DRILLER WRESTLING CLUB!

JANUARY, 2014

NEWSLETTER
Drillers Find Early Season Success

! The Drillers have competed in several tournaments since the last newsletter, with promising results. Although our eyes are always on the State Championships in March, early season success is a good indication of where we stand as a team. We still have a lot of work to do before we reach our team goals, but the team shows promise and continues to improve each weak. Only a handful of tournaments remain before the run to the State Championships begins. In this edition of the newsletter we recap the early season tournaments the Drillers have competed in thus far.
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DRILLER WRESTLING CLUB!

JANUARY, 2014

Drillers Host Season Opener

Capture Team Title, Seven Individual Titles
Your Drillers opened the season by hosting a tournament at Bakerseld High School, the Rumble for the Rig. Many teams from in town showed up to compete as well as some from far away, most notably the De La Salle Spartans. The Drillers competed well, winning rst place in seven of the fourteen weight classes on route to a team title. ! Seventeen Drillers placed in the top six, as teams were allowed to enter more than one wrestler per weight. The top three wrestlers in each weight class received an oil rig trophy "pictured below# that was constructed on campus by BHS metal shop and art students. Notable matches of the day included JJ Figueroas 9$3 win over Donovan Guerrero of De La Salle, who is currently ranked 7th in the state at 106 pounds. Figueroa went on to drop a tight 2$1 decision to fellow Driller Carlos Herrera in the nals. ! Travis Yarbrough faced North Highs Mark Guerrero in the nals. At the time Guerrero was the higher ranked wrestler, though you wouldnt know it from watching the match. Yarbrough won in impressive fashion, recording a rst period pin. At the end of the tournament Navonte Demison and Bryce Martin were voted Lower Weight and Upper Weight Outstanding Wrestlers of the tournament.
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Rumble for the Rig Place$Winners:

106 lbs % Navonte Demison $ 1st Place 113 lbs % Dillon Cravens $ 3rd Place 120 lbs.$ Carlos Herrera $ 1st Place 120 lbs % JJ Figueroa $ 2nd Place 126 lbs % Sean Nickell $ 1st Place 132 lbs % Arik Onsurez $ 1st Place 138 lbs % Anthony Rivero $ 2nd Place 138 lbs % Josh Annis $ 3rd Place 145 lbs % Kevin Cristea $ 5th Place 152 lbs % Noah Rodriguez $ 3rd Place 160 lbs % Sam Loera $ 1st Place 160 lbs % JR Amaya $ 5th Place 170 lbs % Bryce Martin $ 1st Place 182 lbs % Elias Rosales $ 2nd Place 182 lbs % Frank Amaya $ 5th Place 195 lbs % Markus Hubbard $ 2nd Place 220 lbs % Travis Yarbrough $ 1st Place

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DRILLER WRESTLING CLUB!

JANUARY, 2014

Chukchansi Invitational
! Following the Rumble for the Rig the Drillers headed to Madera South High School for the Chukchansi Invitational Tournament. Though the competition proved to be much tougher than at the Rumble for the Rig, the Drillers rose to the challenge with nine tournament placers and a fourth place team nish. Leading the way for the Drillers was Sean Nickell who, after battling his way to the nals, dropped a 12$3 loss to Vacavilles Gionn Peralta, currently ranked second in the state. Nickells second place nish was the best on the team that day. ! Three Driller freshmen took third place: Navonte Demison, JJ Figueroa, and Sam Loera. Demison lost an exciting 14$13 match to Vacavilles Jordan Aquino. Demison nearly scored on what would be the match$winning takedown, but time expired before the referee awarded any points. Figueroa also lost his only match of the tournament by a single point, dropping a close 5$4 decision to senior Joey Cisneros of Redwood, currently ranked rst in the state at 106 pounds. ! In what was surely one of the most exciting matches of the tournament, Carlos Herrera settled a score with Monaches Matt Gamble. After losing a close and controversial match to Gamble early in the tournament, Herrera faced Gamble again in the fth place match. The match started o& very close, but Gamble began to pull away, jumping out to a 6$1 lead in the third period. With time winding down Herrera rallied, taking Gamble down to his back not once, but twice, earning a 9$7 come from behind victory.

