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    Tom Franck •

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    Five Counties Invitational Recap

    When Ponderosa's Justin Danz stepped on the mat against two-time defending state champion Louis Bland of Central Catholic, there was no fear in his eyes. Instead, Danz viewed reaching the 171-pound final of the 97-team, Five Counties Invitational (AKA The Beast of the West) as giving him a golden opportunity: one of family revenge. As a freshman, Bland had defeated Justin's older brother, Jordan, 10-7, in the Sectional Championships.

    Justin Danz (Photo/Peter Klingsheim)
    The younger Danz wasted no time, getting a first period takedown, riding Bland hard and finally pinning the sixth-ranked-nationally opponent just at the two minute mark, causing the capacity crowd in the Fountain Valley High School gymnasium to erupt furiously.

    "It's definitely a little surprising to go out there and pin the No. 1-ranked guy in the state, who's won states two times. I went out there pretty confident that I was going to win. There was definitely some revenge for beating my brother a few years ago … I wanted that win."

    Dantz's match was not the only bout of the evening to end in fall. The 125-pound final between Cody Klaus of Vacaville and Nick Fisher of Clovis West had virtually non-stop wild scrambling in a first period that saw Fisher score a takedown and Klaus an escape. In the second period, Klaus threw in legs and was working a power half, but seemingly got too high as Fisher started to try and come out the back door. Remarkably, Klaus was not only able to maintain control, but turn his opponent and earn the fall using no leverage from his legs at all.

    "I'm really not the best 'legger' in the world," said Klaus after the win, "but I'm comfortable there because I'm always there. I knew he was going to tripod up again, so I just pushed the head under and threw in the half."

    Nikko Triggas (Photo/Peter Klingsheim)
    The finals featured a wide variety of matches, from close, tactical bouts, to wild, scrambling shootouts. At 119, standing state champ Nikko Triggas of Campolindo seemed to be in a bit of a dogfight at after an action-packed 4-3 first period against Bakersfield's Frank Lomas. However, Triggas then went on a rampage for the final two periods, scoring 11 unanswered points to win 14-3. The 135 class saw the scoreboard light up like a Christmas tree on both sides as Tommy Wipfli of Foothill-Pleasanton came out on top of a 17-12 bout against Edison's Garrett Drucker, which included Wipfli scoring back-points right at the end.

    At 145, Bakersfield's Travis Rasmussen used superior conditioning to come from behind against Calivin Miller of Natomas and score a match-tying third period takedown to force overtime. He then scored another takedown to win the sudden victory, 8-6. The clear winner of the champ with the longest ride home was certainly 160-pounder Brandon Hatchett of Oviedo, Florida where he is a two-time state champion. Hatchett earned a sharp 6-0 win over Sultana's Eli McWatters, scoring a takedown in each of the three periods.

    Although they had only one finalist and no champions, Poway ran away and hid from the rest of the field with 226 points, 59.5 ahead of second place Vacaville who finished with 166.5. Poway used incredible team balance, placing in 9 of the 14 weights, which is remarkable considering the amount of teams competing and the considerable depth of the field.

    Finals Results:

    103 -- Jesse Delgado (Gilroy) dec. Britain Longmire (Cimarron Memorial), 6-0
    112 -- Thomas Williams (South Hills) dec. Nektoe Demison (Bakersfield), 3-0
    119 -- Nikko Triggas (Campolindo) maj. dec. Frank Lomas (Bakersfield), 14-3
    125 -- Kody Klaus (Vacaville) pinned Nick Fisher (Clovis West), 3:37
    130 -- Bobby Schofield (Dana Hills) dec. Joey Boone (Poway), 5-2
    135 -- Tommy Wipfli (Foothill-Pleasanton) dec. Garrett Drucker (Edison), 17-12
    140 -- Mike Vasser (Foothill) dec. Jarell Price (Las Vegas), 7-3
    145 -- Travis Rasmussen (Bakersfield) dec. Calivin Miller (Natomas), 5-4
    152 -- Jordan Abed (Alhambra) dec. Joey Wilson (Half Moon Bay), 8-6 (SV)
    160 -- Brandon Hatchett (Oviedo, FL) dec. Eli McWatters (Sultana) 6-0
    171 -- Justin Danz (Ponderosa) pinned Louis Bland (Central Catholic) 1:59
    189 -- Kyle Bergstedt (Paradise) dec. Ryan Smith (Temecula Valley) 9-3
    215 -- Ryan Flores (Buchanan) dec. Lukhart (Vacaville) 4-0
    275 -- Ryan Hoover (Hesperia) dec. Neil Spencer (Cimarron Memorial) 5-1

    Team Scores:

    Poway 226.0
    Vacaville 166.5
    Buchanan 147.0
    Temecula Valley 143.5
    Oviedo (Florida) 123.0
    Bakersfield 114.5
    Sultana 96.5
    Cimarron Memorial 96.0
    Santa Fe 82.0
    Ponderosa 81.0

    Outstanding Wrestler Awards:

    Lightweights -- Nikko Triggas, Campolindo, four pins and one major decision
    Middleweights -- Joradan Abed, Alhambra, one pin and five decisions
    Upperweights -- Justin Danz, four pins and one major decision
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