Comets finish in sixth place at Santa Ana

Comets family and friends,

The Comets spent this past Saturday at the Santa Ana Invitational tournament. The team finished the day in 6th place with six individual medalists. 

For some reason, the tournament didn't count team points for the 5th/6th place matches. The team would have secured a 5th place finish if they had. Additionally, the main team didn't get points for our one finalist (Dorian Parker) because he was wrestling for our B team. 

To put this result into perspective based on last year, we had already packed up and made it back home by the time the championship rounds had started. 

Our finishers in the top 6 were: 

• 133 - CJ Howard, 5th - Getting three pins and one decision win, CJ looked the best I've ever seen him. I hope this weekend gave him the confidence to level-up. He will get even better if he can defend himself on his feet and on the bottom a bit more.  
• 141 - Owen Wilson, 3rd – There's not much else to say; this guy is fearless and steps up to fight every match. He was put in danger several times but found a way out every time. Owen embodies our principle of "good things happen when you wrestle for a full seven minutes." 
• 149 - Dorian Parker, 2nd - Having only two college matches before this tournament, Dorian wrestled well to make the finals in a loaded weightclass. He is highly talented and already knows his style well. The sky is the limit with this young man. 
• 157 - Randy Lockwood, 5th - Part of being a great wrestler is having heart and finding a way to win. Randy is all heart. We have to figure out his positioning on his feet and on the bottom, but I'm confident that he'll put in the work and make these adjustments. 
• 174 - Daniel Hernandez, 5th - Daniel's off-season commitment continues to show. He's figured out his match style and is doing an excellent job of staying composed and having fun with it. Believing in his takedowns a bit more will put him in contention for a state title. 
• 197 - Celso Silva, 5th - Celso looked good this weekend and wrestled with much more poise and control. He lost a heartbreaker in the consolation semifinals (losing by a single second of riding time), but I'm proud of his fight in this match; It's not easy to go the full distance! He's getting better each time he steps on the mat. 

The entire team battled and showed that we are catching up to the best teams in the state. It's always encouraging to see improvement, but our goal is bringing home CCCAA Champions and All-Americans. We need to keep adhering to our no-fear mentality, chasing greatness, and having fun with the process! 

What's Next: 

Next up, we'll be at the CCCAA Southern California Dual Meet Championships on October 15th at Cerritos College. This will be another good opportunity to go head-to-head with some of the best teams in the state.