Carlmont crowned Bay Division wrestling champs

Seven years later, Pantane and the Scots were in the spotlight as they hosted Capuchino in the regular-season finale with the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division title of the line.

The dominance of Half Moon Bay had finally been cracked after the Cougars won every Bay championship since 2013 and both Carlmont and Capuchino were vying for their first-ever Bay Division crowns.

And in the end, it pretty much went how both coaches expected. Carlmont put on a dominant performance, with eight of the Scots’ nine wins coming by pin as they cruised to a 51-29 win and captured the first Bay Division wrestling dual-meet championship in program history.

“We knew what we were capable of,” Pantane said, after his squad completed a 7-1 dual-meet season.

Capuchino head coach Steve Matteucci knew his team was at a disadvantage before anyone took the mat Tuesday. Matteucci said he was facing four forfeits, which were worth 24 points to Carlmont.

But instead of simply giving free points to the Scots, Matteucci filled those spots with novice wrestled and forced Carlmont to work for those points.

“We went down fighting,” Matteucci said. “And all four of them got their guy on his back.”

But none of the four could actually up with the win as each time, the Carlmont wrestler rallied to win all four by fall.

Carlmont set the tone by winning the first two matches by pin, with Gabe Osorio getting a fall at 106 pounds at the 3:05 mark of the second period. That was followed by another Scots’ win by pin, when Rowan Sheng needed just 75 seconds to put away his opponent at 113 and give Carlmont a quick 12-0 team lead.

Jesse Chavez gave Capuchino its first win of the match with a dominating performance at 120, notching three takedowns and a pair of near-falls before posting a 16-0 score before the match was stopped and Chavez given a 5-point technical fall.

Carlmont bounced back with a win from Brandon Osorio at 126, getting a takedown late in the first period to take a 3-0 lead and then finishing off his opponent via pin with just over a minute left in the second period.

But the Mustangs stayed close when Branden Siu rallied from a precarious situation to win his 132 match by fall in what was the most entertaining match of the night.

Both wrestlers combined for 18 points — all in the first period. Carlmont’ Amir Alilou got an early lead with a takedown, but Siu got a reversal about 20 seconds later. With just over a minute left in the first period, Alilou got a takedown and near-fall, but Siu reversed out of it and ended up winning by pin with 12 seconds left in the period as Capuchino cut Carlmont’s team lead to 18-11.

The next match, at 138, is where the tide turned in Carlmont’s favor, Patane said. Ethan Seich trails 3-1 after the first period, before running into a bit of bad luck in the second, when a takedown attempt, that would have given Seich the lead, was denied because it came after the wrestlers were out of bounds.

But Seich maintained the momentum, eventually winning by fall with just over a minute left in the second period to give the Scots a 21-11 lead in the team score.

“We had no expectations (about the outcome at 138),” Pantane said of the first-year wrestler. “That (win) turned the tables a little for us.”

Carlmont’s Camilo Barberena followed with a first-round pin at 144, followed by a pin at 150 by Lance Navarro and a Nicholaas Foks 10-5 decision at 156 as the Scots built a 39-11 lead with six matches left.

Capuchino kept its hopes alive when Alexis Sanchez and Jack Boerner went back and forth at 165 before Sanchez notched a second-round pin to close to 39-17.

The Mustangs still had a shot at pulling out the win, but it would have required win by pin in all four remaining matches.

Instead, it was Carlmont that closed with pins from Wesley Kron at 175 and Ilan Vinograsky at 215.

Capuchino picked up wins from Cam Lowe, who got a pin at 190, while Piyon Blunt won by forfeit at heavyweight.

““Me and Coach Garcia (co-head coach Ricardo Garcia) have been working hard for this moment,” Pantane said.