Chukchansi Invitational Place$Winners

! 106 lbs. % Navonte Demison $ 3rd Place 113lbs. % JJ Figueroa $ 3rd Place 113lbs. % Dillon Cravens $ 6th place 120 lbs %Sean Nickell $ 2nd Place 120lbs % Carlos Herrera $ 5th place 126 lbs$ Mark Rodriguez $ 7th Place 132 lbs % Arik Onsurez $ 7th Place 138 lbs % Anthony Rivero $ 7th Place 160 lbs % Sam Loera $ 3rd Place

Coyote Classic
The same weekend as the Chukchansi Invitational, the Drillers also sent a small group of wrestlers to the Coyote Classic at East Bakerseld High School. The Drillers had three placers that day, including Noah Rodriguez, who was the tournament champion at 152 pounds. Also placing for the Drillers were JR Amaya with a fth place nish at 160 pounds, and Josh Maddox with a seventh place nish at 113 pounds.

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DRILLER WRESTLING CLUB!

JANUARY, 2014

Action From the Chukchansi Invitational

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DRILLER WRESTLING CLUB!

JANUARY, 2014

Cupertino Memorial Tournaments

! The Drillers started the new year by traveling north to Cupertino High School for a pair of tournaments. The rst day was the Ruppel Memorial Second Man tournament. Six Drillers competed the rst day, ve of whom placed. Three Drillers won the tournament. Josh Annis was the 138 pound champion, while the Amaya brothers, Jr. and Frank, won the 160 and 195 pound weight divisions. ! The next day started the Bianachi Memorial Varsity Tournament. The Drillers had ten place$winners with two champions, and placed rst as a team. Leading the way for the Drillers were freshmen Dillon Cravens and Sam Loera, who both defeated seniors in the nals. Cravens was losing 2$0 in the second round to Justin Pesino of Terra Nova before pinning Pesino in an arm bar. Cravens pinned his way through the tournament, all four of his wins coming by fall. Loera was in control of his match from the start, recording a 13$4 major decision over Sequoias Brady Green. ! Also advancing to the nals were Mark Rodriguez at 132 pounds and Anthony Rivero at 138 pounds. Rodriguez fought hard, losing a close 4$2 overtime war to Eric Royfman of George Washington. Rodriguez controlled the position in most of the match and found himself in position to score several times, but Royfman managed to scramble out each time before scoring a takedown in overtime to win the match. Rivero jumped out to an early lead over Max McCann of Monta Vista, scoring two quick takedowns in the rst period. McCann took over the match after that, the nal score being 9$5 in McCanns favor. ! Ricky Gonzales "152 pounds# and Elias Rosales "182 pounds# each nished in third place. ! The Cupertino coaches dedicated the tournament to and presented an award to BHS coach Matt Olejnik. Olejnik wrestled for Cupertino High School, and was the schools rst wrestling state champion. Olejnik also coached at Hollister High School for many years, and left a big impact on the wrestling community in that area. Bianachi Memorial Place$Winners: Ruppel Memorial Place$Winners:
132 lbs $ RJ De La Rosa $ 6th Place 138 lbs $ Josh Annis $ 1st Place 145 lbs $ Zack Williams $ 3rd Place 160 lbs $ JR Amaya $ 1st Place 195 lbs $ Frank Amaya $ 1st Place 113 lbs $ Dillon Cravens $ 1st Place 126 lbs $ Ryan Appleton $ 6th Place 132 lbs $ Mark Rodriguez $ 2nd Place 138 lbs $ Anthony Rivero $ 2nd Place 145 lbs $ Kevin Cristea $ Consolation Champ A 152 lbs $ Ricky Gonzalez $ 3rd Place 160 lbs $ Sam Loera $ 1st Place 170 lbs $ Noah Rodriguez $ 6th Place 182 lbs $ Elias Rosales $ 3rd Place 195 lbs $ Markus Hubbard $ 5th Place

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DRILLER WRESTLING CLUB!

JANUARY, 2014

Action From the Cupertino Memorial Tournaments

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DRILLER WRESTLING CLUB!

