Comets finish in 5th at State Dual Meet
Comets family and friends,
I apologize for not getting my newsletter out a bit sooner, but these past few weeks have been hectic with back to back competitions.
3C2A State Dual Meet Chamionships (Fresno City College)
This past weekend, the Comets competed at the 3C2A State Dual Meet Championships. Despite only having half of a squad this weekend, we absolutely dominated our competition in individual matches. Combined, we went 14-3 in individual matches. We also placed 5th as a team despite only having five athletes.
Three wrestlers went undefeated:
- Preciosa Moreno 2-0
- Kyla Pattillo 4-0
- Sierra Mefford 4-0
As I told the girls, I would take our five wrestlers against any other team's best five any day. I'm excited to get our lineup back to full strength. Also, I have to shout out Santana Gonzales for earning her first win as a Comet. Great job, ladies!
Up next for the Comets, we'll take on Bakersfield College this Wednesday at home.
United World Wrestling - Beach Wrestling World Series (Acapulco, MEX)
I am extremely lucky to once again be the United States Senior World Team coach for beach wrestling in 2024. Team USA had a highly successful start to the 2024 season in Acapulco, Mexico - an event held in conjunction with the Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier.
We were able to finish in 2nd place as a team (highest finish in history) and also had our first-ever men's UWW Beach Wrestling world level gold medalist, Justin Benjamin.
Justin, a former Division 1 wrestler at Northwestern University, won an absolute nails weight class that had at least four wrestlers who have represented their countries at the Olympics or Senior World Championships in Freestyle/Greco Roman. This is a massive step in the right direction for Justin, who failed to place at the two previous events. I'm excited for the next event in France, in which we'll have both our male and female world gold medalists back on the sand!
Side note: I was asked by the Ukrainian Wrestling Federation to coach Anastasiia Kravchenko, a 2x World Medalist, since she was competing without her team or coaches. Anastasiia earned a bronze medal at the competition. It was a once in a lifetime experience to coach two countries at an international event!
Full story by USA Wrestling:
-- Head Coach, Tim Box