Prep wrestling: Carroll, De Jesus, DeKeyrel win NCS D2 gold

Novato High heavyweight Braeden Carroll added another title to his resume Saturday before he heads back to the North Coast Section championships looking to claim the championship that has eluded him. Meanwhile senior Sofi De Jesus of Archie Williams High and San Marin High’s Catania DeKeyrel were also crowned as girls shared the stage with the boys wrestling Saturday.

Carroll, ranked 18th in the state, willed his way to a 3-1 decision over American Canyon’s Nicholas Aken to capture gold in the inaugural NCS Division 2/Redwood Empire Championship at Novato High.

Carroll was not the only Marin County wrestler to take home gold Saturday as DeKeyrel pinned American Canyon’s Sanaiya Owens with 20 seconds left in the first period to claim the 155 pound girls championship. De Jesus powered her way to a technical fall win in the 107 pound girls final over Del Norte’s Allie Bartley.

“Big respect to my opponent (Bartley),” said De Jesus, who went 3-0 with two technical falls and a pin. “She’s a couple years younger than me, but she was really good. She made me proud.”

Carroll, and De Jesus and DeKeyrel, will lead a strong contingent of nearly 20 Marin wrestlers to the NCS Championships, to be held Friday and Saturday at James Logan High. For the first time, both the boys and girls tournaments will be held at the same site. The top six boys and top five girls placers at the Redwood Empire meet advanced.

“This year, there is no particular name to beat. I just want to do my best,” said De Jesus, who placed seventh at NCS last year. “I’m excited the boys and girls are competing at the same location this year. It feels so inclusive.”

Carroll has qualified for NCS each of the past three years, placing second last year and fourth in 2024. The Hornets senior took care of business Saturday with pinfall wins over JJ Bridgers and Napa’s Dean Tahsler. Carroll hammered down on Tahsler, who could not match the power or technical expertise of the four-time MCAL champion.

Redwood High’s Dylan Morton, the third-seeded 132-pounder, placed second after losing a major decision to top-seeded Leesayo Sanchez of Windsor.

Tam High’s Dylan Van Doren was enjoying a great run, with a pin and two technical fall wins heading into the 150 pound boys final. Van Doren ran into trouble against Del Norte’s Remington Escobedo, who pinned the Red-tailed Hawks senior with 36 seconds left in the first period.

MCAL champion Derilem Rodas of San Marin is heading to next weekend’s NCS girls championship after taking second place at 170 pounds Saturday. Rodas was matched against the taller Aiyanna Beane of American Canyon, who got Rodas off her feet for the pin in the first period. Rodas, who went 2-1 in the tournament, was rolling early on Saturday. The third-seeded Rodas seemed to be in trouble in the second period against No. 6 Aubry Dodson of Del Norte, but flipped out of a tough situation for a pinning combination in their quarterfinal matchup.

“I’m not good on the bottom, so I did what my instincts did what they told me to do, and it worked,” said Rodas, who powered up with Dodson on her back and flipped around for the pin.

One of the biggest surprises of the boys tournament came courtesy of Casa Grande’s Diesel Ganley, the 19th seed at 138 pounds, who got wins over Novato’s Ryan Costa and Tam’s Tyrell Smith to reach Saturday’s semifinals.

San Marin’s AJ Conkey punched his ticket to the NCS championships with a 10-2 major decision over Dylan Olsen of Maria Carrillo to secure fifth place. Conkey, who went 3-2 over the weekend, fought to a stunning consolation win over Windsor’s Jesse Clendenen. Conkey rushed at Clendenen, taking him down with such force that Conkey nearly spiked himself in the process. Clendenen wrapped up Conkey around the torso and the two rolled around until Conkey got him on his shoulders for the pin.

“I saw he gave me an opening, so I had to go for the shot, then it was a scramble,” said Conkey, who was looking for the quick win. “Day 1, I got the first-round win and I was feeling good, but it got to the point today where I was getting tired. My coach told me I just needed to win this next match to qualify for the NCS championship, so that was a big factor for me.”

Conkey lost his consolation semifinal against Del Norte’s Davion Johnson before rebounding to beat Olsen.

Conkey medaled in the MCAL championships last season to qualify for the NCS championships for the first time in his career, but was unable to compete due to illness.

“So this is a really exciting opportunity and I want to make the most of it,” Conkey said.

Also advancing to the NCS boys championship are Redwood teammates Rex Kohner (106, 4th place), Ayaan Naseer (113, 4th) and Hayden Schepps (157, 3rd), Novato’s Jiriah Vannasy (120, 5th), Archie Williams’ Rainer Grabenkort (126, 5th), and Tam teammates Dylan G. Hayes (2215, 4th) and Cole Mapp (165, 5th).

Terra Linda’s Laszlo Chaffee (175) took home a seventh-place medal, while San Marin’s Quinn Peterson (157) took the eighth-place medal.

Novato’s Molly Lloyd Hutchinson (110) battled back for a second-period pin to take third place and lock in her ticket to the NCS championships.  Also advancing to next weekend’s girls championships were Terra Linda’s Irene Stoilova (115, 4th place), Tam’s Sienna Horger (105, 5th) and Noavto’s Raquel Tomacino (235, 5th).

Novato’s Jasmin Garcia (120) and San Rafael’s Mariana Barrios (140) earned sixth-place medals, while Redwood’s Akira Bratti (130) and Tam’s Charlie Murphy (100) medalled at seventh place.