2011-12 Calaveras Wrestling Season Summary

     After graduating 9 seniors from the 2010-11 Mother Lode League and D5 Section Championship Wrestling Team, not too many people were expecting Calaveras to compete for the league or section championship this year. Most people thought this was reaffirmed after our preseason dual meets, a 42-33 loss to Lodi and a 36-33 win over Tokay. At this point in the season, most felt we didn’t have the power or depth to repeat the previous year's accolades. But most people tend to forget how much our teams usually improve during the season.
     When the league season rolled around in January, the Redskins seemed to be getting better every week. We opened the league season with wins over Amador, 64-9, and Argonaut, 46-21. Rights of Passage was next but didn’t pose much of a threat as they went down in defeat, 66-12. At the start of the season, on paper, Summerville and BH were the two teams to beat in the MLL. With this in mind and trying to make a statement, the Redskins pounded the Bears, 43-22. There was no doubt the Redskins were back! Next up was Linden, who fell 56-18 to the much improved Calaveras Redskins. This brought us to the regular season dual finale against BH. It was a battle of unbeatens as the Redskins and Bullfrogs squared off in the Mike Flock Gym. In a very exciting match that featured seven lead changes and the team score tied four times, the Redskins prevailed in front of a packed house to take a 39-30 victory and win the Mother Lode League Dual Meet Championship for the 5^th year in a row. Even though there was only a 9 point differential in the team score, we actually won 9 of 14 individual matches but didn’t have as many pins as BH. The next weekend we wrestled in the D5 Section Dual Meet Championships, losing to Escalon, 42-25, in the semifinals. Escalon then lost to Ripon in the finals.
     In years past, we have always been known for our ability to peak at the right time and this year was no exception. So it was no surprise to us when we won the league tournament by almost 30 points. Calaveras placed all 14 varsity wrestlers with six champions, two runners up, three 3^rd placers and three 4^th placers for our 6^th MLL Tournament Championship in a row. All 14 of our wrestlers qualified for the Division 5 Section Championship the following week.
     Heading into the D5 Section Tournament, most fans and coaches thought Calaveras would finish a distant third to Escalon and Ripon, who both finished ahead of Calaveras at the Section Duals two weeks before, but again most people didn’t realize or forgot our ability to get better as the season progressed. Going into the semifinals on the second day of the tournament, Escalon, Ripon and Calaveras were in a very tight team race. However, after Calaveras landed five wrestlers into the finals, we opened up a huge lead and would never be challenged for the lead. With two champions, three runners up, two 3^rd placers, one 4^th placer and two 6^th placers the Redskins won the tournament by over 44 points, a larger margin of victory than the league tournament. This was our second D5 Section title in as many years.
     The following week at the Masters Tournament, with the competition tightening up, only one Calaveras wrestler was able to place. Justin Brown, only a junior, competing in an extremely tough weight class, placed 7^th and qualified to the state tournament for the second year in a row. The next week we traveled to Bakersfield for the state, where Justin lost two, very close, one point matches. Though disappointed, it was good experience for Justin, who finished the season with a 40-11 record. Justin is currently 15^th on our all time wins list and is only a junior!
     The team did an outstanding job this year. Not only will they be remembered for the great improvement they showed all year, but also for their mental strength and stamina battling injuries and sickness while peaking to win the league and section titles. We are only graduating three seniors from our starting lineup. Many of our returning lettermen have worked hard this spring in our off season program and another 20 of them will be wrestling with us at a team camp this summer. It was a very memorable year but we are looking for an even better year next season. Did we mention our JV team won the league for the 3^rd year in a row and 8^th time in the last 10 years?