Prep wrestling: Novato’s Carroll reigns again, San Marin takes MCAL titles

As she nears the end of a landmark career at Archie Williams High, Sofia De Jesus stood proudly on the mat among the first wrestlers to be crowned MCAL girls champions on Saturday.

“This has been awesome,” De Jesus said after she pinned Novato’s Kassandra Santo Suaso in the second period. “This is the first time the girls get to wrestle against each other for a championship. We are growing the sport of women’s wrestling.”

Meanwhile, Novato’s Braeden Carroll firmly established himself as one of Marin County’s all-time greatest wrestlers with his fourth consecutive MCAL heavyweight championship.

“It feels good to be a four-time champion,” Carroll said. “My team didn’t win every match, so I really wanted to win mine.”

Carroll headlines the roster of MCAL wrestlers as Novato High plays host to the inaugural North Coast Section Redwood Empire Division II tournament on Friday and Saturday, with the top six placers advancing to the NCS championships the following weekend at James Logan High.

“My goal is to win NCS and to get to State,” said Carroll, who improved to 21-2. “I’m going to get angry. I’m going to use my anger over every loss, every shot I took that I didn’t like. This is going to be my last chance, so I don’t want to have any regrets.”

Alson Conkey (190) was the only boys champion for San Marin, but the Mustangs had a tremendous showing of force, with enough medalists to secure the team title. The Mustangs also had nine second-place finishers and one fourth-place finisher.

The Mustangs also took home the inaugural MCAL girls team title, with four individual champions among their eight medalists. Brooke Bested (137) and Catania DeKeyrel (157) won uncontested, while Eleanor Fox (132) earned a late third-period pin against Redwood’s Akira Bratti for gold in a back-and-forth final. The Mustangs’ Derilem Rodas (172) won both her matches by pinfall, beating tough San Rafael freshman Amy Serrano in the final.

The third-place Redwood boys had four champions, each with a win against San Marin in the finals. The Giants’ Dylan Morton (132), who has been collecting tournament hardware this season, pinned San Marin’s Noah Albertson in the second period. Albertson tried to bridge out of a pinning predicament, but Morton pushed Albertson’s legs out to get him flat on his back.

The Giants’ Rex Kohner (106) earned a technical fall in a 16-1 victory over the Mustangs’ Orion Smith — Kohner’s second tech fall over Smith this season. The Giants’ Ayaan Naseer (113) pinned San Marin’s Dominic Greco in the second period of their finals. Redwood’s Hayden Schepps (157) scored the second-period technical fall, 17-2, over San Marin’s Quinn Peterson. Redwood had six medalists total.

Host Tam placed second, with four champions and eight medalists total on the boys side, capped by 215-pounder Dylan G. Hayes who, in his only match of the day, needed just a minute to pin the Mustangs’ Blake Russo.

The Red-tailed Hawks’ Tyrell Smith (138) scored a technical fall, 17-1, over San Marin’s Luke Miller to claim gold, and Dylan Van Doren (150) muscled up for a technical fall win over the Mustangs’ Levi Manville in their final to remain undefeated in MCAL.

“I’m looking forward to competing at NCS and hopefully going to State,” Van Doren said.

Tam’s Cole Mapp (165) scored two first-round pins on his way to gold, needing almost a minute to get the win over San Rafael’s Nikolai Bruce in their final. Tam’s Noah Kaijankoski (120), Owen Shore (144), Damian Puente (175) and Mark Estis (190) each finished third.

San Rafael’s Edinson Diaz (132) and Rio Johnson (150) both placed third.

Terra Linda’s Laszlo Chaffee (175) pinned Novato’s Kaden Wagner-Fuller for gold, while the Trojans’ Arthur Sepan (144) earned a 20-8 major decision over rival Charlie Seraphine of Redwood in their championship bout. The Trojans had five medalists, with Ari Stein (126) and Donald Cifuentes (190) taking second and Aiden Koerner (157) third.

After checking on teammate Wagner-Fuller, who was struggling with his right arm after his loss to Chaffee, Carroll was motivated for his own medal bout with Coronado.

“I wanted to win for my teammate,” said Carroll, who dominated his match from the opening whistle as he kept Coronado off his feet. Carroll eventually turned Coronado on his back in the second period. In a feat of strength and camaraderie, Carroll picked up Coronado after the medal ceremony and carried him to his San Marin teammates.

Jiriah Vannasy (120) also claimed gold for the Hornets, with a 18-3 technical fall win over San Marin’s Spencer Sisneros. The Hornets’ Elias Asprer (113) and Ryan Costa (138) both placed third.

Rainer Grabenkort (126) claimed the lone boys gold for Archie Williams, with a first-round pin of Terra Linda’s Stein. The Falcons’ Henry Hirsch (165) took third place.

Novato finished second in the girls team scoring, with Molly Lloyd Hutchinson (112) and Raquel Tomacino (237) winning uncontested, and Jasmin Garcia (122) pinning San Marin girls in both her matches for the title.

Archie Williams placed just three girls, but took third, led by De Jesus and a second-place finish by Dotty Pikkerainen-Klein (102), who lost to Tam’s Charlie Murphy in an energetic finale. The Falcons’ Ava Holmberg (172) was forceful on the mat, but came up against two tough San Marin girls in Rodas and freshman Nathalia Romo, as she went 0-2.

De Jesus, who dedicated her championship to her former training partner who died in a tragic car accident last year, was thrilled to have helped laid the groundwork for Saturday’s MCAL girls championship, as one of the league’s top female wrestlers in recent years.

“I’ve made it a point to connect with all the girls at the schools and to encourage them,” De Jesus said. “I’ve helped coach some of these girls, and it’s great to see them get a chance to win a medal. Before, they might not get to wrestle.”

Terra Linda’s Irene Stoilova (117) took gold with a first-round pin of San Marin’s Alana Erickson.

“It felt good to see the competition growing around the league,” San Marin head coach Cory Boyd said. “The wrestlers have all really stepped up. I’m really excited to see the growth of the girls wrestling, in particular.”