Coyote grapplers rout Tigers

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera’s Ulises Santiago works his 184 pound opponent into a pinning situation during a dual team victory over Edison on Wednesday in Joe Flores Gym.
The Madera Coyotes wrestling team had a rather easy time in its County/Metro Athletic Conference match with the Edison-Fresno Tigers.
The Coyotes won 12 out of 13 matches, including six by forfeit, for a 70-6 victory Wednesday in Joe Flores Gym.
“Edison is always going to be athletic and they do unorthodox stuff,” head coach Joe Romine said. “We focus on basics and how to avoid giving up unorthodox moves.”
Four of Madera’s seven matches ended in pins. Romine was especially pleased with victories by Ulises Santiago and Codi Slayton in the last match of the evening.
“We have a young sophomore (Ulises Santiago) that has been taking some tough shots,” Romine said. “He had a really nice match. That young man has beat Codi three times. He beat Codi last year at Master’s. They have a little bit of history. That guy is a ranked wrestler and it was a big win for Codi. When you know each other, there are words. It was nice for Codi to get that.”
Mart Ornelas (108 pounds), Mario Moreno (115), Christian Solorio (122), Mauro Alejo (128), Rudy Paredes (134) and Elias Garcia (162) each received forfeit wins and added 36 points to Coyotes’ team total.
Rangel Miranda, at 220, opened the dual meet and survived a high-scoring affair. He found himself trailing 7-2 at the end of the first period and 9-2 after a second period reversal.
Miranda fought back to get an escape and takedown to cut the lead to four. After an Edison escape, Miranda took the lead with a takedown, a two-point near fall and a three-point near fall. He opened a 13-10 lead with a reversal 10 seconds into the third period.
Miranda worked his opponent to his back and recorded a pin with 1:16 left in the third period. Heavyweight John Cook looked like he had the upper hand in his match. However, he fell to an Edison counterattack and was pinned 58 seconds into the match.
“Those things are going to happen,” Romine said. “That’s how we learn. Brother and dad are mad.”
At 140 pounds, Matt Montelongo recorded a takedown with 20 seconds left in the first period. He then got an escape 11 seconds into the second period and worked his opponent into a takedown 11 seconds later. Montelongo pinned his opponent with 1:15 left in the second period to help Madera take a 42-6 lead.
Akram Pacheco had total control in his 147-pound match. He recorded a first period takedown and then recorded an escape and another takedown 10 seconds into the second period. After an escape, Pacheco got another takedown for a 7-1 lead heading into the third period.
Pacheco recorded two more takedowns and Edison received an escape. Pacheco picked up an 11-2 victory for a major decision.
Oscar Ruiz picked up the quickest pin of the night at 154 pounds. He recorded a takedown 12 seconds into the match and then put his opponents’ shoulders to the mat with 1:07 left in the first period.
Josiah Morales battled at 172 pounds. Both wrestlers went through a scoreless first period. Morales then escaped from the bottom 15 seconds into the second period for a 1-0 lead. Morales held onto the lead for the rest of that period and the entire third period for the win.
In the 184-pound match, Santiago was pitching a shutout before picking up a pin. He led 4-0 after the first period. A reversal 24 seconds into the second period gave him a 6-0 lead. He recorded a takedown in the third period to lead 8-0 before recording a pin 51 seconds into the third for a 67-6 win.
In the final match of the evening, Slayton went against his rival from Edison. He fell behind 2-0 after a takedown 10 seconds into the match. He held on and only trailed by two heading into the second. Slayton recorded a reversal 13 seconds into the second to tie the score.
After an escape, Slayton got a takedown and a near fall for a 6-3 lead. After another escape, Slayton recorded a takedown with four seconds left for an 8-4 lead.
Slayton held off his opponent and was on his way for a victory. He added an escape point with a second left in the match for a 9-4 victory and give the Coyotes a 70-6 dual meet win.