It appeared to be the ultimate mismatch on paper.
But South Kitsap sophomore Angelo Trujillo viewed his match at 120 pounds Tuesday night against Central Kitsap’s Josh Criollos, who won his weight class Saturday at the Pacific Coast Tournament in Vancouver, as an opportunity to prove himself.
And that is exactly what Trujillo accomplished during a dominant 10-3 win that helped the Wolves earn a 44-21 dual-league match victory.
“I thought Angelo wrestled a heck of a match,” CK coach Mike Harter said. “He wrestled smart and solid and Josh made some errors early on that cost him. I thought Angelo’s on top work was very impressive.”
Criollos typically competes at 112, which means Trujillo had not faced him before. Despite that, Trujillo said he studied Criollos’ work at Pacific Coast.
“I kind of knew what he was going to do and I just kind of went off that,” he said.
South coach Chad Nass said he and his assistants pulled Trujillo into his office before the match to let him know he was facing Criollos
“When he found out that Criollos was wrestling 120, he really, really got up for that,” Nass said. “He wasn’t scared — he took it as a challenge. That’s what you want in your young wrestlers.”
While the Wolves’ margin of victory partially can be attributed to their 4-1 advantage in pins, they also won several close matches. Junior Ridge Gilbertson, who moved up a weight class to 170 in place of injured senior Jake Stanley, broke a 5-all tie when he pinned Kyle Stroble in 4:42 minutes.
At 152, senior Joseph Barnum won a 4-3 decision against Calvin Fischer. Barnum lost against Fischer at Pacific Coast.
In addition to those wrestlers, Nass praised sophomore Deion Anderson, who pinned Johnny Valenuela in 3:40 at 113, and Brandon Forster at 120. Forster, a sophomore, earned a 14-1 technical fall win against Carsten Wheeler.
Nass also was pleased with Peninsula transfer Tommy Foreman at 132. Foreman, who joined South’s wrestling program around Thanksgiving, pinned Ryan Rhynsburger in 4:59.
“It was his first match wrestling for us and he got a pin,” Nass said. “He was a little nervous because it was his first time out and Rhynsburger’s a pretty tough kid.”
The Cougars won five weight classes, including a disqualification at 106. Alison Johnson trailed 5-1 midway through the second period when she was injured during a takedown attempt by Ashton Schessler. Because the move was ruled illegal by the official, Johnson was awarded the victory when she was not able to continue. Harter said he was not sure about the status of Johnson’s injury, but agreed with the referee’s ruling.
“He just got her in an illegal position,” he said. “He hooked her head and ripped it straight back. It wasn’t an intentional thing — it just happened.”
CK won decisive decisions at 160 when Seth Earl defeated Jaxon Moffett 13-6 and at 182 in Bryce Dennis’ 10-3 victory versus Donald Firman, but Harter said he mostly was displeased with his team’s performance.
Meanwhile, Nass said the Wolves were “a little flat” in a few weight classes, but otherwise liked how his squad wrestled.
“For the most part I thought we wrestled really well,” he said. “It’s something to build on.”
At South Kitsap 44, Central Kitsap 21
106-Alison Johnson (CK) d. Ashton Schessler by disqualification. 113-Deion Anderson (SK) p. Johnny Valenuela 3:40. 120-Angelo Trujillo (SK) d. Josh Criollos 10-3. 126-Brandon Forster (SK) tf. Carsten Wheeler 14-1. 132-Tommy Foreman (SK) p. Ryan Rhynsburger 4:59. 138-Joel Sherman (SK) d. Mike Smith 7-5. 145-Adam Lutovsky (SK) p. Adam Appleton 2:45. 152-Joseph Barnum (SK) d. Calvin Fischer 4-3. 160-Seth Earl (CK) d. Jaxon Moffett 13-6. 170-Ridge Gilbertson (SK) p. Kyle Stroble 4:42. 182-Bryce Dennis (CK) d. Donald Firman 10-3. 195-Tristan Hartmann (SK) won by forfet. 220-Eric Ladesma (CK) d. Kyle Kennedy 4-3. 285-Dominick Johnson (CK) p. Liam O’Brien 3:52.
