By Alex Zener
Aztec wrestling — Marc Farina scored 32 team points for his championship win in the 48th Flowing Wells Invitational wrestling tournament, held Jan. 16-17 in Tucson, to help Corona take 4th place with 154.5 points behind Mesa Mountain View, Sunnyside and Chandler. Farina, 22-2 on the season and wrestling at 140 lbs. in the toughest tournament in the state, defeated Preston Ford (Desert Mountain) by major decision, 18-7, in the second round after receiving a bye in the fi rst. Farina advanced in the brackets to face off against and defeat by major decision, 15-7, Catalina’s Benny Castro, before winning by fall his match against Queen Creek’s Matt Saba in 1:48 in the quarterfinals. He then won by decision, 6-3, over Ironwood Ridge’s Kyle Taylor in the semifinals before winning a close match by an 8-7 decision over Ryan Sondrup, from Marcos de Niza, in the finals. Three other Corona wrestlers came through to place in the top six in their weight category and add substantial points to the Aztecs’ overall total. Ryan Spadafore, in the 162-lb. weight class, placed third, adding 26 team points. Spadafore, 30-6, won by a fall all of his matches in the tournament until he lost in the semifi nals to Weston Taylor of Mesa Mountain View. Taylor Rico, 28-8, wrestling at 172 lbs., took fourth place, earning for his team 19.50 points, while Chris Diego Fill, 25-8, placed sixth at 154 lbs., earning 15.50 points for the Aztecs. Other Aztec wrestlers participating at the Flowing Wells Invitational and earning points toward Corona’s fourth place team fi nish were Camron Upshur (115-lbs.), Ryan Farina (128 lbs.) and Johnny Waddell (222 lbs.), with each scoring 10.0 points. Nick Ruff alo (184 lbs.) and Chris Moore (197 lbs.) had 8.0 points each, while Matt Churchill (134 lbs.) earned 6.0 points. Javien Hunter (122 lbs.) earned 5.50 points and Hunter Carmona (147 lbs.) 4 points. Justin Sorenson (108 lbs.) wrestled for the Aztecs as well. Additionally, the Aztec wrestling team participated in two tournaments over the holiday break leading up to the Flowing Wells Invitational, where they placed second in both Moon Valley and Mile High Challenge. On Dec. 19-20, Corona participated in the Moon Valley Invitational, where Marc Farina won the 138 lb. individual championship for the second straight year, according to coach Jim Martinez. Rico took second place, Spadafore third, Ryan Farina fourth and Carmona fifth. Waddell finished in eighth place. At the Mile High Challenge held Jan. 2-3 at the Prescott Valley Event Center, the Aztecs barely missed fi rst place, scoring 161.5 points to Chandler’s 162.5. Highlights included a third place fi nish for both Marc Farina and Carmona while Ryan Farina, Fill and Rico came in fourth and Moore fi nished in fi fth place. These three tournaments gave the Aztecs some excellent experience against competitive wrestlers and provided examples of what to expect so the individual wrestlers can mentally and physically prepare for the section tournament in February. “The team has shown tremendous growth since the beginning of the season,” said Martinez. “We didn’t start the year with seasoned veterans, but, they are over-achievers and exceeding expectations and their talent level.” “I’m very proud of their eff ort to date, and look forward to their continued improvement heading into sections and state.” The Aztecs, with a 10-5 regular season record at press time, were scheduled to participate against Desert Ridge and Westwood, Jan. 20 before ending the regular season at Highland High School in a meet against two very tough competitive teams, Chandler and Highland, Jan. 29.
Marcos de Niza wrestling — The Padres had 11 wrestlers compete at the Flowing Wells Invitational Jan. 16-17, where Ryan Sondrup (36-2) scored a team high 30 points for his second place finish in the 140-lbs. weight category, helping Marcos earn 96.5 points and earn 18th place among the 38 teams who participate. Adam Baca (20-4) was the second Padre to fi nish in the top six, earning 11 team points for his sixth place at 287 lbs. All 11 of the Padres earned points for the team including Alejandro Torres (147 lbs.) with 11 points, Gerardo Gayosso (108 lbs.) with 8.5 points; Kendrick Relf (172 lbs.) with 8.0 points, Robert Johnson (222 lbs.) and Samuel Johnson (134 lbs.) with 7.0 points each, Carnell Dargan (129 lbs.) 6.0 points, Edward Hercel (197 lbs.) with 4.0 points, and Marcus Green (184 lbs.) 4.0 points.