JANUARY, 2014

Doc Buchanan Invitational

! Hosted by the defending state champions, the Clovis High Cougars, the Doc Buchanan Invitational is considered to be one of the toughest tournaments on the west coast. Drawing the top wrestlers in the state of California, and even some of the best teams in the country, every weight class is stacked with high$level wrestlers. The Drillers brought seven wrestlers to the tournament and placed four. ! Leading the Drillers was Bryce Martin who advanced to the nals at 170 pounds to face Anthony Valencia of St. John Bosco. Martin was losing a close match before a third period urry by Valencia brought the nal score to 12$6. Valencia is ranked rst in the state, while Martin is ranked second. Martin, while not happy with the result, is condent he can make the necessary adjustments to overcome the six point di&erence. ! A pair of freshmen put in a strong performance for the Drillers. Navonte Demison nished in seventh place at 106 pounds, his only two losses coming from Buchanans Ross Arve, ranked 17th in the state. JJ Figueroa nished with a very impressive third place in a 113 pound bracket loaded with talent. Figueroa lost 5$3 to Monaches Matt Gamble in the quarternal round. Figueroa then won three straight matches, including a 3$2 win over Cloviss Tristan Gilliland "ranked 10th in the state# and a 9$3 win over Kyson Levin, a Utah State Champion. Figueroa advanced to the bronze medal match in what would have been a rematch with Redwoods Joey Cisneros, but Cisneros was injured in his previous match and had to forfeit. ! BHSs nal place$winner was 220 pound wrestler Travis Yarbrough. After losing his very rst match 7$5, Yarbrough won his next two matches before receiving a forfeit to make it into the top eight. Next he wrestled Cortes Morales from Clovis West, losing a close 2$1 match. Morales placed third in the tournament and is currently ranked third in the state. Yarbrough won his nal match with a pin over JoJo Ochoa of Atwater to take 7th place. ! Carlos Herrera was one match away from placing in the top eight at 113 pounds. After losing his rst match to Richie Casillas of Northview, Herrera won four straight matches before losing to Casillas again 6$4. ! Sean Nickell was also one match away from placing at 120 pounds. Nickell lost his rst match to eventual tournament champion Durbin Lloren of Buchanan. He then won three straight matches, including a 6$2 win over Windsors Perez Perez, who is ranked 6th in the state at 113 pounds. Nickell then lost 6$2 to Poways Kimo Dial. Doc Buchanan Invitational Place$Winners
106 lbs. % Navonte Demison $ 7th Place 113 lbs. % JJ Figueroa $ 3rd Place 170 lbs % Bryce Martin $ 2nd Place 220 lbs. % Travis Yarbrough $ 7th Place

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DRILLER WRESTLING CLUB!

JANUARY, 2014

Action From the Doc Buchanan Invitational

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DRILLER WRESTLING CLUB!

JANUARY, 2014

GET TO KNOW YOUR DRILLERS

TRAVIS YARBROUGH Travis started wrestling as a freshman as a way to get in better shape for football. After one season of wrestling he decided to stop playing football and just focus on wrestling. The decision seems to be paying o&. Travis has made huge improvements since his freshman year. He is currently ranked fth in the section at 220 pounds and was ranked 38th in the state as of January 2nd. That ranking should improve after an impressive 7th place nish at the Doc Buchanan Invitational in Clovis, a tournament widely regarded as the toughest high school wrestling tournament on the west coast. Travis also won Bakerselds own season opener tournament, the Rumble for the Rig, earlier this season. He has high goals for the end of the season, hoping to capture a state title in March. He also plans on wrestling and continuing his education after high school in college.

Get to Know Travis:

Favorite Movie:! ! ! Tombstone! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Favorite Food: ! Nachos Favorite Quote: ! If its worth doing over again its worth ! ! doing right the rst time.

Favorite Song: ! ! ! ! Teenage Dream !! ! ! by Katy Perry!

What Inspires you to Compete? ! The driller wrestling teams of the past and everything they have accomplished is ! ! what inspires me. I want to live up to the legacy they have left behind.
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DRILLER WRESTLING CLUB!

JANUARY, 2014

Talented Freshman Class Prove They Are Ready for High School
! Several freshman have stepped up big for the Drillers in the early season tournaments. Making the jump from junior high to high school wrestling is never easy, as high school wrestling is usually more demanding in terms of strength, endurance and intensity. Many talented junior high wrestlers often need several months, if not an entire season, to adapt to that change. However, many of our Driller freshman have shown that they are not only able to compete, but thrive at the high school level.

