Jack Major
Staff Writer
Once the Mustangs won their final match, the team huddled together and ecstatically celebrated. They had just won the California Interscholastic Federation Championship (CIF) for the second time in three years.
The team won by beating four teams: Faith Baptist (55-24), Coachella Valley (38-32), Rim of the World (44-36), and Valencia (38-29) at Redondo Union High School on Saturday after finishing runner-up last year. According to Coach Jimmy Chaney, the team performed exceptionally well.
“It is always awesome to get to the finals, especially when you win,” Chaney said. “Valencia knocked off powerhouse Irvine so we were nervous, but our wrestlers were so determined to fight hard and assure the win.”
Top performers included junior Jared Williams, sophomore Tyler Gordon, and junior Mitchell Halvorsen. Williams was proud of the team and believed all of their work this season paid off.
“It feels amazing to win CIF especially since we finished second last year,” Williams said. “All of the work we put in this season helped us prevail as champions.”
Williams, wrestling in the 152-pound division, finished the tournament with a 3-0 record winning all his matches with three tech falls (winning 2 of the 3 sets in a match). According to Williams, it was the best team effort of the season.
“I performed to the best of my abilities today and it helped the team triumph,” Williams said. “It was the best collective performance we have had so far this season and it couldn’t have come at a better time.”
Gordon finished the tournament with a 4-0 record, winning two matches in the 132-pound division, and two in the 138-pound division. According to Gordon, he wrestled up to his satisfaction.
“I wrestled well today and was proud of my results, especially because of the amount of work I have put in,” Gordon said. “I am so proud of the team and it is a great feeling to be part of the CIF championship team.”
Halvorsen, wrestling in the 120-pound division finished the tournament with a 2-2 record winning his second and third matches against Coachella Valley and Rim of the World respectively. Halvorsen was glad they got the win but believed he could have performed better.
“I am very happy that we won CIF but my performance definitely could have been better,” Halvorsen said. “I started off slowly, wrestled well in the second and third matches, but lost my focus in the fourth and let myself get pinned.”
The mustangs finished the season at 7-8 overall, closing on a 6-match winning streak. The CIF individuals begin on February 17th at Temecula High School and according to Halvorsen, the wrestlers are looking forward to it.
“Now that we have locked up state, we are eager to perform in the individuals,” Halvorsen said. “We are going to put in a lot of work in the next week and a half, and hopefully, we will perform well in our matches.”
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