third place finish.
Congratulations to these three wrestlers, and all of the Cougars who competed.
(by Chuck Seymour)