Tough news rattled the wrestling program earlier this year, losing star Taylor Tan, 12, to a torn ACL. However, the Titans had to prevail, and the team remained strong even with one of their big three of Tan, Ryder Yoshitake, 12, and Mikel David Uyemara, 10. Yoshitake happens to be committed to wrestle at Cornell, and Uyemura has represented the United States in many international competitions. Throughout all the meets over the season, the team did decent, but did not secure any major meet wins, only securing victories in a couple dual meets throughout the season. However, none of those meets mattered in the grand scheme of things, as everything came down to the Rio Hondo League Finals. Here, CIF qualifiers and league champions would be determined, and the Titans came out firing.
In the finals, seven Titans secured league championships, and five more qualified for CIF. “The team really came out strong,” said Henry Kang, 9, who finished third in his weight class of 106 lbs and qualified for CIF. “It was like we had something to prove, and we executed.” For the boys team, Yoshitake, Uyemura, Julian Solis, 11, and Matthew Negroe, 11, all won their respective league titles, while Richard Ma, 11, Santiago Perez, 9, and Kang all qualified for the postseason. Three girls wrestlers claimed league titles too: Maila Arambula, 11, Leah Lopez, 10, and Malia Manibog, 10, all won, while Ava Tung, 10, and Chloe Souza, 9, both advanced to CIF as well. Qualifiers from the Rio Hondo League title would go onto the CIF Masters tournament, bringing them one step closer to a state championship.
In the CIF Masters tournament, the Titans saw their best competition of the season, facing the best of the best from each of the many leagues in Southern California. Only four Titans placed in the tournament, with Lopez getting fourth and Manibog getting second in their weight classes for the girls and Yoshitake and Uyemura both securing championships for the Titans. These four advanced to the state championship, which took place February 22 in Bakersfield. Both Lopez and Manibog put up tough fights against their older, more experienced opponents, but both lost in the first round of the tournament, though Lopez won several matches in the loser’s bracket. Both Uyemura and Yoshitake managed to win several matches, and both came near placing, but neither managed to place. With three of the four Titans who advanced to state being underclassmen, and many other returning wrestlers next year, the Titan wrestling program remains optimistic that there will be many more opportunities to bring home trophies to San Marino.
