Competing at two different tournaments on the same day, Diamond Bar’s varsity wrestling team exhibited a versatility rarely seen in high school.
Part of the varsity team competed at the Carter High School individual tournaments this past Saturday, with four wrestlers placing in the top eight amongst other wrestlers from 32 different schools.
Senior captain Jeremy Foo placed 4th at 145, pinning his opponent from Oak Hills in a mere 12 seconds and two others from Etiwanda and Laguna Hills in 52 and 53 seconds, respectively. “My coaches told me to stay focused and just work my moves,” Foo said.
Senior captain Aaron Oh was pitted against the same wrestler from Beaumont twice in two days and placed 5th at 170. “Both times, I got him on his back with the same move. There was a little pressure because I felt that I had to prove myself as captain. The team needs a little work, but overall we’re doing well,” Oh said.
Senior Joseph Rodriguez and junior Donny Palmer both placed 7th in their respective weight categories, 120 and 128. Palmer went undefeated the first day of the matches. “I was a bit hesitant in the match with [a wrestler] from Laguna Hills since I wasn’t aware that they were a good school, but I was able to pull through on top,” Palmer said.
The rest of the varsity team competed at a team tournament at Glendora against schools from Azusa, Charter Oaks, Gladstone, Glendora, and West Covina. “Our varsity went 2-3 and placed 4th out of 6 schools. We were wrestling without two weight classes. It was a really good opportunity to get all of our wrestlers in the tournament,” wrestling coach Scott Usher stated.
Notable wrestlers who competed at Glendora included juniors Derrick Moss and Yong Choi, and sophomores Leighlan Corpus and Blake Goodman. Matches featuring Moss and Goodman were always fast-paced, with Moss immediately moving to pin his opponent and Goodman quickly escaping holds on his nimble feet. Corpus, unfortunately, sustained a head injury early in the tournament, but continued to give his all.
“Our coaches really get [us into} a determined mindset, they give good life advice too—it’s important to get back up when you’re knocked down,” Corpus said.
