January 14
In the ASIJ middle school gym, the crowd and Titan grapplers went wild as two defending Far East champions from Kinnick got stuck on their backs which gave the Titans a boost in defeating the 2014 & 2015 Far East Dual champions in the regular season Kanto league dual 34—19. The 2-time undefeated Far East champion at 122lb, Lucas Wirth (KIN), was leading the match against Rio Lemkuil, who is also a defending Far East champion for the Titans. The clash of the two Far East champions ended as Rio capitalized on the opponent’s throw and stuck him to his back for a pin.
“That’s what happens when you are better conditioned than your opponent,” commented Coach Yabui as Wirth began to look tired towards the end of the match and became sloppy and risky with his last minute throw while Lemkuil was just getting his motor running.
The biggest upset came from second year wrestler, Alex Patton at 180lb. A month ago, he could not do anything against the defending Far East champion, Dwane Lyon of the Devils. Only in their second meeting, Alex controlled the match effectively with his front head lock and smart wrestling. As Lyon became frustrated and took a double leg shot, Patton countered with an underhook to take Lyon straight to his back for the pin.
“That’s what happens when you are better conditioned than your opponent,” repeated Coach Yabui on Lyon’s weak double leg shot on Patton who is physically strong and also well conditioned.
Titan wrestlers are capable of defeating all of Kinnick’s line up from 101 to 215. The weight classes they lost were close and no one got completely dominated. Lemkuil and Patton both pinning Wirth and Lyon were significant as well as Tatsuhito Matsumoto (115) defeating Chon Dareing (115) by decision. Wirth, Lyon, and Dareing are Kinnick’s best wrestlers and being able to defeat them means that the Titans are on the right track to winning their fourth consecutive Far East title. However, those three matches were exciting matches and their rivalry is expected to continue so they could go back and forth this season. “Knowing Kinnick, they will wrestle harder and smarter the next time we see them. We have to make sure we continue to get better and more aggressive too. At the end of the day, beating Kinnick or staying close to them is a good sign to perform well at the Far East. We should be able to get a better overall picture next week at the Beast,” commented Coach Yabui as the Titans won every weight class and shutout Zama and Yokota to begin their season with a 3—0 dual record.
Overall, the Titans out-conditioned their enemies. There were many instances during matches where the opponents looked like they did not want to wrestle any longer with St. Mary’s wrestlers ready to wrestle in their stances. The school’s signature ankle laces and arm bars for the most part were effective. Captains, 3 time far east champion, Chang Young Lee, and defending Far east champion, Ryo Osawa, both looked consistent and solid. Next week is the real test before Far East: the Beast of the East. Can the Titans remain dominant and defend their Beast title?
St. Mary’s 56—Zama 0
101lb Eshan Singhi win by forfeit
108lb Harold Mancia win by forfeit
115lb Tatsuhito Matsumoto win by forfeit
122lb Rio Lemkuil pinned Matthew Aoki (ZAM)
129lb Tatsuo Tanaka win by technical fall over Carter Whitton (ZAM)
135lb Chang Young Lee win by technical fall over Riki Fameli (ZAM)
141lb Ryo Osawa win by technical fall over Matthew Shealy (ZAM)
148lb Jihoon Seo win by forfeit
158lb Austin Koslow win by forfeit
168lb Mitchell Krcelic win by technical fall over Sam Preston (ZAM)
180lb Alex Patton win by forfeit
215lb Shane Koslow win by forfeit
St. Mary’s 54—Yokota 0
101lb Eshan Singhi win by win by technical fall over Caleb Heino (YOK)
108lb Harold Mancia win by win by technical fall over Austin Grimes (YOK)
115lb Tatsuhito Matsumoto pinned Matt Hoffman (YOK)
122lb Rio Lemkuil pinned Luke Alexander (YOK)
129lb Tatsuo Tanaka win by technical fall over Cameron Mister (YOK)
135lb Chang Young Lee win by technical fall over Kyle Easterwood (YOK)
141lb Ryo Osawa win by forfeit
148lb Jihoon Seo pinned James O’Grady (YOK)
158lb Austin Koslow win by technical fall over Alex Alexander (YOK)
168lb Mitchell Krcelic pinned Cameron Ewins (YOK)
180lb Alex Patton pinned Josh Peche (YOK)
215lb Shane Koslow win by technical fall over Chase Funk (YOK)
St. Mary’s 34—Kinnick 19
101lb Eshan Singhi win by technical fall over John Lanzilatto (KIN)
108lb Charlie Labato (KIN) pinned Harold Mancia
115lb Tatsuhito Matsumoto win by decision over Chon Dareing (KIN)
122lb Rio Lemkuil pinned Lucas Wirth (KIN)
129lb Devoney Stanley (KIN) won by decision over Tatsuo Tanaka
135lb Chang Young Lee win by technical fall over Mason Smith (KIN)
141lb Ryo Osawa win by technical fall over Kameron Gurrero (KIN)
148lb Jacob Castro (KIN) won by decision over Jihoon Seo
158lb Darius Swenson (KIN) win by decision over Austin Koslow
168lb Mitchell Krcelic win by technical fall over Marl Macato (KIN)
180lb Alex Patton pinned Dwayne Lyon (KIN)
215lb Shane Koslow pinned Cameron Joley (KIN)
Exhibition Matches
101lb Aaryan Batra defeated Corrine Nepaial (YOK) 12—2
108lb Jong Pyeong Lee defeated Kaiden Meyer (YOK) 10—0
115lb William Krcelic defeated Brian McKinly (YOK) 13—0
135lb Michael Kan pinned Will Hale (YOK)
158lb Gregory Tanaka pinned Kyle Atkinson (YOK)
168lb Josh Peche (YOK) pinned Rian Barrett
215lb Chase Funk (YOK) pinned Jihyuk Wei
115lb William Krcelic defeated Brandon Scott (KIN) 11—0
129lb Dai Matsumoto defeated Kenta Nakamichi (KIN) 14—4
135lb Mark Morgan (KIN) pinned Jonathan Goff
135lb Ethan Hamilton (KIN) pinned Lev Titov
135lb Konstantin zu Brickwedde pinned Sohpia Lawry (KIN)
148lb Nikita Romanov pinned Ryan O’Conor
168lb Tyler Ryer (KIN) defeated Haewon Hong 13—7
168lb John McIntosh (KIN) pinned Rian Barrett
215lb Jihyuk Wei defeated Chris Mason 8—8
122lb Saminul Hoque defeated Tinia Haynes (ZAM)