Driller Freshmen to Watch:

Navonte Demison Dillon Cravens

1st at Rumble for the Rig ! "Outstanding Wrestler Award# 3rd at Chukchansi Invitational 7th at Doc Buchanan Invitational Ranked 5th in Central Section ! 25th in CIF State 3rd at Rumble for the Rig 5th at Chukchansi Invitational 1st at Bianachi Memorial Tournament

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DRILLER WRESTLING CLUB!

JANUARY, 2014

JJ Figueroa
2nd at Rumble for the Rig 3rd at Chukchansi Invitational 3rd at Doc Buchanan Invitational Ranked 3rd in Central Section ! 7th in CIF State

Sam Loera
1st at Rumble for the Rig 3rd at Chukchansi Invitational 1st at Bianachi Memorial Tournament Ranked 5th in Central Section ! Honorable Mention in CIF State

Ricardo Gonzalez
3rd at Bianachi Memorial Tournament Ranked Honorable Mention in Central Section ! Honorable Mention in CIF State

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DRILLER WRESTLING CLUB!

JANUARY, 2014

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Terry Bedford - Bakerseld Bird Dogging Service Morgan Corporation - Coyote Club - Varner Brothers Clark Pest Control - Northern Digital Inc - Barrentine Company - BHS Booster Club - Centennial Medical Group - Dewars - Bill Lees Bamboo Chopsticks Anthony Tobin - Sequoia Sandwich Company - NuFarm Americas Inc - Onsurez Family - Daves Fabrications Atchley Insurance - MTS - San Joaquin Fence & Supply - Cataldos Pizzeria @ the Riverwalk - Sharon and Bill Varner - Vernon and Janis Varner - Fred H Schoene - Ron and Kim Nickell - Denis and Pinki Maddox - Ernie Kochis - Justin and Andrea Golding - Todd Bassett Lance McCullah - Larry and Kim Morgan - Robert Warkentin - Toby Nairn - Mike and Mary Box - Jeff Lopeteguy - Ed and Sue Thomas - Sherman Lee Pamela Povlak - David R Jones - Jodi Doane - Jeff Annis - Casey Lee - Barry Cales - Andy and Hillary Varner Connie Misko - Valari Lee - Ron and Vicki Richardson Gene and Janice White - Darryl Pope - Jack Doty Linda Chitwood - Brian Perkins - Mike and Lori Mendoza - Mike and Liz Ruder - Taunya Deyoung - Eva Villa - John Burns - Matthew Lee - Eric and Debbie Kinsel - Kenny Ellebracht - Daniel and Kayla Atondo Dale Annis - Harold and Dawn Brown - Cindy Cravens Sharon Lee Levine - Abigail Lee - Connie E Collaso Raymond and Eloise Estrada
Feb 21/22! Mar 1 ! ! ! ! Jan 30 ! ! Jan 9 ! ! Dec 7 ! !

2013$2014 Varsity Schedule

Rumble for the Rig @ Bakerseld HS Buchanan HS (AWAY) 6pm/7pm Coyote Classic @ East HS Chukchansi Invitational @ Madera South HS Legacy Duals @ Frontier HS Winter Intensive Training Camp @ BHS Doc Buchanan Invitational @ Clovis HS Bianchini Invitational @ Cupertino HS Liberty HS (AWAY) Kern County Invitational @ Centennial HS Santiago Corona HS (AWAY) Battle for the Belt @ Temecula Valley HS Raul Huerta Invitational @ Canyon Springs HS League Duals SWYL League Championships @ Frontier HS Yosemite Valley Championships @ East HS Central Section Championships @ Madera ! ! ! South HS California High School State Championships ! ! @ Rabobank Arena

Dec 12 ! ! Dec 13/14 ! ! !

Dec 21 ! ! Dec 26-28 ! Jan 3/4 ! ! ! !

Jan 10/11 !! Jan 14 ! !

Jan 17/18 !! Jan 24/25 !!

Feb 15 ! !

Mar 7/8 ! ! ! !

Its not about today, its about what we do today to prepare for March.

GO DRILLERS!
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