Tiffany Feng
Staff Writer
The Mustangs joined in a team huddle of celebration as they finished the tournament in a blaze of glory. They had just won the Milikan Invitational tournament for the first time.
The Mira Costa High School Varsity Boys Wrestling team placed 1st at the Millikan Invitational tournament at Millikan High School defeating a total of 12 schools. According to Coach Jimmy Chaney they had performed phenomenally.
“It is always exciting to win a tournament, especially when it is the first time we’ve ever won it,” Chaney said. “We worked so hard everyday in practice leading up to this and it really paid off.”
Top performers included juniors Jacob and Tyler Gordon and senior Joseph Smith. Smith was proud of the team overall and felt that all their practices paid off and it showed during the matches.
“I think the team performed great,” Smith said. “We took first as a team and it felt great to take the team title for the second time in a row this season so I think the team did awesome and we still have more in store for the rest of the season.”
Wrestling in the 138 lbs. weight division, Jacob Gordon dominated on the mat for a total of 3 matches. He pinned his first two opponents, defeating the last by points. Overall, Gordon finished the tournament with a undefeated record of 3-0.
“Considering this is the first time I’ve competed this season, I think I performed well at the tournament,” Gordon said. “As a team of course we have things to improve on but we took first out of all the other teams there, so we definitely have a strong team this year.
Tyler Gordon wrestled in the 145 lbs. weight division and finished 1st overall with a 2-1 record. Competing in 3 matches, Gordon began a little rough but bounced back during his last two matches in which he won by decision, a victory condition satisfied by outscoring one’s opponent by 15 points.
“I felt I was prepared but I did not feel conditioned enough for my first match… I pull through during the second two however,” Gordon said. “I am so proud of the team and we had a great showing, overall, I saw a lot of improvement in the team.”
Smith, wrestling in the 182 lbs. weight division placed 2nd with a total of three matches, one of which he won by points and another where he won by default when his opponent was unable to wrestle. Smith finished the tournament with a 2-1 record.
“I came in this season saying that I’m placing top three in every tournament,” Smith said. “Today, I made it to finals without trying too hard so I would say I performed pretty well.”
The team is now ranked first in its California Interscholastic Federation Division (CIF). The CIF Championship will take place on February 3. Until then, the wrestlers plan to practice hard and work on becoming mentally stronger.
“The team did great and we are all well prepared for the rest of the season,” Jacob Gordon said. “At the CIF dual championship I know we will do good and we have all been working hard at it this year so there is a strong chance that we will be champions two years in a row.”
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