Four wrestlers advance to Master’s for Hawks
Tyler Takeda/The Madera Tribune
Liberty’s Diego Rojas cinches in the cradle hold for a semifinal pin during Friday’s Div. IV Wrestling championships. Rojas lost in the finals, but earned a second place medal for the Hawks.
The Liberty Hawks didn’t field a full team, but still had four wrestlers advance to this week’s Central Section Master’s Tournament after Friday’s Div. IV Championships at Matilda Torres High School.
Diego Rojas led the Hawks by advancing to the 197-pound championship match. Anthony Rocha (128) and Diego Salas (184) each placed third to advance and Brody Harlow (147) was fourth as the top four wrestlers in each weight class advanced to the Masters at North High School in Bakersfield.
Rocha got a win by pin in the first round, but lost in the quarterfinals. He had to work his way through the consolation bracket to head to the third place match. He won by a 7-5 decision in his first consolation match and won by pin in the second match. Rocha received a forfeit in the consolation semifinals and won the third place match after an injury default in the second period.
Spencer Gladders went 1-2 at 134 pounds and Josh Kerber won his seventh place match at 140 pounds.
Harlow had to go the same route as Rocha. He won his first round match by a 9-5 decision, but lost by second period pin in the quarterfinals. He won his first consolation match with a second period pin and recorded a 35 second pin in the next round. in the consolation semis, he got a pin just before the final whistle. However, he lost in the third place match by a 7-2 decision.
Mitchell Sano won two matches at 172 pounds, but lost in the fifth place match by pin.
Salas won his first match with a pin 47 seconds into the first period. He lost by a 4-1 decision in the semifinals, but advanced to the third place match with a third period pin in the consolation semis. He earned a forfeit win to place third.
Rojas advanced to the semifinals with a second period pin in the quarterfinals. He recorded a pin 46 seconds into the second period to advance to the semifinals. However, he lost by a 9-2 decision in the championship match.
