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"Bakersfield in March" probably is not a request often received by Sunnyvale travel agents. But for the second straight year Centenniel Gardens in Bakersfield will be a wrestling wonderland for a contingent of Fremont athletes.
Five Firebirds, co-coached by Eric Duus and Bobby Soto, are on their way to the CIF State Wrestling Championships March 45. Leading the way will be juniors Filip Novachkov and Greg Crane. Both moved up in weight class this year and both repeated as Central Coast Section champions.
Novachkov (112) and Crane (152) ran the table in their respective weight classes Feb. 2526 at Overfelt. Sophomore Boris Novachkov (103) and juniors Tommy Staats (189) and Kurtis Ogasawara (140) also will make the trip to Bakersfield, as they finished among the top four of their weight classes.
Fremont finished third in the team standings with 144.5 points, behind Gilroy (186) and Los Gatos (176) and ahead of fourth-place St. Francis (111.5). The King's Academy, led by state qualifier Stephen Thalin's fourth-place finish, was 31st with 32.5 points.
F. Novachkov had three pins in his first four matches before cruising past Andre Gonzalez of Evergreen Valley 13-2 in the 112 final. Crane notched two first-round pins and two third-round technical falls en route to the 152 title match, where he pinned Silver Creek's Eric Carlos 37 seconds into the second round.
Both B. Novachkov and Staats won four straight at the CCS meet, before losing in the finals. Ogasawara placed third.
B. Novachkov was pinned in the third round by Gilroy sophomore Nicolo Naranjo. Staats won four straight decisions, but lost the gold-medal match 7-6 to Mt. Pleasant senior Julian Carbahal. Ogasawara's only loss, a 4-2 decision in the semi-finals, was to eventual winner Aaron Palacios of North Monterey County. After losing his semi-final bout, Ogasawara beat Cupertino sophomore Aris Harutyunyan 18-4 and Gilroy sophomore Austin Gubrud 3-1.
Fremont junior Andrew Leyva (130) and Edgar Mazariegos (275) both posted two wins before they were ousted from the double-elimination competition. Teammate Atcheson Brittle also won a bout at 160.
TKA's Thalin had a first-round bye, then won his first two assignments before losing a semifinal match to Silver Creek's Michael Rico by technical fall. He bounced back to pin Mt. Pleasant's Gabriel Lara, then bowed 3-1 in the third-place match against Adam Piccolotti of Half Moon Bay.
Four other Knights won CCS bouts, but did not place. Senior Tyler Valdez went 2-2 at 275 pounds. Juniors Paul Montoro (189) and Evan Winslow (125) and freshman Kevin Yoo (152) all won one of three contests.
Homestead sophomore Kyle Smith (119) also won a bout.
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