From the sports archives: El Camino Colts stays undefeated in Peninsula Athletic league Bay Division wrestling with win over Half Moon Bay

El Camino may have lost one particular battle, but when El Camino's Joshua Stone finishes off Half Moon Bay's Manny Arellanes for a 10-0 win, it iced the Colts' 39-27 team win and keeps them undefeated two weeks into the PAL season.

With the loss, Half Moon Bay dropped to an uncharacteristic 0-2 in league matches.

"It was pretty close," said Half Moon Bay coach Gabe Gammon. "Everyone wrestled pretty well. I'm not too worried about it (the 0-2 mark). I don't think we should be 0-2, but it is what it is."

Making the win even more impressive for the Colts was the fact they had nearly every wrestler moving up one weight class. Despite that disadvantage, the Colts still managed to win seven of 10 matches contested.

"[The win over Half Moon Bay] is huge. We haven't beaten them in a few years," said El Camino assistant coach Ray Reyes, who assumed the head-coaching duties with head man Cliff Lentz, who was unavailable.

With the victory, El Camino reestablished itself as one of the premiere squads in the PAL. The Colts won back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009, before suffering an off-year last season in what Reyes said was a "reloading year."

The match of the night was contested at 130 pounds. Claitor is ranked No. 2 in the Central Coast Section at that weight. Ha, on the other hand, is ranked No. 1 at 125, but moved up in class to face Claitor.

Both wrestlers were methodical in the opening round, as neither could find an opening in the other's defense. With just under a minute to go in the first round, Ha scored the first points of the match with a takedown, but with less than 10 seconds left in the first, Claitor got a reverse to tie the score at 2.

Ha earned the first point of the second period, with an escape, but Claitor took the lead for good with a takedown with 1:09 left in the second.

Ha was in control most of the third period, but Claitor didn't panic. He bided his time until he managed a point on an escape for a 5-3 lead. Ha tried to throw Claitor in the waning seconds of the match, but Claitor held his ground and came away with the 5-3 win.

"They're both really, really good wrestlers," Gammon said.

Said Reyes: [Ha] was a little bit tentative. Maybe he over-thought it. He just ran out of time."

The Claitor-Ha match came about halfway through the dual meet, which started with El Camino's Johnny Carr dominating his match at 171, winning 11-4. The Colts also won at 189 when Nathan Huey pitched a 5-0 shutout.

Half Moon Bay tied the match at 6 when the Cougars got a forfeit win at 215, but they returned the favor when they had to forfeit at the heavyweight slot.

The team exchanged forfeits at 103 (a Half Moon Bay win) and at 140 (an El Camino win) as well.

El Camino's Marlon Diokno continued the Colts' domination on the mat, winning 11-1 at 112. Half Moon Bay picked its first win on the mat when Jeff Burner won by pin at 119.

The Colts got the pin right back with Mark Formalejo using a cradle to win by pin with 44 seconds left in the first period, which put the Colts up 22-18.

The amazing aspect of Formalejo's win is the fact that he is in his first year of wrestling. The sophomore quit basketball and came out for wrestling this season. After starting the season at the frosh-soph level, he earned a promotion to the varsity squad and is paying dividends.

"He was huge," Reyes said. "We expect our veteran guys to put guys on their backs and hope the new guys don't lose."

Claitor's win at 130 cut El Camino's team lead to 22-21, and when Anthony Rivera won by pin at 135, Half Moon Bay regained the lead, 27-22.

The Cougars' forfeit at 140, however, put El Camino back on top, 28-27, and the Colts made it stand, winning the final three matches. Carlos Alonzo won his match easily, 15-3, at 145. Mitchell Bouyer cruised to a 10-4 win at 152 and Stone sealed the deal at 160.

While El Camino still has matches against Terra Nova, last season's runner up, as well as rival South City, the Colts still have some work to do to recapture the PAL crown.

But the Colts are not lacking in confidence.

"We feel we're the top (team)," Reyes said.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.