Tehachapi News

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Tehachapi Valley Wrestling Club’s middle school program is proud to announce wrestlers Noe Madera (95 pounds and Jacob Gamble (142 pounds) have qualified for the prestigious Tournament of Champions in Loomis, to be held this weekend.

Madera battled his way to a third place finish at the Central Valley Junior High Wrestling Association’s valley finals, avenging a loss to Jacob Stuart of Burton Middle School (Porterville).

Gamble, after advancing to the semi-final round, settled for a fourth place finish and the final TOC qualifying position.

“I am really proud of both these kids and our whole team for committing to this program and believing in what we are doing. They all have worked hard over the past five months and have reaped the benefits of that hard work through their successes,” said coach Charlie Walz.

Last month, TVWC traveled to Porterville for the Southern divisional tournament with five wrestlers competing: Nathan Odom (68 pounds), Lance Stone (89 pounds), Madera and Dillan Harroun (117 pounds), and Gamble. The top four wrestlers in each weight class qualified for the Valley Tournament the following weekend in Kingsburg. Four of the five wrestlers advanced with Madera and Gamble placing third, and Stone and Harroun placing fourth.

Odom, a fifth grader, was unable to qualify but got some good experience for next year. The other four wrestlers all advanced to the semi-final round but were defeated, placing them in the third and fourth place matches.

In a much-anticipated semi-final match, Madera was disqualified in the first period after illegally slamming his opponent Jacob Stuart on the mat. In wrestling, if an illegal move is performed and the opposing wrestler is unable to finish the match, then the injured wrestler is awarded the victory.

“It was a tough loss for Madera. Being a beginning wrestler, he did not even know what he did wrong. The other coaches knew if their kid couldn’t get up they would win the match and that’s what happened,”  Walz said. “We knew we would see him at Valley the next week, so we went back and prepared for him in practice.”

Madera got his revenge at Valley. After losing 3-2 to a Selma wrestler in the semi-final match, he dropped down into the third and fourth place match against Stuart. Madera dominated Stuart, beating him 11-2, with Stuart’s only two points coming from escapes.

“I knew I would face him again this week and I prepared for this match all week,” said a jubilant Madera after the match. “Stuart is tough, but I had confidence that I could beat him and was focused on what I had to do. Now we are focusing on placing at TOC and then state.”

Gamble also advanced to the semi-finals where the eventual champion narrowly defeated him 7-5. Gamble won his next match in the consolation semis, placing him in the qualifying round. Gamble lost to the Lemoore wrestler in the third and fourth place match, but was able to grab that final spot for TOC.

“I am really excited to be going to TOC. Coach has been hyping this tournament up to us all year, and it feels good to be a part of the toughest tournament in the state,” said Gamble.

Also competing at the tournament was Lance Stone, who missed qualifying by one match. Stone is only a sixth grader and will be back next year.

TVWC is asking the community for help in funding their three-day trip to Loomis. If anyone is interested in sponsoring Madera and Gamble, call coach Walz at 714-904-6328 or 821-0732.

“We greatly appreciate the community’s generosity in helping our program in its first year and look forward to continuing to represent Tehachapi in the California wrestling scene,” Walz said.

Youth Wrestling Sign-ups

Tehachapi Valley Wrestling Club is excited to begin their first season as a youth wrestling program.

 The middle school season just ended and it has been very successful. Along with taking wrestlers Noe Madera and Jacob Gamble to the Tournament of Champions in Loomis, TVWC will be taking five wrestlers to Junior High State held in Selma. The success of the middle school team hopefully will be a barometer to the success in the youth program.

TVWC will be having sign-ups on Wednesdays, March 5 and 12, at the Jacobsen Middle School wrestling/fitness room from 5 to 6 p.m. The youth program is open to all kids kindergarten through eighth grades and will begin on April 7. They will be tentatively practicing on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The cost of the program is $75.

TVWC is a USA Wrestling sanctioned club so every member is required to have a USA wrestling card. The $30 cost of the card is included in the membership. Along with a USA wrestling card, each member will receive a club t-shirt.

There will be an informational meeting at both sign-up dates starting at 5:30 p.m. For more information, call coach Charlie Walz at (714) 904-6328 or 821-0732.