Coveting state berths, Ceres High's Curtis Hulstine, Keegan Overbey and Tony Spinella were eliminated on the first day of the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Wrestling Tournament last Thursday at the University of the Pacific's Spanos Center.
The juniors needed to advance to the second day and finish in the top seven in their respective weight classes to move on.
A year ago at this time, Hulstine made an early exit from the Masters meet. The first-year competitor failed to win a match by going 0-2 in the 112-pound division.
Curtis posted a 2-2 record during his return trip.
He opened the tournament with a 6-4 win against Rocklin's Shane Keefe.
Curtis lost his second match by pin (4:47) to Rodriguez's Mark Ocampo.
In the consolation bracket, Curtis edged Kennedy's Antoine Green-Gibson, 13-11, in overtime.
Ahead 4-0 against No. 2 seed Jacob Purdy of Nevada Union, Hulstine made a mistake and got caught on his back. He ended up losing by pin with 10 seconds remaining in the first round.
Purdy (fourth) and Rodriguez (sixth) both qualified for state.
"It's really frustrating," Curtis said. "I should have done way better. I needed to be more aggressive. I'm going to do a lot of stuff during the summer to get better."
Hulstine compiled a 40-8 record this year. He finished second at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV and Valley Oak League meets. During the regular season, Curtis placed first at Bear Creek, Ceres High, Sheldon and Stagg, and fourth at the Big Valley Classic (Stockton) and Coast Classic (Scotts Valley) events.
"I did pretty good for only my second year," said Hulstine, the Sac-Joaquin Section's eighth-ranked 112-pound grappler.
Overbey posted a 1-2 record at 130 pounds.
He opened the tournament with an 11-6 loss to Elk Grove' Miles Francesconi.
In the consolation bracket, Keegan won by second-round pin (3:50) over River Valley's Adam Blank.
He then faced Jesuit's Chris Winn and lost by decision (7-4).
"It was a learning experience," said Overbey, who failed to advance to Masters as a sophomore.
Spinella qualified for Masters despite missing most of the season recovering from a hip injury.
"I did better this year," said Tony, who finished 1-2 at 152 pounds. "I won a match."
The juniors needed to advance to the second day and finish in the top seven in their respective weight classes to move on.
A year ago at this time, Hulstine made an early exit from the Masters meet. The first-year competitor failed to win a match by going 0-2 in the 112-pound division.
Curtis posted a 2-2 record during his return trip.
He opened the tournament with a 6-4 win against Rocklin's Shane Keefe.
Curtis lost his second match by pin (4:47) to Rodriguez's Mark Ocampo.
In the consolation bracket, Curtis edged Kennedy's Antoine Green-Gibson, 13-11, in overtime.
Ahead 4-0 against No. 2 seed Jacob Purdy of Nevada Union, Hulstine made a mistake and got caught on his back. He ended up losing by pin with 10 seconds remaining in the first round.
Purdy (fourth) and Rodriguez (sixth) both qualified for state.
"It's really frustrating," Curtis said. "I should have done way better. I needed to be more aggressive. I'm going to do a lot of stuff during the summer to get better."
Hulstine compiled a 40-8 record this year. He finished second at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV and Valley Oak League meets. During the regular season, Curtis placed first at Bear Creek, Ceres High, Sheldon and Stagg, and fourth at the Big Valley Classic (Stockton) and Coast Classic (Scotts Valley) events.
"I did pretty good for only my second year," said Hulstine, the Sac-Joaquin Section's eighth-ranked 112-pound grappler.
Overbey posted a 1-2 record at 130 pounds.
He opened the tournament with an 11-6 loss to Elk Grove' Miles Francesconi.
In the consolation bracket, Keegan won by second-round pin (3:50) over River Valley's Adam Blank.
He then faced Jesuit's Chris Winn and lost by decision (7-4).
"It was a learning experience," said Overbey, who failed to advance to Masters as a sophomore.
Spinella qualified for Masters despite missing most of the season recovering from a hip injury.
"I did better this year," said Tony, who finished 1-2 at 152 pounds. "I won a match."
